The Devil is in the Details

I just proofread a novel that involved numerous badasses, all of whom carried various types of guns and engaged in just as many gunfights. Bullets were flying all over the place, but for me, the scenes weren’t believable because the author got a lot of the details wrong. I truly believe that the secret to getting the reader to “buy into” the fantastic elements of a story—be they fantasy, science-fiction, or paranormal—is the attention to detail given to the realistic parts of the story. This means that if you’re dealing with a real city in your story, or a real type of weapon, or an actual historical era, then you better do your research and get it right.

When it comes to guns, if you’re going to use semi-automatics in your story, or revolvers or shotguns, find out at least the very basics of how these weapons work, and don’t depend on what you see on TV for your facts. Know the correct terminology. For instance, the terms bullet, casing, cartridge, and shell all have specific meanings and are not interchangeable. Know how many rounds a particular kind of gun holds. If your character is firing a revolver, don’t have him firing off a dozen shots in a gun battle without reloading. Know how a gun loads and unloads. And don’t assume that all guns have an external safety. I don’t know how many times I’ve read a character clicking the safety off a Glock. Glocks don’t have external safeties.

Now maybe there aren’t a lot of readers who will know whether or not your facts are correct, but some will. And readers can be merciless when they’re displeased. The author may never hear about it, but believe me, the publisher will get an email. And perhaps the author will get a lesser rating when the reader gives his or her review. What review? Book reviews don’t just come from review sites. More and more, readers are expressing their opinions on sites like Amazon and Goodreads.

Many details about guns can be learned by a few simple Internet searches. When it comes to learning how a police department works, some authors really do their research and attend citizen academies or participate in police ridealongs.

So what else can a writer do to learn the inner workings of weaponry and police departments? Coming…a solution. 


~~Jaye

Are You Unapologetically Purple?

Something that tends to go hand in hand with self description is purple prose.  When a writer uses both together, it can make for peculiar, preposterous, and piquant prose.  Or, without the purpleness, a funny—unintentionally funny--scene.  However, the laughs are probably NOT the kind of laughs a serious romance writer is intending to elicit through her description.

Yet it happens, and I see it again and again.  What is purple prose?  It’s flowery, ornate, over-the-top overly descriptive language.  Thirty or forty years ago, purple prose was widely used, especially in romances.  It was, in fact, enough to give the romance genre a bad reputation. 

Here are a couple of examples of self description coupled with purple prose.

“Her unbelievably long, ebony lashes fanned out over her sparkling emerald orbs.”

“His smoky eyes blazed at her even as his tanned, muscled arms held her off.”

Even today, whether on TV or in the movies, when a screenwriter has a romance writer or romance novel in the story and wants to elicit a laugh from the audience, you can be sure a line of purple prose will be used.  Think of the school guidance counselor in the movie 10 Things I Hate About You with Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles.  Ms. Perky, the counselor, writes romance novels in her spare time (and while she’s at school, presumably while she’s paid to be a counselor) and has one of the funniest scenes in the movie when she reads aloud as she types her manuscript, “…at the sight of Reginald’s stiff…swollen…turgid…”  Ms. Perky is at a loss for just the right word.

In walks student Kat (Julia Stiles) at the opportune time and offers up, “Tumescent?”

“Perfect,” replies Ms. Perky.

At the end of the scene, Kat leaves and says, “I’ll let you get back to Reginald and his quivering member.”

To which Ms. Perky repeats to herself, “Quivering member…I like that.”

Admittedly, it’s a funny scene, and there are those who believe that actress Allison Janney, as Ms. Perky, steals the film.  And yet purple prose of the type enjoyed by Ms. Perky is one reason that romance novels, as a genre, are often preceded by the word “trashy.”

I admit that when I was a beginner writer, I had a tendency to want to describe my hero and heroine with overdone description.  I wince now when I read some of my early writings.  It seems to be a natural tendency for beginner writers, especially of romance, to want to use purple prose.  Maybe they’re trying to be creative in describing their hero and heroine in terms not used before.  Maybe they’re just trying to portray their protagonists in glowing terms.  Whatever the reason or temptation, avoid purple prose.

In upcoming posts I’ll give you some tips on using description.

~~Jaye