Getting technical details right?

[Voboy]

I try hard to get technical details right.

But then, I'm a geek who enjoys researching stuff and is very curious about all sorts of things. Finding things out and getting new knowledge is fun for me.

In my SF stuff, though, it's set far enough in the future that I can afford to be vague about things I've got zero background in, like space physics and materials science. I mention a few technical terms to give the reader a sense that things like light-speed travel have become possible at some point, without having to explain it.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I guess that's the key. If you get it right, it merely reinforces the story while everything flows around it. Get it wrong and it's like a wrong note at the symphony. One of thousands, but it's the one which will have people wincing.

Exactly. It's what I call "the kernel of truth" philosophy - any story, however fantastic, has to be grounded somewhere with something that is undeniably and unalterably true.

The more kernels you have growing, the more tiny details which are correct (because they are correct), the more likely you are to convince your reader they really are in a massive forest, or walking down a particular street at a particular time of day.

That's when you get comments like this:

Well worth the effort. Nice style, believable characters. Thank you very much.

- there's a reader who has suspended disbelief for six pages.

 

[Bramblethorn]

But just think of the vitriol had you got the shape of the cigarette lighter wrong!

I guess that's the key. If you get it right, it merely reinforces the story while everything flows around it. Get it wrong and it's like a wrong note at the symphony. One of thousands, but it's the one which will have people wincing.

One time I read a story that involved a Scrabble game. It was probably ten years ago, and I don't remember the plot or how the game tied into it - maybe it was strip Scrabble? - but what I do remember is that the play they described was impossible. It required making three words across the same letter all in different directions.

Probably not one reader in a thousand noticed or cared about that detail, but for me it was the thing that broke me out of the story.

I do think it's possible to go much too far in the other direction - authors who've done a lot of research feel obliged to cram it all into the story.

 

[Hypoxia]

To read some of the stories having a "sports" background, I think accurate detail is vital...

I wrote a story with a sports figure, the school's star fullback who got crunched in scrimmage. That's all the detail I needed or could supply there. Unless you're announcing a game's play, you can get away with hand-waving.

I wrote one where flying was important, and I had to do some fair research for accuracy. [ I hope I got it right ]

I've been thinking awhile of stories with a modern gyroplane. I know its tech specs and flying manual but have no idea how to realistically cover much of its operations. Time to wave hands and say "took off", "leveled out," "radioed in," and mostly focus on non-flying stuff. Just bypass uncomfortable dilemmas.

 

[SamScribble]

I try hard to get the details right - unless I'm deliberately messing with the reader.

 

[RetroFan]

Often writing stories set in the past, I'm careful with things such as landmarks, technology and geography to avoid anachronisms.

For example, three of my stories take place in the Brisbane/Gold Coast region of Queensland, Australia. Two of them, 'The Mystery of Melissa' and 'Body Swap With Sister's Boyfriend' are set in the present day, while the third story 'Bridget the Bossy Bridezilla', a tale about cheating yuppies, takes place in the year 1993.

In the two modern day stories, in the Gold Coast scenes characters see the Q1 Tower in Surfers Paradise, one of Australia's tallest buildings. This building does not appear in Bridget the Bossy Bridezilla because it was constructed in the early-mid 2000s, over a decade after the story. If Q1 had appeared in this story in 1993 it would have created an anachronism which overseas readers may not have noticed but most definitely would have been noted by Australian readers.

 

[gordo12]

I spend a lot of time researching details to get things right. Had quite the argument recently over when the bra came into being. The reader was going by the patent date and I showed a news article years before where the term was used. And if it was used then... it didn't just spring up overnight, it had to have been around for a while.

I have some expectation that at some point the police are going to be knocking on my door asking about all that Googling on guns, bombs and poisons...

 

[Betrayer_of_Skalathrax]

I find that technical details are more important the more common a subject is. If your story involves, say, a firefighter or a cop then you better get the details damn close. If your story involves someone working at mission control for SpaceX then you have more leeway to fudge the details.

When I wrote my series Becky's Marine and its follow on pieces I had to go back over my old textbooks and procedures to make sure I had certain military details right and I still managed to get called on one of my stories.

they went on a patrol and were clearing houses when one guy gets hit. I didnt even think to have them bring a corpsman along... silly mistake but one that someone noticed... still bothers me to this day

 

[gunhilltrain]

I co-wrote a story with Blind_Justice... it had a chase scene that went from New York to San Francisco... we did fudge some of it that was on a train having them get off in Las Vegas when there is no train to Vegas but, other than that, the road and times and places were accurate... thank god for Google Maps.

We both thought that accuracy was best for something like this.

I also write Sci-Fi. My Warrior One series is accurate as far as how far star systems are from each other. I found several apps that will tell you that. Some were more accurate than others.

There was a train to Las Vegas until 1997 - basically Salt Lake to Los Angeles with cars running through to Chicago.

I don't know if the time frame or the geography fits into your story.

