Greetings to you all! This is my first article of 2012 and also my first article in a few months. These past months conspired against all my free time, loading me up with work and other responsibilities that kept me from contributing my biweekly ravings. Truthfully, I remember little of this so-called ‘December’ other than the wonderful week near the end, wherein I traveled with my girlfriend’s family to the island of Antigua, to spend a traditional ‘green and blue and 85 degree’ Christmas.
It was during Christmas dinner on board a family friend’s yacht in beautiful Falmouth Harbour that I realized just how much work it is to write a convincing story. As I listened to the yacht’s skipper and crew talk about their recent Atlantic crossing, I realized just how bloody much a person needs to know about sailing to even begin to write a convincing nautical yarn. I recalled scenes aboard ship in some of the novels I read this year, from Brent Weeks’ The Black Prism to Michael J. Sullivan’s The Emerald Storm, to the epic nautical fantasy of The Red Wolf Conspiracy; these authors could not simply make it up as they went!
Research, Research
The sheer amount of knowledge needed to properly captain or crew a seafaring vessel takes years to learn and is very difficult to understand if one has not experienced it firsthand. I find myself wondering if the preceding authors have had seafaring experience or simply have done copious research on the topic. Either way, my hat is off to them for presenting such scenes in convincing detail.
This is, of course, the case for nearly any writer on any topic. The visceral scenes of war portrayed in Jim Butcher’s Codex Alera, display thorough research of both military tactics and the consequences of war. Michael J. Sullivan displays a thorough knowledge of courtly politics and the medieval code of chivalry in the later volumes of The Ririya Revelations. Patrick Rothfuss’ command of music and poetry is a key reason for his meteoric rise to the top of the fantasy world. These scenes for me, and for all of us I think, are sobering reminders of how much work it is to write for a living and how disciplined authors need to be to succeed. They need to present enough detail to convince, yet not enough to overwhelm, the reader. Indeed these scenes can sometimes be too much and become pedantic in their detail, drawing the reader out of the story. Balance, as always, is essential.
Merely taking into account the articles I have written for Fantasy Faction, I can recall many, many times when I have had to stop writing in the middle in order to fact-check or verify one of my half-crazed ideas. I can only imagine how different it will be the day I finally write my first novel (optimism!).
Winging It
On the other side, Stephen King once wrote (in The Dark Half) that it is often easier for an author to ‘make it up as they go.’ Certainly, television and movies take their fair share of liberties with reality and many authors follow suit. I find myself incredibly irritated by this kind of storytelling and of course there is an entire strata of the internet devoted to fact-checking (a.k.a. nit-picking) these stories. Regardless, this kind of drivel (author’s biased opinion) still sells by the truckload.
In any medium, police procedurals and courtroom dramas are typically the worst offenders, followed closely by medical dramas. These writers will usually sacrifice accuracy for the sake of a ‘good story.’ All one needs to do is glance at the bestseller lists to see that the frequent factual issues are of little concern to the casual reader.
It’s always a joy to see a well-written fantasy novel in the midst of such books and the reason I have a deep and abiding respect for George R.R. Martin – despite my documented inability to read his books. The man writes so well and so convincingly that he draws in even the reader who buys James Patterson’s latest ‘book.’
Hmm…that sounded suspiciously like the beginnings of a tangent. I think I had better nip that in the bud before it grows to (im)maturity. My point is not to belabor or insult authors like Patterson (well…maybe a little) because the man still does make a living as an author, an accolade I cannot claim (yet.)
In closing, let me simply raise a toast to the authors who go the extra mile with their stories, incorporating a level of detail and fact that allows the reader that deeper connection to the tale. It’s easier to imagine being alongside our heroes when we can picture ourselves standing next to them on the deck of a sailing ship, smelling the salty air and feeling the wind whipping through our hair as we cross the trackless sea into the heart of the unknown.
Title image by GENZOMAN.
Richard Marpole
Jennie Ivins