Stories contain many characters who lie. The villains lie about their motivations, their plans, and their goals. Story narrators lie to shift attention away from important events that are meant to be less noticeable. Even heroes lie, but usually when dealing with someone they know is dishonest and so they do it to pretend. Whatever the reasons, stories are truly "tall tales" filled with exaggerations and outright fibbing. I'm sure readers expect it, and in mysteries it's actually a badge of honor to have lied well enough that the audience has no idea who the actual villain is.
Audiences don't seem to mind; I know I don't. Without the fanciful lies within stories, there isn't much of a story to tell (after all, fiction is completely untrue so that'd get rid of an entire genre if you could only write about complete truths). What does get audiences annoyed is when the fictional world doesn't match its own philosophy. There's a concept called "suspension of disbelief" which is a fancy way of saying you go along with whatever doesn't make sense. You give up making sense of a few things and then let the fictional world do as it likes. But--and this is a big but--the rest of the world must follow the new rules. When fiction doesn't play fair, the audience gets irritated.
I love fantasy and science fiction, and I've written many stories in both genres. Creating a whole new world to toy with is great fun. I love doing the writing, and doing the reading. Imagination is such a powerful tool! On the wings of tall tales I've talked with dragons, crossed the universe, and floated in the depths of the ocean. Let the stories lie a bit, enjoy the distraction, and let it all happen. It's okay to do that once in a while, isn't it?
- M
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