Heard a guy at the library arguing with a copy machine about plot holes

I was grabbing a book on local history last Tuesday when this older guy near the printer started muttering. He was holding a stack of pages and said, clear as day, 'But if the magic only works at midnight, how did she escape at three in the afternoon? You didn't set the rules!' He was totally talking to the machine. I guess his own printed story had a flaw and he was venting. It made me think about how we build worlds. We make these tight rules for our characters, then sometimes we, or our printers, cheat to get them out of a corner. Now I keep a sticky note on my desk that just says 'Check the magic clock' as a reminder to be consistent. Anyone else have a weird moment that became a writing rule for them?

3 comments

3 Comments

fionafoster10h agoMost Upvoted

Maybe don't take notes from a guy arguing with office equipment.

fionafoster10h agoMost Upvoted

Actually, arguing with office equipment shows a real problem solving mindset. That person is trying to communicate with a broken system instead of just giving up. Sometimes you have to talk to the printer to figure out what error code it's stuck on. There's a certain logic to meeting technology where it's at, even if it looks silly.

hannahcraig7h ago

Ever tried that trick where you unplug a stubborn printer for a full minute? I had one that kept flashing a weird jam error, but there was no paper stuck. After a calm talk and a power cycle, it just started working again. Felt like it needed a hard reset to forget its bad mood. Sometimes the fix is just walking it through the steps out loud.