In Today’s Journal
* Quote of the Day
* Chapter 8
* Of Interest
Quote of the Day
“No matter which genre of fiction you are writing, getting the facts straight can make a difference between satisfied and disappointed readers.” Ellen Buikema, Writers in the Storm (see Of Interest)
Chapter 8: Getting the Details Right
Authenticity matters.
That’s why I advocate, for example, always calling the device that automatically feeds the cartridges into the action of a semiautomatic rifle or pistol a “magazine” instead of a “clip.”
The terms magazine and clip are not interchangeable. They don’t refer to the same device.
Some Details
If a character in your story or novel uses a semiautomatic weapon, and if at any point you have him insert the “clip” into the weapon, you will automatically mark yourself as not having a clue what you’re talking about. As a result, you’ll lose a lot of otherwise faithful readers.
Why? Because some of those readers have practical experience with firearms.
Maybe they are or were in the military. Or maybe they are or were members of a police or sheriff’s department. Or maybe they just like firearms. The point is, they will know the following:
- A magazine holds ammunition and feeds it into the chamber of a semi-automatic firearm, typically using a spring follower in the base of the magazine.
- In a semi-automatic pistol, the magazine is typically inserted into the grip of the pistol. In a semi-automatic rifle, the magazine is typically inserted into the base of the action. (Revolvers also have a “magazine,” although it’s commonly called a “cylinder.”)
- A clip, on the other hand, is a device that is used to store multiple rounds of ammunition together as a unit for insertion into the magazine or cylinder of a firearm.
- The clip for a semi-automatic pistol or rifle is typically called a “stripper clip” because you can “strip” the rounds from the clip directly into the magazine instead of loading them one at a time by hand.
- A clip designed to feed a revolver is called a “moon clip.” Other than to say a moon clip is not the same thing as a “speed loader,” I won’t go into any depth on revolver clips because few people need to know about them for their writing.
Again, authenticity matters.
But thanks to the internet, you no longer have to only “write what you know.” If you need to quickly learn something in order to build or maintain authenticity, you can easily look it up online.
In fact, you could have learned all of the bullet points above in less than a minute by typing “Is a clip the same as a magazine?” into your favorite search engine.
And that’s really the thrust of this whole chapter.
Even mid-sentence while you’re writing, you can easily pop online for a few seconds, ask a question, and get a reliable answer. I do it all the time. I call it “spot research.”
For another example, no modern character will ever smell the acrid stench of cordite during a gunfight. Cordite hasn’t been used as a bullet propellant for several decades.
Authenticity is also why I keep saying human parts don’t have human traits or abilities. Legs don’t race down streets, noses don’t smell scents, eyes don’t shoot across rooms or peruse documents, ears don’t hear things, fingers don’t feel or touch or caress cheeks or comb hair.
The character is doing all of that with his legs, his nose, his eyes, ears, and fingers.
And again, “The reader will know what I mean” is not a valid excuse.
The first time I wrote about this topic around a decade ago, one writer took offense. She said maybe writers who are younger in the craft are not aware of these nuances.
Of course, she’s right. Writers who are younger in the craft might not be aware of these nuances, or they might not have thought about them or realized them yet. In fact, as you’ll see in the final chapter of this book, many writers who are not young in the craft are also not aware of these nuances.
Some of them are bestsellers, too. But I can guarantee they aren’t bestsellers because they knew all the things in this book and chose to ignore them.
But then, that’s exactly why this book, my other nonfiction books, and the blog I’ve been writing for the past few decades exist: to give writers at all stages the opportunity to become aware of these things, and with that awareness to strip away the excuse that “well, I didn’t know.”
Of course, you don’t have to follow any of the guidelines I’ve included in this book. Your characters’ stories and your craft belong to you.
- If you work at the craft, it will improve and you will write better, more authentic, and more salable stories. Maybe this book will help cut your learning curve.
- But if you don’t work at your craft—if you’re okay with the mediocrity of “The reader will know what I mean”—that’s fine too. I’ve done pretty much all I can do to help, but only you can decide whether to learn, absorb, and apply what you find in this book.
The point is, writers who want to improve their craft can do so. Writers who care about the craft strive to learn about and improve the craft.
Back tomorrow with Chapter 9.
Of Interest
Why Research is Important when Writing Fiction It’s as if the author and I were in collaboration.
The source of 10 popular idioms
The Book Marketing System Behind My Crime Thriller Career
Texas State Historical Association Handbook of Texas Anything you want to know about Texas? You can find it here. The physical handbook is six thick hardbound volumes. Thanks to JGV for this reference.