 

[gunhilltrain]

When and if one decides that that type of detail is needed, then there is indeed a need for research. If it's important enough to include, it's important enough to get right. Getting it wrong will just irritate some readers. Back to the hero's car; let's say there's a need for that kind of detail. Let's say there's a chase scene. Just picking names out of a hat because they seem cool would lead to Steve McQueen having done his famous San Francisco Bullitt chase scene in a Dodge Dart or (other side of the pond) Robin Reliant.

It's here you can start dropping in details to make the story better. (Warning - I have not researched this. Just go with the flow, OK?) "I hammered the gas pedal to the floor, felt the Perelli Roadmaster tires dig into the pavement as the big 450 engine kicked in."

Speaking of Dodge Darts (an admirable car for the era), Dennis Weaver in Duel had the Plymouth version, the Valiant. Of course that makes sense as an ordinary guy's kind of car.

However, the way it's depicted in the movie, he flings it around at high speeds that seem almost implausible for an ordinary driver with that kind of vehicle. But maybe that's the point: a regular guy under pressure may be capable of more than he thought was possible.

 

[Hypoxia]

Kafka and Brecht wrote vivid tales of Amerika with no actual knowledge but what they saw in periodicals and lurid fiction. I feel tempted to set stories in impossible or cartoon locales but not posted as fantasy -- sort of like BULLITT or DIRTY HARRY with their impossible transitions. (One does not spin around Twin Peaks and land in Stinson Beach, not without teleportation.)

If details get in the way, make up some new ones.

 

[eroticstoryspinner]

There was a train to Las Vegas until 1997 - basically Salt Lake to Los Angeles with cars running through to Chicago.

I don't know if the time frame or the geography fits into your story.

Yeah it was the "Desert Wind" route. Cheap airfare killed it.

 

[ChuckWolf]

I usually do enough research to make my story idea plausible or at least sound plausible.

For EARTHSHAKER, I did some research on female orgasms and on vibrators.

Originally in the story, there was more details on EARTHSHAKER, a state-of-the-art, super-advanced vibrator operating on cutting-edge, military grade AI software, repurposed to map out its operator's pussy & cross-reference it with other users, for the sole-purpose of aligning clitoral and g-spot stimulation into a super-intense and prolonged blended orgasm, that often leaves the user crying, drooling and passing out at the peak of pleasure.

Because EARTHSHAKER is constantly learning and satellite-linked to learn from other EARTHSHAKER vibrators, it can anticipate and adapt to its use, so that each orgasm will become more intense and extended; the user can never "get used" to EARTHSHAKER.

I felt that this info would make the story less erotic and a little too "Tom Clancy-esque", so it was omitted, but I might work it into the sequel.

 

[jehoram]

S

However, the way it's depicted in the movie, he flings it around at high speeds that seem almost implausible for an ordinary driver with that kind of vehicle. But maybe that's the point: a regular guy under pressure may be capable of more than he thought was possible.

Well, if I were in the situation of Weaver's character, I would not be thinking "Gee, I must take care not to overstress the engine and possibly shorten its life, even though I am being pursued by a homocidal trucker."

I've been fairly lucky in my own character's stories. I have only the rudiments of an education in photography, but I've been around enough real photographers to pick up some of their jargon and use it in my story "The Yearbook Girl." I've actually had somebody comment that I must be a professional photographer myself, so I guess I got it mostly right.

 

[Hypoxia]

Speaking of Dodge Darts (an admirable car for the era), Dennis Weaver in Duel had the Plymouth version, the Valiant. Of course that makes sense as an ordinary guy's kind of car.

However, the way it's depicted in the movie, he flings it around at high speeds that seem almost implausible for an ordinary driver with that kind of vehicle. But maybe that's the point: a regular guy under pressure may be capable of more than he thought was possible.

Being Dennis Weaver, he could have skipped the standard Valiant with the 225 ci six and gone with a 318 ci, 361 ci, or 383 ci V8, 2- or 4-barrel carbs, and twin exhausts. But saving cash on low-octane fuel would slow him down.

A neighbor's mom drove us to Junior High in a '63 Dart with the 225. Comfy.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Being Dennis Weaver, he could have skipped the standard Valiant with the 225 ci six and gone with a 318 ci, 361 ci, or 383 ci V8, 2- or 4-barrel carbs, and twin exhausts. But saving cash on low-octane fuel would slow him down.

A neighbor's mom drove us to Junior High in a '63 Dart with the 225. Comfy.

They were comfortable. I don't think you can get a roomy yet compact sedan like that anymore. People go for crossover SUVs instead.

Rear-wheel drive in the snow was difficult, however. But I did have a 1975 Oldsmobile with traction control and that did better than cars without it.

 

[KeithD]

I usually do enough research to make my story idea plausible or at least sound plausible.

Same here. I do quite a bit historical but very little sci fi.

 

[ChuckWolf]

Same here. I do quite a bit historical but very little sci fi.

