There are so many writing topics I want to talk about, it’s hard to know where to begin! However, I finished reading a book last night that had some egregious errors, and that gave me an idea for today’s topic. Fact checking!
You may think because you write fiction, you don’t have to do research or check facts, but if you use real cities, streets, people, cars….whatever, do be sure to get the facts right. It’s not that hard now that we have the Internet and believe me, if you get one tiny fact wrong, someone will notice. And if you’re lucky enough to get published, that someone will surly write and let you know you made a mistake. To me, if an author can’t take the time to make sure of all her facts, I’m suspect of everything she writes!
So what was the error that got me off on this rant? I read Damage Control by Robert Dugoni. (check out my mystery blog: www.themysterystartshere.com for a full review). Toward the end of the novel, Dugoni had one of his characters fly into La Jolla, California! I laughed out loud! If you’ve ever been to the San Diego area, you know that La Jolla is a small exclusive community located on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. I lived in San Diego for 24 years so I know. So easy to check but so glaring an error. It made me wonder what other facts in the book were incorrect.
I read a book several years ago by one of my favorite authors, Joy Fielding. I can’t remember the title now, but in the book Fielding had her protagonist put bullets into the barrel of a .38 caliber pistol! I thought long and hard and finally wrote a polite to Ms. Fielding via her publisher to let her know that was a mistake. I was amazed when she wrote back. She thanked me and confessed she’d never even held a gun, nor had her editor. I’m sorry, but if you’re going to write mysteries you must learn how to use a gun! Learn police procedures and correct CSI protocol (don’t rely on the TV series!)
Another one I saw lately was a picky, I’ll admit, but it jumped out at me. The author named a character Mrs. Francis Uliberri. The female version of the name is Frances, not Francis and it’s easy to remember. HEr name is Frances – hIs name is Francis. As I said, it’s picky to me, but not to a woman named Frances!
Okay, end of lecture – go forth and sin no more! If you’ve found a particularly bad b00-boo in a book, leave a comment and share it. If you want to try and find errors in any of my books – go for it! I’m not perfect by any means. You can find all my titles in early blogs on this post or at: www.manicreaders.com/CarleneRaeDater
Tags: The Writing Life - check your facts - do your research