I was reading a wonderful historical romance last night, when the hero said to the heroine, "I don't want you caught in the fallout." In another passage, the heroine worried about "catching a lot of flak." Why did these two figures of speech jar me as a reader?
Fallout and flak are twentieth century terms. Flak is debris that a fighter pilot must navigate through without damage to his aircraft; fallout refers to the radiation residue from a nuclear reaction. So a cowboy in 1890s Wyoming isn't worried about flak or fallout.
When you have characters think or speak in jargon not of their time, you're guilty of using an anachronism. Maybe you'll get away with it with your readers; maybe not. There is much competition in the book world, and readers are more and more savvy and discriminating. Writing accurate internal and spoken dialogue¹ is a part of researching your story.
Consider this passage:
"Don't worry, dude, I've got your back."
"You can't be here twenty-four seven."
This is an obvious exchange between characters in a contemporary story. The same exchange in a World War II novel might read:
"Don't worry, buddy. I'll watch out for you."
"You can't stay here around the clock."
Or how about the western set in 1875?
"I've got you covered."
"You can't watch over me from sun up till sundown."
Be careful of words like ego. That's a Freudian term and doesn't belong in a Regency. Proper names should reflect the time and setting, too. An example is the girl's name Wendy, which was created by J.M. Barrie. Don't name anyone Wendy if your story is set earlier than 1902.
Fallout and flak are twentieth century terms. Flak is debris that a fighter pilot must navigate through without damage to his aircraft; fallout refers to the radiation residue from a nuclear reaction. So a cowboy in 1890s Wyoming isn't worried about flak or fallout.
When you have characters think or speak in jargon not of their time, you're guilty of using an anachronism. Maybe you'll get away with it with your readers; maybe not. There is much competition in the book world, and readers are more and more savvy and discriminating. Writing accurate internal and spoken dialogue¹ is a part of researching your story.
Consider this passage:
"Don't worry, dude, I've got your back."
"You can't be here twenty-four seven."
This is an obvious exchange between characters in a contemporary story. The same exchange in a World War II novel might read:
"Don't worry, buddy. I'll watch out for you."
"You can't stay here around the clock."
Or how about the western set in 1875?
"I've got you covered."
"You can't watch over me from sun up till sundown."
Be careful of words like ego. That's a Freudian term and doesn't belong in a Regency. Proper names should reflect the time and setting, too. An example is the girl's name Wendy, which was created by J.M. Barrie. Don't name anyone Wendy if your story is set earlier than 1902.
The key is research, made easier for today's writer with the Internet. When in doubt, look it up. Happy writing.
¹For proper formatting of dialogue, click here.
¹For proper formatting of dialogue, click here.
0 comments:
Post a Comment