As a voracious reader(as well as a writer), I find that I get annoyed when authors makes consistency errors.
These can be timeline, hair/eye colour, age discrepancies, or just silly mis-facts.
Some of the funniest:
Five or more weeks in February.
Twin Dukes of Devonshire in a regency romance.
A heart surgeon who thinks the withdrawal method a reasonable form of birth control.
A lawyer who thinks the burden of proof is beyond a shadow of a doubt.
A piscean born in Oct/Nov.
A gestation period in the range of 11 months for a human child.
Does one feel sorry for the author in these cases or more so for us the reader?
I prefer that an author respect his/her audience enough to maintain consistency within his created world and research far enough into those things that come from the world around us.
This is especially true for historical works. It is not enough to say it is the year 1810, once a writer does that he/she has an obligation to follow the contraints of that era.
About Me
- K.A.T.
- I'm a history buff with a fascination for the little details who reads endlessly, researches fanatically, and writes obsessively. (and loves sending people spare over my decadent and indulgent use of adjectives & adverbs) My Spicy Romantic short story "Eight Ball" is now available at: http://www.thewildrosepress.com/
1 comment:
Amen. Part of this can be avoided with careful proofing. I try to keep a chart of character descriptions, so I don't turn my hero's brown eyes blue midstory.
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