Christine Kohler

Mar 29, 2014 1:14 PM EDT

Thank you for guest blogging and for the affirmation in this particular tip, Mindy. I say "affirmation" because I am bogged down in researching a YA historical novel due to lack of time right now. I know the topic and setting, and the story is telling itself to me. But I bought a bunch of books from Harvard scholar-types. I love NF and have a reputation as a solid researcher in NF, but reading every itch and sneeze and infidelity and rival of Fidel Castro's life is not going to help me write this book better. So thank you for affirming that it's okay to take a general over-view read--to start with--of the topic and setting and historic context by using juvenile fiction.

- Christine Kohler

Mar 29, 2014 5:16 PM EDT

Thank you Christine for having me!

- Mindy McGinnis

Mar 16, 2013 3:14 PM EDT

Well, said, Christine! All fiction must ring true.

- Pam Beres

Mar 16, 2013 3:58 PM EDT

Thank you, Pam. I hope this isn't one of those articles that is "singing to the choir." However, if anyone has ever read a fiction story where they are abruptly stopping and saying "huh? That's not right!" then they know exactly what I'm referring to in this article. In fact, I read a novel last month and it was obvious the author had never been to Texas. He set the novel in a city and area I lived in for 20 years; the plotline and characters were great, but every time I hit a gross inaccuracy it pulled me out of the story. In writing this article, I wanted to save writers that grief, and not feel the sting from reviewers and readers after publication.

- Christine Kohler

Mar 16, 2013 8:16 PM EDT

Christine, I think this should be shouted from the rooftops to all writers. I always question those little things that strike me, to the point of looking up the information for myself. Even in epic fantasy, as you say, daily life examples must ring true. One can't have an eight foot by four foot by several inches thick oaken door held to the frame with brass hinges, for example. I've seen that one on paper. I've become even more sticky about facts than I ever was and couldn't agree more with your assertion here.

Thank you for posting this one.

- Claudette Young

Mar 17, 2013 6:37 AM EDT

I wouldn't worry about singing to the choir Christine. It always has new members and for those who sing off key, it's a good reminder. Thanks so much for your wonderful advice. Great article!

- Anonymous

Mar 17, 2013 2:04 PM EDT

Thank you, Claudette and Anon.

I was just discussing this blog article on a LinkedIn site and I gave as an example that even if in sci-fi/fantasy someone defies gravity, then the law of gravity has to be acknowledged and explain how in the "Other world" the law of gravity doesn't apply.

Claudette, your heavy door/brass hinges example is a good one. That's something that I might not have been bothered by. But I have a niece who majored in medieval history and I bet if she read a novel where a drawbridge is hinged and held by something lightweight and flimsy, or a product not yet discovered, it would be a detail that might cause her to put the book down and not finish it.

- Christine Kohler

Mar 18, 2013 1:35 AM EDT

Hi, I totally agreed. Sometimes I think writers by pass elements of their stories without consulting the facts surrounding the issue. Well said!

- Mils

Apr 01, 2013 1:11 PM EDT

Agree Christine that setting is so important

- Dale Harcombe

Apr 07, 2013 6:02 PM EDT

Hi Dale! Are you the same Dale Harcombe from Australia, author of the YA novel STREETS ON A MAP? If so, maybe you can tell us a bit about your research for setting for this novel. Is there one particular interesting story you'd like to tell us about your research?

(I have a funny story about a sheriff escorting me off a bridge in Arkansas where I was trying to locate Pine Bluff where a Cherokee general had fought a battle during the Civil War.)

With a title like STREETS ON A MAP bet setting is practically personified like a character. Any insight?

- Christine Kohler