How much do y'all care about realism in your stories?

[Biggest-Kusa-Out-There]

I think you got these backwards? Low fantasy is an elf selling drinks at a 7-11, High fantasy is an elf enchanting a ship to sail through the air and shoot fireballs at that forty foot tall dragon.

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I grew up reading more Sci-Fi than fantasy, so I expect a ton of realism when I'm reading. And writing, I suppose.

That doesn't mean I expect absolute reality, like historical dramas or modern stories without magic. I actually hate that type of thing. I want to see realistic magic. I want people to exceed the limits of reality. I want a believable excuse for why you can move faster than the eye can see. A dragon can create hurricanes with its wingbeats because it literally weighs enough to displace the air faster than it can fill the gap. How can it live while weighing that much? Magic... But so what?

Magic is just a new law of reality that adds more to the realism.

I think, lol. What I meant is that low fantasy doesn't really need explanation because it's mundane happenings, while high fantasy needs to stick to the rules set in-world.
Like doraemon is low fantasy (lol this example), and mahouka is high fantasy... i guess?

 

[Cipiteca396]

I think, lol. What I meant is that low fantasy doesn't really need explanation because it's mundane happenings, while high fantasy needs to stick to the rules set in-world.
Like doraemon is low fantasy (lol this example), and mahouka is high fantasy... i guess?

Nah, that's just soft and hard magic. (I also don't know Doraemon, sorry.)
I'd call Mahouka hard magic, but low fantasy. It only adds magic (which could be replaced with Sufficiently Advanced Science and nobody would bat an eye), no mystical races or places.
Contrast it with Lord of the Rings's high fantasy but soft magic. You never really understand what all the wizards are doing, it's just 'wizard stuff'. But it's not exactly mundane, whatever it is.

Low Fantasy soft magic is pretty fun though. There's a scene in one of the Ghost in the Shell animes where the Major finds a secret shop that doesn't exist. I don't recall the details, but it was a really odd thing to see in what should have been a Sci-Fi show with no magic at all.

 

[EternalSunset0]

Nah, that's just soft and hard magic. (I also don't know Doraemon, sorry.)
I'd call Mahouka hard magic, but low fantasy. It only adds magic (which could be replaced with Sufficiently Advanced Science and nobody would bat an eye), no mystical races or places.
Contrast it with Lord of the Rings's high fantasy but soft magic. You never really understand what all the wizards are doing, it's just 'wizard stuff'. But it's not exactly mundane, whatever it is.

Low Fantasy soft magic is pretty fun though. There's a scene in one of the Ghost in the Shell animes where the Major finds a secret shop that doesn't exist. I don't recall the details, but it was a really odd thing to see in what should have been a Sci-Fi show with no magic at all.

I second this. Since we're talking anime, high fantasy is more akin to stuff you'll see in Isekai. Basically, the dragons, the demon races, the elves, magical kingdoms, whatnot. Whereas low fantasy is more like say... Fate Stay/Night or the To Aru series. Something closer to our world.

As for why Mahouka is considered hard magic, it's because the magic system is very elaborated. Ironically, this pic explains it well. In hard magic, they do it more like the "How magic works" part, whereas in soft magic, it's more of the "what you see"

Yeah this comment is totally not just an excuse to post the pic

 

[Lloyd]

Realism is overrated

 

[Fox-Trot-9]

I once researched how regimented infantryman loaded their flintlock muskets before they aimed and fired their guns in a volley, such as taking out a paper cartridge and taking out a ramrod and shoving the ball down the barrel of the gun, then priming the pan with gunpowder and flipping the frizzen back and cocking back the hammer, b/c I don't wanna hear from some over-opinionated asshole tell me that I forgot to mention the dam frizzen or the pan or the Goddamn ramrod. If I hear anyone say anything about a friggin' ramrod being misplaced, I'd take that ramrod and ram it up that person's ass. Yes, realism is important, if only to keep readers from noticing that they're doing all of that in a flooded cathedral of all places, but I guess that's where realism can go screw itself.

 

[Deleted member 54065]

As long as it is logical for me and can defend the character's actions to those who'd nitpick, it's all good for me. After all, I'm a fantasy writer, and the setting of my work is illogical already.

 

[skillet]

I have this weird relationship with realism... Like for comedy points, I go 'what is realism heh' and do whatever, but anything pertaining to plot, like how will these main characters get the info and act on it successfully needs to be realistic and believable because I hate plot armor. Like ooOhhH, they just happened to overhear the most crucial information they needed to know? And when they pretended they knew everything, the organization that should've had high security just let them in without double-checking anything?? Nope-- my characters are going to have to work for whatever they achieve.

