The Miracle Exemption

I had a debate with my friend James by Skype this weekend about what really worked in the sci-fi movie, Rise of the Planet of the Apes.  He pointed out that the miracle examption is done really well and that it brings the story full circle by the end, making it a thoughtful, provoking film.  So that's where I got my blog post for today.

If your story is not grounded in reality, you really only get one miracle exemption (including more may ask too much of the reader but you never know--it is a risk though). This is the thing that the reader is expected to swallow as being completely plausible. Examples: The yellow sun in Superman...it's the source of all his powers. Or the spray aerosol can in Rise of the Planet of the Apes that essentially forces evolution on primates by increasing intelligence within the brain. 

There are rules to the miracle exemption. One of them is that you need to adhere to the miracle exemption completely. Your story needs to follow it and never deviate from it. That is one of the keys to the science-fiction and fantasy in stories that I've read and liked.  And seeing that I've read quite a few stories, my opinion may be worth noting. 

The second is that if you want your story to come full circle, it needs to come back to the miracle exemption and make it crucial to the story.  In Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the aerosol spray ends up dooming the entire human race. So not only is it just a device to make apes smarter...it is the mortar upon which the entire franchise is based.  In a word...brilliant.

What is the miracle exemption for J.K. Rowling? You need a wand to do magic. Does she ever deviate from that? Nope.  Does it come back around to this? Yep in that wand that Voldy wanted to use so badly.

What happens when Superman doesn't get sun for a long time? His powers weaken. Does it come back to this? All the time in movies as he goes to absorb sunlight to do extra-powerful and strenuous stuff.

So if your story has a miracle exemption within it, stay true to it.  My sci-fi series has one miracle exemption and I stay true to it and revisit it often.  No it's not faster than light drive. My sci-fi series takes place entirely on earth.  However, FTL-drive is one commonly used miracle exemption that makes space opera work.  Another is instant communication across great distances. You have to have this in order to have a story work.

Do you use a miracle exemption in your story and how important is it?  Have a great Monday (I should be exempt from Mondays).

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