I’ve heard people say time and time again that writers should “write what they know.” Their point is to ensure that people write where they already have prior knowledge and expertise, for accuracy. I get it: checking the facts and realities of what we’re writing about is critical, whether we’re writing fiction or nonfiction.
In Journalism
The July meeting of the St. Mary’s/ Calvert Chapter of the Maryland Writers Association brought us a great presentation on bias in reporting by John DeDakis. John is a career journalist who worked for several years at CNN. He presented an excellent history of reporting and how bias in reporting has been handled over the years, especially in American journalism. John also had significant comments to make about the state of journalism today. John pulled no punches: he believes that a rather loose approach to reporting and poor fact checking have hurt the profession. Further, he argued that the melding of both straight reporting and opinion have undercut public confidence in journalism. This has led to the “alternative facts” and “fake news” mantras of recent years.
John reminded us that when we only had a few networks, there was a clear commitment to accountability and to straight reporting so people had confidence in what they heard. The rise of “boutique” journalism (my term) means that most people use a single, and significantly biased news source. And unless that news source is particularly diligent, (he cites NPR as a good example), few people are receiving accurate, properly vetted news. Again, this compromises public confidence in reporting. John’s latest novel featuring his protagonist Lark Chadwick— Fake—explores these very issues.
In Fiction
Accuracy is important in fiction as well. When our novels are rife with inaccuracies, we undercut public confidence in our writing. Prior to writing Diaspora, the first Mitchell Street novel, I called the Diplomatic Security Service of the US Department of State. This research turned out to be pivotal, and changed one of my story lines. Checking the facts made a difference. Being accurate is a lot tougher in writing science fiction, however. I mean, how may of us can “write what we know” when it comes to interplanetary travel? About the best I can do is keep in mind a few realities, such as distance in space.
When I read Elizabeth Moon’s Kylara Vatta series, I was struck by how long it took for the starships to get from place to place. Trips often took many weeks traveling flat out in space. But given the significant distances in space, that makes sense, and I’ve tried to incorporate some of this in my Flight of the Raven series novels. So while I haven’t ridden in a starship, I can still produce novels that have some basis in physics.
And I all I had to do was to check the facts.
