The Suspension of Disbelief
By Jerry Walch, 15th Jun 2012 | Follow this author
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Posted in WikinutGuidesWriting
One of my favorite authors, Ray Bradbury, died this week at the age of 91 in Los Angeles, California. An American author of science fiction, horror, and mystery novels, he is best remembered for his novels Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, and Something Wicked This Way Comes. Bradbury taught me at very young age the meaning of Suspension of Disbelief.
- The Suspension of Disbelief
- A fireman's job is to put out fires.
- Did paper really burn at 451 degrees Fahrenheit?
- Experiencing reality through the eyes of your characters.
The Suspension of Disbelief
The term, “Suspension of Disbelief” was first coined by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1817 in his Biographia literaria or biographical sketches of my literary life and opinions. A writer's success or failure depends on his or her ability to get the reader to temporarily accept as believable that which he or she would find incredible. The process of temporarily accepting the unbelievable as being believable is what the suspension of disbelief is all about and Bradbury was one of the masters.
A fireman's job is to put out fires.
From the beginning time, people have known that firemen putout fires, they did not start fires, but in Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury's best known science fiction novels, the job of firemen was not to put out fires but to start them. Readers knew this, but Bradbury created characters so believable that his readers could easily accept that which they knew was false as being true—at least for the time they were engrossed in the make believe world of the novel.
Did paper really burn at 451 degrees Fahrenheit?
Every relatively well educated person knew that paper did not burn at 451 degrees Fahrenheit, that Bradbury was referring to the auto-ignition temperature of paper. Readers with a solid grasp of chemistry and physics even knew that the auto-ignition temperature of paper, the temperature at which paper burst into flames without the application of an external flame, was closer to 480 degrees Fahrenheit than to 451 degrees Fahrenheit, but they suspended their disbelief while reading the novel. Paper ignites at 480 degrees, but then the temperature of the burning paper rapidly soars to 1,500 degrees at the center of the flames.
Experiencing reality through the eyes of your characters.
We will mourn his loss, but Bradbury still has a lot to teach anyone who has a desire to write fiction. If you aspire to write fiction, no matter what genre, you will never have a better teacher than Ray Bradbury. Think of his books as being your classroom. Study them and master the master's techniques and you will be on your way achieving your dream.
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15th Jun 2012 (#)
Wonderful tribute to Ray.
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15th Jun 2012 (#)
Thank you for reading and commenting, rama devi nina.
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15th Jun 2012 (#)
Hi Jerry, just to let you know, Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio has the Popular Culture library to whom Ray Bradbury donated all of his manuscripts and memerobilia
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15th Jun 2012 (#)
Thanks, Amos, for the heads up. I wasn't aware of that information.
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15th Jun 2012 (#)
very interesting piece thank you for this dedication to a great writer...
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15th Jun 2012 (#)
You are most welcome, Cn.
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15th Jun 2012 (#)
You know Jerry, I have never read any of his books. Of course I knew about him, as much as most but, not his written words. Dan has tried to get me to read him over the years but, I always decline. Maybe I should pick up some of his work. I will take it as a (so called, still getting educated:) class assignment, maybe I will improve on some aspects of my writing, I trust your word my friend. This is a well written dedication, one I am sure Ray is just chuckling at the fact, that you know what he stated was not true but, he was so good, You just did not care, gotta love it. As always, thank you for sharing.:)
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15th Jun 2012 (#)
Thank you, Denise, for reading and commenting.All fiction writers need to master the principles of the Suspension of Disbelief, but none rely on it more than those who write horror, science fiction, and fantasy.
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20th Jun 2012 (#)
Great article. It looks like I missed reading a lot of good books. It sounds like they would make good movies too. I love horror and science fiction. When I read, "The Shack" I believed the story was true through the whole book until the end, even though it was very far fetched. So I know what you mean.
.
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20th Jun 2012 (#)
Many of Bradbury's books were made into movies that have become Sci-Fi classics, especially Fahrenheit 451. I think, ICANANSWER, that we all miss reading many good books simply because there are so many of them and so little time for us to read all of them.
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24th Jun 2012 (#)
This article is a great tribute to one of our greatest authors. Thanks for sharing.
I loved reading The Martian Chronicles. It was very entertaining.
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24th Jun 2012 (#)
Thank you for reading and commenting, John. I agree about the martian Chronicles.
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