: Re: Where to draw the line between fantasy and reality in a story? I realize this question may sound broad or vague, so allow me to explain. I never knew much about combat or dealing with injuries

@Ann1701686

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Be consistent

The most important thing is to keep your story consistent. A story which has the same rules throughout can be accepted even if it is not compatible with the real world. However, even a fantasy story will be rejected by the reader if the rules of what is possible in the fantasy world change without justification.

Even within a given genre, the line is drawn in different places for different stories (even for different stories by the same author). What is essential is that you don't move that line within a single story (or within a series if all the stories within it are set in the same world).

Build consistency

It's also worth bearing in mind that when you first enter a story, the reader has expectations based on the real world, based on the story they read previously, and based on the genre they expect your story to be. An event that would be unrealistic in the real world or unrealistic in a similar story will be hard for them to accept in the first few pages. If you introduce it gradually then it will be much easier to accept later in the story when it has been established as a natural part of how things work in your world.

For the same reason, if you have an event that will be unexpected late in the story, it's important to give reasons for believing that event is possible beforehand. Try to find ways of informing the reader that a particular type of action is possible without giving away what you intend to happen. That way your event can be surprising, without being unbelievable.

Examples

You mention the examples of being knocked out for hours and waking relatively unharmed, and flying to great heights/making rapid ascent without breathing problems.

Some of your readers will see a problem with these, others will not. For the benefit of those who may see a problem, you could make sure the first incidence of the event is not essential to your plot. A few events where someone survives being knocked out in a minor subplot make a later event easier to accept. Similarly, a few flights to places that are clearly at great altitude early on mean that the reader will not be jarred by later being expected to accept something brand new that the plot depends on. This is particularly important if the magical flight will involve carrying someone who lacks that magical ability.

Even realistic can jar

Note that it can also be useful to set things up subtly beforehand even if your event is completely realistic. As Lauren Ipsum points out, because of the longstanding acceptance of being knocked out for hours that you describe, it could be hard for the reader to accept someone being knocked out and then waking with permanent brain damage, or remaining in a coma until death. If you can find a way to make it clear that this is a story where impact to the head is not trivial, then the reader will be prepared for an event that is closer to reality than they would otherwise expect.

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