Last week I mentioned that I finished the anthology story. This week, I thought I might need to start again. An old piece of writing advice is, “Write what you know.” Some still believe writers should stick to this, meaning having a character who is male when I’m female shouldn’t be allowed. What do I know about being a man? Or being a doctor? Or a pilot? Or living in New York City? Or speaking three languages? Very little, which is where research comes in.
I was reminded of this when one of the writers in the anthology pointed out my erroneous research about the military. Being a retired career military person, she “writes what she knows.” I came up with another setting, and she again pointed out why it wouldn’t work. I joked that she and I had different Google pages were we looking at. I thought a way to solve the issue is to pull my story and submit something else. She said to leave it. We’re set to discuss this in person over the weekend.
I do a fair amount of research when I write. I want to know the highways, how long it takes to drive or fly from one location to another, if a certain plant or animal lives in that area, whether stitches or staples are needed to close a wound, etc. Like many writers, I end up with more information than I include in the story. But it’s important to get as many facts correct as possible.
There is also the ability of the reader to suspend disbelief with fiction. If the villain is already breaking major laws/rules, then what’s one more if they believe they won’t be caught? And if pressured, they of course would react in a way to preserve themselves. As long as the writer isn’t so far away from the facts that it pulls the reader out of the fiction. Where is that line? It depends on the writer and the reader. I’m currently reading a fiction story that started in the Arizona desert in January. They described sweltering heat and a monsoon storm and someone getting bit by a rattlesnake. I’ve lived in the Arizona desert for fifty years. We’ve never had monsoons in January, and it’s not sweltering. Rattlesnakes, however, can be out if it’s warm enough. They don’t hibernate like bears. This incorrect fact didn’t turn me away from the story. I still trust the author.
In the few hours since making the decision to pull the story, I came up with others that I could write to take its place. It will be several months before the others have their stories ready for publication. I’ll see how the conversation goes. I’m fine either way. I have faith in readers to judge the facts and remember they’re in a fictional world. Have you read a story that included facts that were incorrect? How did you deal with it?
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