Internal Consistency

When writing science fiction or fantasy, one of the most important things to remember is internal consistency. Readers will eventually adapt to and accept almost any set of rules or guidelines if those rules or guidelines are enforced consistently. In other words, even if a particular fictional universe is completely whacky and zany, readers will generally be able to manage so long as that wackiness and zaniness follows the rules established by the author.

Let’s consider a couple of examples....