Have you checked your emails?

[oggbashan]

One of my Valentine's Day stories is set in 1959.

I even printed off a 1959 calendar to check that Valentine's day occurred on a Saturday - it did.

I had to consider the hero's age because he had done National Service before going to University.

But halfway through the story I had this line:

"Have you checked your emails?"

In 1959? WTF?

I had made a similar mistake in a story set in the early 1960s, referring to a DVD but readers called me out on it.

Have you ever been guilty of an anachronism that obvious?

 

[MColton84]

One of my Valentine's Day stories is set in 1959.

I even printed off a 1959 calendar to check that Valentine's day occurred on a Saturday - it did.

I had to consider the hero's age because he had done National Service before going to University.

But halfway through the story I had this line:

"Have you checked your emails?"

In 1959? WTF?

I had made a similar mistake in a story set in the early 1960s, referring to a DVD but readers called me out on it.

Have you ever been guilty of an anachronism that obvious?

I have done this in at least two of my stories. I thought I was being careful, reading through previous stories for continuity, ensuring that albums and products were time appropriate, and even confirming information such as the President of the age, which I didn't even use it. It was after the story was published that I realized that certain landmarks and key locations were all just a barren cornfield when the story took place. I am fortunate enough that most of the stories I write take place in a relatively small geographic area. I have also been called out for an error in a different story, in which I changed vehicles between two parts of the same story. These mistakes can be embarrassing, but as long as we learn from them, they shouldn't be a mark of shame.

 

[holliday1960]

Maybe not THAT obvious, but readers in my very first I/T story called me out for "men's pants/jeans didn't have zippers" and "there were no such things as paved roads". Well, they were wrong! First off, zippers were in men's and boy clothing long before 1949... besides, they didn't consider that I'd based the story on things I'd heard family members say from that period and my great-aunt was a seamstress... so she sewed with zippers for the male members of family and community. Paving with asphalt began in the 1800's and yes, the road I referred to was an actual road and WAS asphalt paved at that time. As writers, mistakes can happen, but why do the readers take so much joy from the little mistakes rather than from the larger spirit of the story and effort of the writer to entertain others? It's but one among many reasons I stopped writing. The wages weren't worth the damage of assassins' bullets.

 

[Hypoxia]

Have you ever been guilty of an anachronism that obvious?

Not that I know of. I take great pains to ensure my period pieces are temporally accurate.

In my current project, I have players living through US President Nixon's final days in office, and are involved with a Citroën auto dealer. I had to be sure the timeline was set *before* Citroën sales were banned in the US, and I allowed no appearances by cellphones, digital watches and printers, the Internet, etc. Only then could urban bicycle couriers flourish, with dedicated phone lines in clients' offices. Sunday drumming sessions on Golden Gate Park's 'Hippie Hill' still happened. People openly puffed packaged cigarettes, not e-smokes, and took care to hide any cannabis-smoking.

I spent much of my three weeks writing this 70k word novella busily googling terms and products. to avoid anachronisms. Thus Radio Shack telephone gadgets (speakerphone, answering machine, home fax) were possible but everything was wired except a TV remote control. Only CRT screens, too. No pocket cassette recorders, either, but little Nagra tape decks were available.

In other post-WWII tales, I had to be sure of when a certain route was converted to expressway, or whether certain beers and wines were available, or if certain items of dress were contemporary. Research, research, research.

 

[AllenWoody]

This is why sci-fi is so appealing.

Although, I am guilty of one glaring mistake there. The story was set in 2390. At one point the hero pulled out a PlasmaBlaster 5000 in order to defend himself from a synthsnake. Well, stupid me. The 5000-series PlasmaBlasters weren't available until 2401 or there 'bouts.

 

[TxRad]

My biggest blunder so far has been a digital camera in the 70's. Duh. It never crossed my mind until a reader pointed it out.

 

[missyunderstanding]

Very funny

One of my Valentine's Day stories is set in 1959.

I even printed off a 1959 calendar to check that Valentine's day occurred on a Saturday - it did.

I had to consider the hero's age because he had done National Service before going to University.

But halfway through the story I had this line:

"Have you checked your emails?"

In 1959? WTF?

