Unrealistic Realism

Of the many things I've learned as a writer, digging through archives of internet sites and videos of people with more knowledge than I'll ever possess, it's that reality isn't always realistic. And by that I mean that popular media, be it books, games, TV, movies, or what have you, have tended to depict things in certain ways. We've grown so used to these depictions that , often, the actual process behind things can seem wrong.

When I was a journalist in Las Vegas I covered more than a few trials. If I can tell you anything about them, it's that they are BORING AS HELL. Law & Order, NCIS, or any of those other courtroom dramas take severe dramatic license with what happens. No one shouts. No one makes random objections. The judge often takes breaks with confer privately with both prosecution and defense. Nothing surprising ever happens. What goes down feels almost rehearsed. 

I bring this up because I'm caught, at times, in my decision to make the events in my stories real. Deep down, I always want to error on the side of accuracy. Yet at the same time I understand that my audience may not be familiar with how things actually work. If I depict things accurately, I may bore them. Or I may make them question why it isn't happening the way they "know" it's supposed to happen. 

Do I focus on realistic scenarios that will please the two or three people familiar with what I'm relating (let's say, not cocking guns to make a threat) or just play into the tropes that readers expect and, to some degree, take comfort in? I'd like to think that if I depict things accurately, maybe I'll educate my readers. Maybe they'll look at what I've written, then, giddy with curiosity, research why their favorite TV show doesn't do it that way. I understand that's likely a fantasy, but what the heck, I'm a fantasy author!

Be Excellent To Each Other.