Have you ever had a time when you wanted to reach into a book or screen, slap a character, and yell, "No, it's NOT too complicated to explain! And yes, you do have time! The explanation would have taken less time than the argument did!"
My name is John Crichton. I'm an astronaut, and I HATE explaining situations.
It's amazing how many times a character will try to insist that the situation is so complex that the explanation would take more time than they have available. Most of the time, when this happens, I could find a way to sum it up in ten words or less.
Sometimes, I can see why they do that. Sometimes, summing up the circumstances to a rash or hotheaded teammate would result in said teammate taking an action that they wouldn't take if they had all the time-consuming details.
Other times, the character is panicked, and their brain just can't come up with a concise explanation.
And occasionally, even the person speaking doesn't really know what's going on, so they're doing the best with what they have.
But most of the time when I notice this trope, none of that is in play. At least, not to a degree that would prevent them from condensing their situation into twenty words or less.
Do you ever notice this trope?
Do you have a book or series that's a particular offender? And does that bother you, even if you love almost everything else about the story?
I look forward to reading your comments.
Sometimes, I can see why they do that. Sometimes, summing up the circumstances to a rash or hotheaded teammate would result in said teammate taking an action that they wouldn't take if they had all the time-consuming details.
Other times, the character is panicked, and their brain just can't come up with a concise explanation.
And occasionally, even the person speaking doesn't really know what's going on, so they're doing the best with what they have.
But most of the time when I notice this trope, none of that is in play. At least, not to a degree that would prevent them from condensing their situation into twenty words or less.
Do you ever notice this trope?
Do you have a book or series that's a particular offender? And does that bother you, even if you love almost everything else about the story?
I look forward to reading your comments.
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