There are many methods authors use to cheat. Bear with me on this. What I mean by cheating is basically taking extreme shortcuts to end goals by devious means. For instance, take the movie, "John Wick"--we watch the protagonist lose his wife to cancer, then receive a parting gift from her in the form of a puppy. Aw, cute and darling. Then, after a few short minutes, the dog is murdered and John is plunged into red-eyed revenge. That's a cheat, and the author's knew it. We love cute animals and our blood boils to see them mistreated. That's all the motivation the hero requires, and the audience is right along with him. Action films don't need a bunch of setup, and this cheat fills the void nicely. The audience doesn't mind, and is happy to get past the slow stuff.Another cheat is putting kids in danger, triggering the natural desire to protect them. Still another is to threaten the destruction of a sacred object or landmark. But these are just to get the narrative running and stoke conflict. Other sorts of cheats can build whole cities and groups of people in a flash, by mentioning a well-known event or familiar surroundings. Historical references, even in fiction, provide huge swaths of background and impressions. Using these tricks, authors are capable of weaving incredible worlds in a very short time.
However you cheat and shortcut your way through your story, it's not malicious at all. These are tools to use, and you'd be a fool not to take advantage of the way our minds work. In my view, these cheats actually improve the depth of stories and provide easy hooks to catch onto. Audiences aren't as patient for stories to develop as they once were--which is a grand shame, but what can you do but adapt? So, revel in your mischievous quirks and draw from whatever seems appropriate. Just make sure to tell a good story in the process. Audiences will seek you out. I believe that with all my heart.
- M
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