Dictionary: Accuracy

Hello all. This is the beginning of a new series I will be starting on my blog. The series is called "Dictionary," and will explore in A-Z fashion important pieces that make up good fiction. This series will show the techniques I use in my creative writing, as well as provide helpful advice for writing your own fiction (if that's what you are into). The very first entry in the dictionary is "Accuracy."

Accuracy:

"Accuracy refers to how well writers have observed the world. It means showing respect for the most minute details and the deepest truths of your subjects. If the readers feel that the observations are genuine, then the fictional world comes alive" (Jerome Stern, Making Shapely Fiction).

What is meant, then, is if you are writing a story, say for example a police procedural, the details need to show what the procedures of police are. They cannot be made up details or your audience will not believe in the fictional world you created and think you do not know what you are talking about.

A seemingly less important, but really is important, detail would be writing about Suzy's grandmother making no-bake-bars. The ingredients and the process for making the food should be accurate; otherwise, the audience will not buy into the story.

Fiction can be fiction, but it still has to be built on what we know. If your character gets off a train in Chicago and you write, "Bob arrived at the train station in Chicago, then he walked down main street." The reader will not buy into the story. Give the specific station name. Give the specific street name.

Accuracy applies to everything. This includes actions, feelings, morals, customs, culture, habitat, food, etc. The point is there, just because fiction is "fake" doesn't mean it can be inaccurate.

Fiction requires research in order to write with accuracy.