If you’re ever going to go down in a plane crash, this is the way to do it. Of course, the entire incident wasn’t escaped without casualty, but think about how it could’ve played out with just a regular passenger plane.
Yet another example of events in life that if you wrote it into fiction, no one would believe it.
At what point in your mind, as you are reading a story, do you stop accepting the various coincidences and lucky/unlucky circumstances the author keeps throwing your way? Important people bumping into each other on the street. Someone being in the right place at the perfect angle to witness a crucial clue. A song on the radio trigger repressed memories. When does something become unbelievable for you, or too much a stretch of logic?
I see that smile.
Pretty much anything is allowed if it’s adequately foreshadowed. If it isn’t foreshadowed, then it can’t be excessively convenient to the plot.
As a reader, I’ll give little things a pass when it comes to coincidences that help the protagonist, but even then, I do notice that plot point was contrived.
For me, it depends on how emotionally stressful the plot line is. If I’m emotionally distressed, I’ll pretty much welcome whatever coincidence alleviates the pain. However, if the coincidence is too contrived or garishly obvious, my discomfort turns to exasperation. Ah, the fickleness of the reader.
JJ: The old see-the-gun-above-the-mantle syndrome? So long as it’s fired by the second Act, it’s all good? I can see that.
Teegan: Hmm. Interesting point. I guess something needs to let off a little steam every so often, otherwise the tension could become unbearable with some plots. That’s one of the reasons I rarely like watching drama tv or reality shows. They’re contrived simply for the purpose of putting us in awkward, tense, uncomfortable situations.