Harry Potter being a wizard, Percy Jackson being a demigod, Artemis Fowl living in a world of fantastical creatures, these characters have been faced with the impossible and had to accept it. While acceptance of the impossible seems to be the foundation of these stories, the acceptance itself is one of the, if not the, most important transition for the entire story to take place.
There are several ways to take the journey from the normal to the impossible, but there are also ways to do it wrong. Unfortunately, a lot of authors will do this wrong and the rest of their story seems unbelievable. Since this is such an important part of a story, I just had to talk about it.
It is essential to have one of these ways, but having multiple of these ways makes the transition even more believable. You’ll see in many of the examples that I give that they will use multiple ways to establish the truthfulness of the impossible.
However, the problem is the impossible is just that… impossible. Your character has to unlearn a truth that they “knew” to accept the truth that is now presented to them. Percy has to accept that gods exist, Harry has to accept that magic is real, etc. Both of these things they have been taught are false, but have to unlearn that to accept the truth.
1. Faced with indisputable evidence
Harry Potter is one character that has a subtle transition from the normal to the impossible. He is tipped off early that something is off by accidents involving his own innate magic, the parliament of owls giving him letter, and his aunt and uncle’s reaction to it all; however, it is only when Hagrid shows up and starts casting magic is he finally presented with indistputable evidence.
I mean, nothing is more indisputable than having your cousin grow a pig tail. It is this combined with several other factors that allows Harry to not only believe the impossible, but openly accept it.
2. Told by a Trusted Family Member
I think my favorite example of this is National Treasure where the main character, Ben Gates, is really close with his grandfather who tells him stories of this incredible treasure. Everyone else tells him he is foolish, but because Ben loved his grandfather and his grandfather believed, Ben also believes.
This is shown in Percy Jackson as well, where Percy Jackson’s mom confirms the impossible truth he has been told. Though Percy remains skeptical until he is faced with indisputable evidence, the fact that his mom, someone he loves and trusts, confirms the impossible helps him believe the impossible more.
3. Subtle Hints that Something is Wrong
We saw in Harry Potter how he starts to get subtle hints that there is more to the story than meets the eye. Things tend to just ‘happen’ around him as if by magic, random people come up and thank him, his aunt and uncle freak out at a letter, and an entire parliament of owls bombards his house with letters. These all add to Harry’s overall suspicion that there is more than meets the eye.
This happens in Percy Jackson as well, but it is important to note that the subtle hints should be used more as “primer” rather than the actual belief in the impossible. It might spark them to look deeper into the impossible, but rarely will it be used as what transitions the character from the normal to the impossible.
4. Forced to Believe the Impossible
From what I understand, Artemis Fowl does this amazingly but I have never read the series so I cannot say for certain. However, Percy Jackson, a series I am well read in does this well.
You see, when Percy’s mother is taken by the Minotaur, Percy is forced to believe everything he is told from then on because it will bring him closer to saving his mom. Though there are better examples, the fundamentals still stand. Percy’s goal is to save his mom and believing the impossible helps him further that goal.
5. Trauma
Ahh, my old friend: trauma. I wish more books would not use trauma as a propellant, but it is the easiest way to get character to do what they need them to. Additionally, it is also an easy way to get a character to believe in the impossible.
Since trauma rocks the foundation of who a character is, it is often easier for a character to release their hold on the “normal” and accept the impossible when they have just experienced trauma.
Let’s take Doctor Strange from the MCU. His trauma, destroying his hands, losing his money, and losing his girlfriend, allows him to accept (or at least seek out) the idea that eastern “magical” remedies may help him. His search brings him into the realm of the impossible, and when shown indisputable evidence he accepts the impossible easily.
6. Accepting the Impossible before
When a character has accepted the impossible before it is much easier for them to accept it again. This is essentially the phrase “I’ve seen weirder” personified. Let’s look at Percy Jackson. Percy Jackson accepts that Greek gods exist and then he accepts that Roman gods exist. By the time he is faced with Norse gods and Egyptian gods he is just shrugging them off with the simple “I’ve seen weirder” approach.
This helps when you are exploiting several impossible realities at once. This is often the case when Magic and the supernatural appear together. The idea that there are ghosts, spirits, and monsters inherently brings the idea of magic, wizards, and exorcists into question. It is possible to have one without the other (besides maybe exorcists) but because one exists it is easier to accept the other.
Conclusion
Accepting the impossible is the foundation of a number of stories which is why the process can make or break a story. If I have missed a couple ways or you want to know more, feel free to reach out to me. Until next time…
Create something new today,
Matthew Holden
Grant Patterson Portfolio 