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Q&A How much detail should I go into for a character taking advantage of physics expertise?

I think it depends on what the main problem is in the novel. If the main problem is technical in nature, the reader needs to have some sense of what it technically possible. If the main problem is ...

posted 8y ago by Mark Baker‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2020-01-03T20:41:50Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/23619
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T05:23:21Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/23619
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T05:23:21Z (almost 5 years ago)
I think it depends on what the main problem is in the novel. If the main problem is technical in nature, the reader needs to have some sense of what it technically possible. If the main problem is psychological or moral, however, what matters is the decision to use or not use the power in question.

There is a whole cottage industry online doing "if A has power B why don't they just do C" analysis of superhero movies. Most superpowers are poorly explained and inconsistently applied, and it usually doesn't matter because the movies are essentially morality plays.("With great power comes great responsibility.)

The main thing is that the reader should not feel that the author has changed the rules in the middle of the game in order to get the ending they want.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2016-06-28T18:28:35Z (over 8 years ago)
Original score: 8