In today’s Journal
* Topic: A Matter of Authenticity
* Wow. I was looking over my files
* Today
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
Topic: A Matter of Authenticity
Hey, folks, if you’re ever writing a Marine Corps character, officer or enlisted, use a 24-hour clock when you’re giving the time.
For example, 3 a.m. is “0300” (not even oh-three-hundred) and 6 p.m. is 1800. Most people know that, right? It’s a matter of authenticity.
And if you’re writing that Marine Corps character, NEVER add “hours” to the time. So 3 a.m. is zero-three-hundred (0300), not “0300 hours.”
Adding “hours” after a stated time is an Army thing. Marines don’t do that.
This comes up because I joined a local detachment of the Marine Corps League a couple of months ago. The first email newsletter I received from the commander said their next meeting would be on a particular date at “1300 hours.”
What? To an old retired jarhead, something smelled bad. The Marine Corps League is allegedly open to membership only to Marines, not any members of any other of the armed forces. So they should know better, right?
When I’m reading a book, I trust the author to know what s/he’s talking about. Even in fiction, the writer should strive to get facts right or omit them altogether. When a writer blatantly displays his or her ignorance of any fact, it jerks me out of the story in a heartbeat.
Things like a Marine or sailor calling the deck of a ship a “floor” or a bulkhead a “wall” or a head a “bathroom” (or worse, a “latrine”).
Or a shooter about to load a “clip” into a semiautomatic pistol (it’s a “magazine,” not a clip). Or the smell of “cordite” on the air after someone fires a modern weapon (see “The Smell Of Cordite In The Air Of Inaccuracy“).
One note on the article: the author says it’s all right to use “clip” for “magazine.” It isn’t. A clip (or “stripper clip”) is a thin strip of metal used to load cartridges into a magazine for a rifle or pistol. The clip never goes into a weapon.
Of course if the reader knows as little about weaponry as the writer apparently does, that won’t be a problem. But do you really want to risk running off even one reader because you didn’t do your homework and wrote sloppy?
There are folks out there, detractors, who say I “must” write sloppy because I write one clean draft and am done. But I get my facts straight and my stories work. Yet I know writers who outline everything to death, run their work through critique groups, revise and rewrite all but endlessly to “turn out a good story” and then make a stupid mistake like saying the character is putting a “clip” into the butt of a “revolver.” Uhh, no.
Just sayin’, write with authenticity, ya’ll. It takes very little time to research something to get it right.
Wow. I was looking over my files yesterday (yes, I still keep files of story starts that interested me) and came across a novel start titled “The Three-Year Turn.” This is not to be confused with a novel I wrote later (March 2017) titled “The 13-Month Turn.” Completely different animals.
I wrote the opening to The Three-Year Turn way back in September 2016, but the novel died a quick death after three writing days at just under 5700 words.
Yet when I read over it yesterday late morning, it grabbed me. My storytelling skills have improved a lot in the past 3+ years, so I’m bringing forward only the idea: a man and his wife (and others) live and work in a mining colony on a harsh, distant planet. From there, I’ll recast the story, starting with word one.
It feels good to be excited about a story again. After all, it’s been 21 whole days since I finished my last novel, and 2 days since I finished my last short story. GAWD I’m a slacker! (grin)
So I spent a few hours writing yesterday to be sure the thing was going to take off like I thought it might. And it did. You can see yesterday’s numbers in Day 1 below.
I also designed another new spreadsheet, this one just to keep track of my short stories. Since those have no beginning date and only an ending date (Saturday of each week) I need to keep current on which story is for which week so I don’t lose track and accidentally skip a week.
Today I’ll write early, then post this, then spend the balance of the day doing whatever and reading.
Funny. It isn’t quite 6:30 a.m. yet and it’s already been a good day. (grin)
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
See “How Do You Pick a Title?” at https://killzoneblog.com/2020/02/how-do-you-pick-a-title.html.
See “Writing Exercises” at https://prowriterswriting.com/writing-exercises.
See “You Don’t Need to Suck at Marketing” at https://indiesunlimited.com/2020/02/03/you-dont-need-to-suck-at-marketing/.
See “Scientists Say Your “Mind” Isn’t Confined to Your Brain, or Even Your Body” at https://getpocket.com/explore/item/scientists-say-your-mind-isn-t-confined-to-your-brain-or-even-your-body. Maybe story ideas.
The Numbers
Fiction words today…………………… 4026
Nonfiction words today…………… 830 (Journal)
Writing of The Three-Year Turn (novel)
Day 1…… 3570 words. Total words to date…… 3570
Day 2…… 4026 words. Total words to date…… 7596
Total fiction words for the month……… 17185
Total fiction words for the year………… 82729
Total nonfiction words for the month… 5680
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 36940
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 119669
Calendar Year 2020 Novels to Date…………………… 2
Calendar Year 2020 Novellas to Date……………… X
Calendar Year 2020 Short Stories to Date… 5
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 47
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)………………………………… 8
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)………………… 201
Short story collections……………………………………………… 31