I had made a similar mistake in a story set in the early 1960s, referring to a DVD but readers called me out on it.

Have you ever been guilty of an anachronism that obvious?

I am not aware of making a mistake like that but then again I have not submitted any stories. But I can see it happening and it can be amusing.

Here is a classical example: Read the book "Robinson Crusoe" and take note of what he is wearing when he swims back to the ship the day after the wreck. Then notice where he stuffs the bread that he finds in the ships galley.

He must be Robinson Crusoe the marsupial.

 

[BelleCanzuto]

I haven't tried to write a period piece yet.

But I am frequently amazed at the things which are old news to me that my <30 co-workers have no idea about...

 

[Bramblethorn]

Not as blatant as that, but I read one story set in the "present day" (around 2015) which had a 30-years-earlier flashback where people were using iPhones.

Just before posting my latest chapter, I noticed a passage where I mention two women getting married, about a year before that was legally possible here. I doubt anybody would have noticed it - not sure I've even given enough information within the story to identify the exact year - but I do try to keep the timeline consistent. Fortunately that was easy enough to fix, as it was only a minor story element.

 

[yukonnights]

In the V-Day story I just finished, the period is 1983 in a remote part of Alaska. I mentioned checking the outdoor temperature on his digital thermometer in the pickup. I was actually laying in bed thinking about the story when I thought; when did vehicles first have digital in-dash or in-mirror readouts? I figured, no big deal, I'll just look it up online.

I spent way too much time trying different searches and never did get a decent answer. (I did learn that Mercedes-Benz had a thermometer in a car in the 1950's ) I ended up deleting the digital reference and the guy just checks the thermometer he's screwed to the forward bed wall of his pickup.

So, if anyone knows let me know and I'll unscrew the other one

 

[YDB95]

I'm more prone to continuity errors than to anachronisms. That said, it's entirely possible that I do have an anachronism in one or more of my stories that neither I nor any of my readers have noticed yet!

 

[MetaBob]

I'm more prone to continuity errors than to anachronisms. That said, it's entirely possible that I do have an anachronism in one or more of my stories that neither I nor any of my readers have noticed yet!

I'm having many issues like that while writing my newest piece, which is set in the first century AD in Britannia and Hibernia, from which very little written documentation survives (or was written in the first place). Everything could be an anachronism! I try to do my best anyway.

 

[NotWise]

I'm having many issues like that while writing my newest piece, which is set in the first century AD in Britannia and Hibernia, from which very little written documentation survives (or was written in the first place). Everything could be an anachronism! I try to do my best anyway.

Parts of the story I'm writing now take place in Leon at about 980 CE. It's the second story I've written around one character, with the first being about twenty years later.

The possibilities for anachronisms abound. My problem is more that there's quite a bit of surviving documentation from the time, not that there's too little. The Caliphate kept records.

 

[Hypoxia]

My V-day novella, set mostly in 1975 San Francisco, is undergoing beta-reads, and I'm now finishing a shorter tale set in San Francisco, Marseilles, and Naples circa 1902-1906. Despite appearances, I was not around then, so I must rely on research to avoid anachronisms. Trans-global cable communications occur but I don't know exactly how such messages were formatted then so I don't quote but only summarize -- I'm sure that PROCEED SORRENTO STOP ENGAGE MADAMA VICENZA STOP would be inauthentic so I just say "Billy followed Jenkins' cabled orders". [/me waves hands, dispels disbelief]

 

[Blind_Justice]

That's the beauty of mainly writing SF and Fantasy: Anachronisms rarely happen. Instead, I have to fact-heck combat techniques, clothes, armor construction and a multitude of other crazy details.

 

[oggbashan]

My V-day novella, set mostly in 1975 San Francisco, is undergoing beta-reads, and I'm now finishing a shorter tale set in San Francisco, Marseilles, and Naples circa 1902-1906. Despite appearances, I was not around then, so I must rely on research to avoid anachronisms. Trans-global cable communications occur but I don't know exactly how such messages were formatted then so I don't quote but only summarize -- I'm sure that PROCEED SORRENTO STOP ENGAGE MADAMA VICENZA STOP would be inauthentic so I just say "Billy followed Jenkins' cabled orders". [/me waves hands, dispels disbelief]

"Proceed" etc would be authentic for the time. World wide telegraphic services were available for the 1870s onwards. Pictures were sent by telegraph wire as early as the 1890s.

