Trying to keep up

Hippo

Hippo

There I was gaily writing a scene in my novel, where my protagonist and another character decide to leave a pub because it's too smoky, when I suddenly realised that by the time I've finished the first draft (let alone by the time of any possible publication) the smoking legislation will have kicked in (1 July) and there won't be any smoking in pubs!  Hasty deletion and invention of another reason to leave the pub.

Then I heard on the radio that Asda have changed their slogan, 'That's Asda price', which I'd also used (don't ask!).  Blast, that'll have to go, too.

Anyone else out there had to change anything like this?  I guess you eventually reach a cut-off point (the day the book goes to print?), where there's no going back and whatever happens, it's just too late.

I met another novelist at the 'pitch your novel' writing event last summer, whose book was centred on 9/11.  Both agents told him he had to factor in the 7/7 bombings as well and couldn't just ignore them.  Even then, I couldn't help thinking that events could overtake him yet again, even if he moved on to 7/7 - you can keep running just to stand still.  He was adamant the book was about 9/11 and not keen to amend things as they suggested.  I'm still in email contact, so must check out whether he took their advice on board or not.

By the way, I wonder how many millions and how many great minds it took to come up with 'There's no place like Asda' (I think that's the new slogan)?  Scintillating stuff, eh?

Anyanka

Most of my writing is set in the 1980s. No particular reason. The time is mainly in my mind, though, without overt references. I prefer not to tie things down to a particular period!

Iain Banks always mentioned current events, bands and tv shows in his novels, which was his biggest weakness, and makes his writing date rapidly. The narrator of his novel 'Whit' is described as looking like the lead singer of The Cranberries. Not very useful these days!

Iain M. Banks, on the other hand, much cleverer, sets all his novels so far in the future that they will never ever date.

Stirling

Maybe you could set the book firmly in a time before the smoking ban, if you don't want to change it.  I've worked in pubs so if your looking for another reason I would suggest something about the noise level, type of music being played, rowdy behaviour or 'bad beer' (honestly, one customer complained that the beer tasted 'yeasty').

I hit this problem a few months ago with a character who smokes, instead of having him light up in the pub, I had him leave to smoke around the back of the pub.

Jay Mandal

The 'gaily writing' is only too true. I wrote The Dandelion Clock in the eighties, then the age of consent was reduced first from twenty-one to eighteen, and then from eighteen to sixteen. I was afraid my book was as relevant as one about the Cold War. I half-heartedly tried to update it, but it didn't work and we left it set in the eighties. People don't seem to mind.

When I was writing it, I consciously avoided reference to current events so that it wouldn't date too much. But I still ended up with record players.

Nowadays I'm more likely to mention specific things such as Hob-Nobs and Renault rather than a biscuit and a car. I don't know whether that'll make my work sound more dated.

SilentTony

Yes I have had this a few times but only reading a book that is the same as the one I was writing (three times). My new one, hopefully fully fledged to the end so first one also had a hiccup. Jay will like this. In the first chapter it involved a time shift and the hook was centered around a flower. So I used this as the title, The Dandelion Clock it was called. Came on here and went NOOOOOOOOOOO!

Jay Mandal

There's a review on Amazon UK against my book which relates to Guy Burt's book. I'm trying to get Amazon to remove/move it. There's also a large print book with the same name. Best of luck with it.

Jay Mandal

Perhaps we could form a Society of Authors of The Dandelion Clock. It would be very select.

I love it when it's this time of year, and I get all this free publicity courtsey of Mother Nature.

SilentTony

Jay it may be funny to you  but it crippled me for a while. LOL you get. New great title now so cool, shows you need to push.

Jay Mandal

Sorry, Tony. But there doesn't seem to be any problem about using a title that someone else has used. I wouldn't try it with Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Stone, though.

Jan

Do fictional pieces of literature have to be accurate to current circumstances? Surely, as the writing is intended for escapism, events may be set in a non-specific era.

Just pondering, work (money generating) is too hectic to allow me proper time for participation on Talkback, just now. I saw this thread title and thought Hippo might be experiencing similar limitations. Best of luck resolving the dilemma.

Stirling

I do think that we have to try our best to be as accurate as possible (but not necessarily perfect).  Too many mistakes it might induce a reader to throw the book against the wall and never pick up the book again (I've done that a few times), or worse, never buy a title by that author again.

One instance was a book my Mam was reading (she is an avid gardener) and a character was picking raspberries in April.  Bring up the subject of proofreading or editing and she will starting telling the story all over again.

Is that the lasting impression we want a reader to go away with after reading one of our books?.

Anyanka

Stirling, I agree. If you can't be accurate, be vague but do not be wrong! A mistake stops the reading flow, and makes me wary of all the other information in the book. It interrupts the suspension of disbelief, and shifts my focus away from the story and onto the factual error.

For example, 'Miss Smilla's Sense of Snow' features a character who has scars on his wrists, caused by the cuffs of his divingsuit during a rapid descend, something to do with the excessive increase of pressure. Absolute twaddle. He'd get the bends, not scars. After that clanger, I didn't believe anything else in the novel.

Jay Mandal

I got bruises on my feet when I attempted to water-ski. I thought at first the tops of my feet hurt because they were sunburnt.

Hippo

Jan, trying to keep up with Talkback is, indeed, a permanent problem for me!  I'm having a big catch-up session now, but really little and often is a better approach...

Jan

"Little and often" Hippo,

Indeed, and I would like work to be less demanding, than present, so that I could make a daily visit to this wonderful team of good people.

This is just a quick peek, I'm unlikely to have time for a proper gander until May.

Anyanka

Thanks, Claudia, didn't know that the bends only happened on the way up. But I definitely would research facts like that properly before putting them in a novel!

Tessa Tangent

"I got bruises on my feet when I attempted to water-ski".

Jay, believe me, you were lucky if it was only your feet.

Keeping up on here is extremely difficult and, replying to Hippo's initial question, yes, it seems we have to anticipate what will be going on in a few years' time, if writing is set in the present or future.

But then, it's fiction and there are editors around to point out those kind of errors by that stage.