028 - The Way I Never Wonder How My iPhone Works

Today I noticed that I don't think about the way that any technology around me works, even though it's all very amazing. We’re all like that, about all amazing things: We just accept the fantastical things around us … usually without wondering or even paying them any attention.

The creative lesson I took from this Noticing is that in any form of storytelling — and especially in genres like sci-fi and fantasy — the unfamiliar or fantastical doesn't always need explicit exposition. Just as we accept modern technology without fully understanding how it works, readers will accept fantastical elements in a story without needing a detailed breakdown if you’ll trust them to do so. Integrating fantastical elements without overt explanation can maintain the story's flow and allow readers to immerse themselves in the narrative's world, accepting its unique norms and wonders … and overtly explaining it, often, can do more harm than good to an otherwise solid big of fiction.

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