There are historic telegrams. For example in the aftermath of the Indian Revolt/first war of independence a British general sent the one-word message - Peccavi = "I have sinned" in Latin therefore, he had retaken the Indian province of Sind.

 

[RetroFan]

Writing most of my stories set in the past, I am very careful to avoid glaring anachronisms. For example, if I mention buildings as landmarks, I make sure they were built the year the story was set, and don't have the World Trade Centre's Twin Towers on the New York city skyline in a story that takes place in 1962.

One story I did get comments on was a First Time story called 'Donny and Karen's Giant Leap' which is set in Philadelphia in 1969, with the narrator a young Vietnam Veteran. I did plenty of research about the Vietnam War as this was before I was born, but some readers said that some of the things in my story were inaccurate.

 

[PennameWombat]

One of my Valentine's Day stories is set in 1959.

I even printed off a 1959 calendar to check that Valentine's day occurred on a Saturday - it did.
<snip>
Have you ever been guilty of an anachronism that obvious?

For checking dates and days I always have at least one tab open on Time and Date Calendars. Can set years from 1 (yes, one) through 3999. I can’t vouch for the accuracy for all years You can also set it for different countries and it’ll list major (and many minor) holidays for that country.

I always double-check the country setting since US custom is start with Sunday and Australia is start with Monday. Misread that and put Halloween, 1980, on a Thursday.

I can’t say I’ve made an email in 1959 error but I have way, way fewer stories. I did have to do some adjustment with references to Sarah Jane Smith with K9 appearances.

 

[MColton84]

Period Pieces.

I can certainly see the difficulty in writing a period piece. Not just the politics, technology, entertainment, and firm historical details of the era, but to also get a handle on fads, mannerisims, and common speech of the time just seems daunting to approach. I am fortunate that as of yet none of my stories take place before 1999. Hats off to anyone that has a mind for such details.

 

[oggbashan]

For checking dates and days I always have at least one tab open on Time and Date Calendars. Can set years from 1 (yes, one) through 3999. I can’t vouch for the accuracy for all years You can also set it for different countries and it’ll list major (and many minor) holidays for that country.

I always double-check the country setting since US custom is start with Sunday and Australia is start with Monday. Misread that and put Halloween, 1980, on a Thursday.

I can’t say I’ve made an email in 1959 error but I have way, way fewer stories. I did have to do some adjustment with references to Sarah Jane Smith with K9 appearances.

The calendar change in 1752 confused many:

https://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/hg/colonialresearch/calendar

And before that there were two calendars running side by side.

During the French Revolution they changed the names of the months and restarted the year count: The first year of the Revolution; the first year of the Republic etc... Newspapers had to use the new dates followered by 'xx months and year vieux style' (Old style).

 

[yowser]

Of course timing is everything. The Julian/Gregorian Calendar business gets worse, some countries adopted it at different times (usually the protestant countries were the last, couldn't have that Pope Gregory be right after all) and a few quite late (Russia not until 1917, which is why you have the 'October Revolution' occurring in November) and Greece and Turkey not until the early 1920's.

Still doesn't explain why Cambridge has the 'May bumps' in June however.

 

[Hypoxia]

"Proceed" etc would be authentic for the time. World wide telegraphic services were available for the 1870s onwards. Pictures were sent by telegraph wire as early as the 1890s.

I know a bit of communication history but I have not yet found online references for message formats circa 1905, specifically for a cable wired from California to France. Well, I might have a 1900 telegraphy manual out in my storage shed but the weather is too damn cold for me to root around in there now. Brrrr...

PS: For a timeless commo system, we have dogs checking their pee-mails.

 

[oggbashan]

I know a bit of communication history but I have not yet found online references for message formats circa 1905, specifically for a cable wired from California to France. Well, I might have a 1900 telegraphy manual out in my storage shed but the weather is too damn cold for me to root around in there now. Brrrr...

PS: For a timeless commo system, we have dogs checking their pee-mails.

Just read Sherlock Holmes...