One thing all good writers do
If you don’t have cred, you don’t get read.
Happy Friday,
Sometimes I know what I’m going to write about long before I get here. Other times, inspiration is the proverbial needle in a haystack. Today was the latter.
So I decided to paste in my new Medium articles first.
And voila, inspiration found me.
Two of my articles this week are about writers failing to fact check.
Is there a faster way to shoot yourself in the foot as a writer?
Let’s play pretend…
Imagine some political writer keeps writing about what’s wrong with America and problems in America, etc. Dude has a lot to say, except he keeps referring to the past president as “Ronald Trump.” And it’s not a joke. He thinks that’s his name.
How credible is he? (Hint: he’s not)
Imagine some historical writer releases a book or article about the silent heroes of the holocaust, but seems to think “Hidler” put Swedish people in camps.
Those seem like dumb examples, right?
I mean, blatantly ridiculous. I know.
But that’s exactly how dumb it looks for someone who is familiar with the information that a writer is obviously “not” familiar with.
It’s not a good look, if you know what I mean.
Even fiction writers fact check
Liz Gilbert has a delightful story about the index cards she created when she was writing “The Signature of All Things.” The protagonist studied moss, and she wanted to be sure that if someone who knew moss read her book, her facts would be right.
If you’re writing about dragons, you get to make it up. Fairies and fantasy and fiction, you get to wing most of it. But any of the real parts? They need to BE real. It’s why authors research before they write.
One thing all good writers do? Fact check.
We all know at least one person who isn’t what you’d call believable. I have a family member like that. Never know if he’s telling the truth or just boldface lying. People like that have no credibility.
Same applies for writers. Facts matter. That’s why sites like Medium tell writers that they are free to share “opinions” but if they’re using facts, cite them. Preferably with a credible link. It takes a little longer, but the credibility is worth it.
It’s not like we have to go to the library and use the microfiche. When a writer can’t be bothered to fact check, eventually readers won’t bother to read.
If you don’t have cred, you don’t get read.
/rant
Here’s what I wrote this week…
The $100K Writing Challenge Is Just The Start Of Something Much Bigger
I’m stunned by how many writers don’t see what’s happening…#JusticeForCameronHerrin Isn’t “Pretty Privilege.” It Was Bots, Ffs.
Good writers get their facts straight.Every Woman Has More Than One Story. An August Writing Challenge
61.7K minutes of reading, cigarettes and tape worms.
“Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.”
-Aldous Huxley, Complete Essays
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Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!
xo,
Linda
Is that a fact????
When you write about an iconic character, even a fictional one, you better be spot on. I wrote a crime scene sketch of one of Sherlock Holmes' cases and got letters from all over the world - places like Japan, Nigeria, and, of course, the UK. (This pre-dated the internet and emails)
I apparently had the furniture the wrong way around. The desk was wrong for the Australian, and the bed wrong for the Swede. Apparently, my interpretation of the scene (there were no pictures) was too American.