Besides having no interest in writing historically-accurate erotic fiction, I had decided early on that most of my sex stories would take place in the fictitious city of Sierra Diabla.

The one exception I can think of is an old west erotic story that I'm working on, that involves a high stakes card game and having to brush up on poker to get a few details right.

 

[Hypoxia]

The one exception I can think of is an old west erotic story that I'm working on, that involves a high stakes card game and having to brush up on poker to get a few details right.

Will the setting be one of the actual Old Wests, or some fantasy world like those cooked up in penny dreadfuls and horse operas? Will there be a dildo version of the Buntline Special?

BTW you knew that Wild Bill Hickock was actually called Big Bill due to his prominent nose, and he wore women's hats, right? For that matter, the Old West was great for crossdressing guys and gals who left old identities behind. WHAT WAS YOUR NAME IN THE STATES? was a Western anthem.

I'd like a high-stakes poker game where all players and bystanders have reinvented themselves. Who's who? And why? Ah, colorful backstories...

 

[Vix_Giovanni]

If your character stops at a soda shop in 1950s Ottumwa, Iowa for a grape Nehi, you probably don't need to worry about the name of the shop since most readers either won't know or care.

On the other hand, if your character got there in a converted DeLorean, you'd better know what the Flux Capacitor was for or you'll get skewered by readers.

LOL so true! The answer in a nutshell!

 

[Unknown81]

Often writing stories set in the past, I'm careful with things such as landmarks, technology and geography to avoid anachronisms.

For example, three of my stories take place in the Brisbane/Gold Coast region of Queensland, Australia. Two of them, 'The Mystery of Melissa' and 'Body Swap With Sister's Boyfriend' are set in the present day, while the third story 'Bridget the Bossy Bridezilla', a tale about cheating yuppies, takes place in the year 1993.

In the two modern day stories, in the Gold Coast scenes characters see the Q1 Tower in Surfers Paradise, one of Australia's tallest buildings. This building does not appear in Bridget the Bossy Bridezilla because it was constructed in the early-mid 2000s, over a decade after the story. If Q1 had appeared in this story in 1993 it would have created an anachronism which overseas readers may not have noticed but most definitely would have been noted by Australian readers.

If you want things such as what the price of things were, etc., newspapers.com is a good source for information. Have you used that for any of your stories, RetroFan?

 

[Jada59]

I try to stick to what I know. But if it's something I don't know about, I research it well.

 

[ChuckWolf]

Will the setting be one of the actual Old Wests, or some fantasy world like those cooked up in penny dreadfuls and horse operas? Will there be a dildo version of the Buntline Special?

BTW you knew that Wild Bill Hickock was actually called Big Bill due to his prominent nose, and he wore women's hats, right? For that matter, the Old West was great for crossdressing guys and gals who left old identities behind. WHAT WAS YOUR NAME IN THE STATES? was a Western anthem.

I'd like a high-stakes poker game where all players and bystanders have reinvented themselves. Who's who? And why? Ah, colorful backstories...

Well, it's taking place in a fictitious town in the real old west, if that makes sense.

Basic story is that the madam of a saloon/brothel hosts a special card game every month; basic high stakes poker, but with a twist.

A local rancher, a pious and serious man facing the inevitable loss of his ranch to the local bank, decides to enter the special game, as poker is his only vice and he's very good at it, but didn't play while his wife was alive.

Soon after entering the game and having the deed to his ranch converted to chips, the rancher finds out to his dismay what the special rules are.

Each player is handcuffed to his chair and has a saloon girl to hold his cards, while another saloon girl is under the card table, fellating the player and trying to make him cum as quickly as possible. If you cum, you're out of the game and your chips are divided between the house and the remaining players.

But the rancher soon discovers the game is crooked, as the madam wants his land for her own enterprises; soon after the game is started, the other under-the-table saloon girls go on their "breaks", so that the rancher is the only one getting sucked off while playing; the rancher has to somehow beat the other players (most of whom are professional cardsharps), while trying to focus on his cards and not give into the woman voraciously sucking him off, while putting up with taunting comments from the madam and dealing with the other saloon girl sabotaging his game by constantly "accidentally" revealing his cards to the other players.

 

[Grendelpuppy]

Whos the Bitch That Gets Burned

I recently posted a story that was very briefly posted before it got pulled in which the anti-hero commits a mass shooting in retaliation for his wife's interacial infidelity and subsequent pregnancy. I was extremely accurate about the technical details relating to firearms which explains why thr primary weapon was a 12 gauge shotgun rather than an AR-15. The story received numerous comments before it was pulled.

 

[KeithD]

I recently posted a story that was very briefly posted before it got pulled in which the anti-hero commits a mass shooting in retaliation for his wife's interacial infidelity and subsequent pregnancy. I was extremely accurate about the technical details relating to firearms which explains why thr primary weapon was a 12 gauge shotgun rather than an AR-15. The story received numerous comments before it was pulled.

If Laurel doesn't want that sort of story on her Web site, I can understand why.