This may make for some tedious reading, though, but I honestly can't force myself to take the easy roads out. That just defeats the point of me writing my own story, since I'm writing (somewhat) in retaliation of all these kinds of frustrating plot armor stories.

 

[RayneStorm]

I kinda hate when people bring up realism with fiction. If the story has a rule where people only eat by sitting on the ceiling then I'm cool with that (internal logic and continuity is necessary though). I write fantasy and science fiction, usually set in the future. One of my stories is set 10,000 years into the future and I still get feedback that it needs to be more historically accurate (accurate to what I don't know). The only time I deal with realism is when it comes to character reactions to important stuff and injuries. Realism would include the characters always worrying about what to eat and where to poop. I like to skip all that to the good parts like the monster fights and monsters are not realistic though their damage on the main characters will certainly hurt Realism is only necessary to the point where the weirdness isn't pulling the readers from the story.

 

[wildan1197_]

You can answer this from a reader viewpoint as well.
For me, I laugh at it and kick its corpse. Literally have one chapter where a reincarnator complains that their machine from Earth isn't working and my Xianxia protagonist goes 'the laws are different, bitch'. Of course some stuff still makes sense for the sake of readability, but I don't really apply much science in my fantasy fiction since its supposed to be fantastical.

I don't care about any of that except the realism of human-to-human interactions and stuff like that.

 

[CL]

Realism is just one of the hooks in keeping us hanging onto every word. I'd rather immersion be prioritized. Whatever you enjoyed writing and is keeping us coming back for more, keep that up.

 

[Deleted member 45782]

Doesn't have to be realistic down to the very itty nitty gritty detail but at least 'believability' as someone once mentioned on r/fantasywriting or some sort. It could be set in a fantasy world where there's magic and dragons, but some of it maybe has make some sense - like not a sudden 360 degree change to a character's personality or someone being able to get beat to a pulp and literally and be able to stand up and fight and win a battle without so much of a scratch unless there's like at least an explanation for it. (ex: he got beat to a pulp and almost incinerated but heaven gave him the second chance card so he can be resurrected like new. or something at the very least).

 

[Tblew]

Hm.... I try to keep gender-related things similar to real life. Like you are a female, you deal with actual female issues. If you are a male, well, you have two jewels to watch out for. A good blow there can cause some nasty things. *Don't get me in all the conditions males can get.* Can't be a biological male or female without the issues that come with that genitalia.

Also, with injuries and stuff. Like, break the femur? You won't be running a marathon in a while. If ever again. Even in fantasy, that brings weight to the actions and consequences. Lose ahead? Well, you drop dead.

I also make death be an actual death. Even if reincarnation occurs, they will never be the person they used to be. Thus, their death counts. Saint in one life, a demon in another. Never the same, even though it is the same soul. To me, that adds weight to the story. Like Oh, Flora died! But wait, she is reborn! But it isn't Flora anymore... It is Juan now. And Juan is nothing like Flora was.... such an such. They are whole other people, thus the one you know will never be again.

Realism and Fantasy go hand in hand. To make the fantasy believable, I also think there should be genuine moments. Can't win them all hero~

I agree with this completely. I just think with just enough realism, the story pulls you in further and makes you actually have to weigh to cons and pros before taking action, or else you will be screwed.

 

[Yamazaru]

Too much realism makes a story boring, too little realism makes it a shitshow or on a rare occasion, a solid ass series. There needs to be a balance. 2 good examples I can think of for the perfect balance is Beastars and Serial Experiments Lain. Beastars is unrealistic in the concept of anthropomorphic animals replacing humans, but it tackles the realistic theme of segregation this time, by species, and not race. With stereotypes and prejudices towards carnivores. And Serial Experiments Lain, more on the unrealistic side, but I think Lain did a great job covering the concept of "Internet Personas" and "Actions that happen on the internet won't apply to real life" really well, and Lain was made over 20 years ago! And also, it really depends on the story you are making.

 

[KaiserH]

Me personally, I don't stress about realism in my stories too much. I just try to keep the rules I set consistent.

Well, unless, in some cases, where those rules weren't correct in the first place, In-universe that is.

 

[JM_Webb]

In my novel, dragons are basically giant sentient ores birthed by the world's core, dunno if that's a good explanation, but that's why they're so big in my story

Dude wtf having ores in your story is so unrealistic.

(But seriously I like that. That's cool-AF)

 

[Deleted member 61829]

I’m a huge fantasy writer, so I don’t really care too much about realism but having it keeps me grounded from creating far fetched stories. I have dragons, made up monsters, and different gods and goddesses inspired by the Greek Gods. Religion is a main focus on my story currently, so I try to keep that quite realistic and inspired by past religious events like witch burnings, sacrificing, and what not. I also like to keep things more nature inspired with rules and restrictions on certain magical beings.