tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-926918147629869886.post6838325919406278464..comments2023-05-07T02:17:29.231-07:00Comments on The Melt-Ink Pot: Authenticity in FictionSamanthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06872135325885272027noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-926918147629869886.post-84210837033911120652010-08-28T00:27:22.464-07:002010-08-28T00:27:22.464-07:00A trickier, higher level problem is getting it rig...A trickier, higher level problem is getting it right, but the reader doesn't believe it, or at least stops to think about it. If the reader stops to wonder if the story got it right, they aren't in the story any more!<br />For example, if the character is described as wearing polka-dot colored robes in 12th century Muslim north Africa, many readers might stop and say "oh really?" Even though this *is* documentable to the time and place (and therefore "right"), you probably don't want your readers to stop and question it. What is described, and how it is described, may be as important as being right.Keithnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-926918147629869886.post-56453865728137233532010-03-12T21:19:29.834-08:002010-03-12T21:19:29.834-08:00... although if anyone knows someone from 1870, I&...... although if anyone knows someone from 1870, I'd sure as heck let them have a stab at my current work-in-progress...<br /><br />I'm a historical foodie, so I'll often get pitched out of a story when someone has Vikings eating potatoes, for example.Sheilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14308431455364995660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-926918147629869886.post-42461658382078280542010-03-12T18:11:19.188-08:002010-03-12T18:11:19.188-08:00I don't remember any time I caught out a publi...I don't remember any time I caught out a published author when it comes to historical accuracy (although I'm terrible at history, so people can get away with just about anything around me), but a deal-breaker for me is completely unrealistic depictions of pregnancy, like having someone start to 'show' when she's two weeks along. I've never actually been pregnant, so if I can figure out that something is ridiculous, the author is in big trouble. :)<br /><br />I've actually done a lot of internet research into pregnancy for my current book (which is fun because all of the websites on pregnancy are designed for people who are actually expecting a baby, so I feel like I'm sneaking in). There's a lot of good material out there and I think I've been pretty meticulous about my timeline, but I still don't plan to let my manuscript get into an agent or editor's hand without having someone who has actually been pregnant read it. I sure hope lots of people who have had children want to buy my books someday and I wouldn't want them to experience that jolt of wrongness. <br /><br />I guess the advantage to writing historical fiction would be that fewer people will know if you screw up, but the disadvantage is that you can't actually get someone from 1870 to check your work...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com