the one big buy-in

In genre fiction, there’s this general rule of thumb that you can get away with one big buy-in from your readers. More than that tends to break plausibility and readers stop suspending their disbelief.

I first stumbled across this concept while listening to Writing Excuses, which is one of my favorite podcasts. If you’re anything like me and this is your first time learning about it, you might already be listing the impossible things in your most recent sci-fi/fantasy/horror read. There was way more than one in there!

Except, try zooming out. If you didn’t struggle with suspending disbelief, look for the one basic premise that all those impossible things cascaded from. When it’s done right, all those impossibilities are merely consistent world-building, following the way that one core concept shaped the story’s universe. What if people carried galaxies in their skin? What if someone could slip between parallel worlds?

That single premise, the one big buy-in, is often so big that introducing another, wholly separate premise leads to conflicting rules and inconsistent world-building.

Is it possible to get away with more than one? Probably, if you’re phenomenal at world-building and the two ideas coexist, rather than conflict. Just approach it with clear intent and be prepared.

My current novel project is incredibly typical for me. I’m a discovery writer, so I started with not much more than a vague idea and faith I’d work it out at some point. Usually near the end of chapter three.

So I finished chapter three and stopped. For months, it sat. I was worried I’d asked too much, put in too many big buy-ins: no humans, no capitalism, and no nuclear family structure. I knew there was something consistent about it all, but it took me months to articulate it.

What if extreme connection is the natural, default state?

There. That’s it. That’s my big buy-in. All those things I already layered into my world-building tie back into that one premise.

Since figuring that out, I’ve been able to get back to the story. It’s a relief to know the story and the intention I’m working toward, and my word count shows it! (This is why I’m leading a workshop next week on intention as a writing tool.)

So if you’re a SF/F/H writer and you felt some panic earlier because you don’t yet know what you’re one big buy-in is, please know that you have time to work it out. And also know that you’re probably already doing this on a subconscious level. Trust yourself; you are the expert on your own story. This rule of thumb isn’t going anywhere (and, like all writing rules, is not universal), so feel free to tuck it away. It will still be there when–if–it becomes a useful tool in your writing toolbox.