While creating a novel, a writer (and eventually her editors) go through many stages. From early brainstorming on plot and characters, to research, to proposing the premise, to writing a first draft, to gaining feedback from trusted early readers, to revisions, and then onward to the editorial process. I admit I enjoy certain phases more than others. I like dreaming up situations to put my characters into. I like research. I love traveling to England. I value editorial feedback—take it to heart and revise as needed. I appreciate my editors a great deal and would never want to do this without them. But there is one aspect of this writing career that I find particularly onerous. I call it, “death by details.” I thought you might be interested in a peek at this point of the process.
I’ve just gone through this stage for my upcoming December release, A Winter by the Sea. My first-round (line) editor has made her changes. My copy editor and proofreader then made their changes and sent me queries about a myriad of (mostly) small details.
This is my last chance to make substantive changes. To triple check facts, dates, etymology, timelines, tenses, and more. (Next the manuscript will be formatted and typeset as the words will appear in the printed book. I will see it once more at final galley stage, but at that point I am supposed to limit myself to making only necessary changes to correct outright errors.)
During this “death by details” phase, I respond back with revisions and questions. Some of these queries are related to simple punctuation. Are these commas needed? Would an em-dash be better here? Others are about issues like: Should I add a tagline to clarify who said what? Should I revise from passive construction to active here? Or, should I trim these repeated words, wordy phrases, or information given earlier?
Word Choice
But the majority of queries relate to word choice. I try to limit myself to words in use in the Regency era (especially in dialogue) but some anachronisms always slip through. I’m grateful for my copyeditor who brings these to my attention. Here are a few examples of words or phrases not yet in use in early decades of 1800. Do any of these surprise you?
Turned down: 1891. Changed to discouraged and rejected.
Hush-hush: dates to 1916. Changed to “a secret.”
Cutlery: meant knives alone then vs. forks, etc. as we think of it today. Changed to: tableware.
Caregiver: 1966. Changed to caretaker.
Hemmed and hawed: Apparently in Great Britain “hemmed and hawed” is actually “hummed and hawed.” I feared American readers would stumble over this variant so I wrote around it instead.
Deflated: E.g. Emily’s buoyancy deflated. First use was 1891. Changed to waned.
Uh-oh: 1925! Changed to “Oh?”
Short fuse: 1958! Changed to: the man is hot-tempered.
Continuity
Other queries relate to continuity issues. For example, in one scene I have a character carrying a leather portfolio. She falls on ice, a gentleman helps her to her feet, and the portfolio seems to disappear. (I forgot about it!) After a helpful query from the copyeditor, I addressed this detail:
She tucked the portfolio under her arm and placed her good hand on his sleeve. As they walked away, he asked, “Does your hand hurt? Tell me honestly.”
Now and again a query will send me back to my earlier research. A proofreader questioned a cost I had listed, suggesting it was too high:
In a nearby alcove, the promised refreshments were arrayed, available for an additional few shillings for those who wished to partake.
I went back to my source and shared it with my copyeditor:
In the 1850 novel, The History of Pendennis, Thackeray describes a ball (in a town based on Sidmouth) with the line: “The refreshment-room… was a room set apart for the purposes of supper, which the landlord had provided for those who chose to partake, at the rate of five shillings per head.” Some prices rose while others fell between 1820 and 1850, so I went with a vague “few shillings.” (For reference, a loaf of bread in 1820 cost 9 pence or 3/4 of a shilling.)
So we decided not to make a change in this instance.
Flora and Fauna
After a mistake in one of my early novels (did you know there are no raccoons in England? 😉) I have learned to check the plants and animals I mention in my books. Thanks to my husband’s love of BBC nature shows like Spring Watch, I remembered seeing a segment on the red squirrel vs. grey squirrel.
I had originally written: A squirrel scurried across his path and the dog began to bark, chasing the flash of grey tail into a nearby field.
With that nature program in mind, I did more research. Yes, both grey squirrels and red squirrels live in the UK now, but only red squirrels are native to England. Grey squirrels were introduced from North America in 1876 as an ornamental species to populate the grounds of stately homes. Since then, the population of grey squirrels has rapidly grown to the detriment to the native red squirrel.
I initially thought of changing the line to: A red squirrel scurried across his path…
But then I thought, would anyone refer to the animal as a “red squirrel” if that was the only kind of squirrel in Great Britain? So instead I changed it to: A squirrel scurried across his path and the dog began to bark, chasing the flash of red tail into a nearby field.
Yes, trying to get all the picayune details right in a novel can certainly be daunting. You have probably heard the saying, “The devil is in the details,” but did you know that saying dates only to the mid-to late 1900s? The original German saying was, “Der liebe Gott steckt im detail,” which translates to “The good God is in the detail,” meaning that whatever one does should be done thoroughly and the truth is in the details. I like that better, don’t you?
Either way, it’s important (but not always fun) to pay attention to the details. If you are an author: Can you relate to the struggle to get the details right? If you are a reader: Do you appreciate when an author pays attention to the details?
Latest posts by Julie Klassen (see all)
- Gifts for Readers…or You! - November 12, 2024
- Research Challenges & A New Release | Guest Post by Erica Vetsch - October 22, 2024
- Book News & Second Chances - October 8, 2024
I loved reading this, Julie…fascinating! But it just brought home why I write CONTEMPORARY! Yes, even as a contemporary writer I have some of the same types of catches and changes, but there’s not nearly as much research involved for me. I’m so grateful to those of you—writers and editors—who are willing to do all that research so I can enjoy a wonderful historical novel that I know was written with such care! But I’ll leave the writing to you guys while I happily set my stories in a world I know first hand! (Or should that be firsthand? Or first-hand? Or maybe just “from experience”? 🙂 )
Thank you, Julie – I loved this peek behind the scenes.
I am a reader who greatly appreciates an author who makes sure the details are accurate! When I find something that just doesn’t seem “right” it completely rips me out of the story and, honestly makes me a tad grumpy – like someone has snatched my cozy blanket away just as I was drifting off to have a nice nap.
So thank you to all the authors like you who make sure my blanket stays firmly in place where it belongs so I can rest and rejuvenate within your wonderful stories!
As Deb said earlier, this is why I don’t prefer writing in the historical genre. Fantasy is much more forgiving, though there are still a myriad of details to consider. I, however, have the prerogative of “deciding” how certain facets of historical life have been altered in my fantasy setting. I do appreciate insights into the editorial process. Thanks for sharing and please continue to write your stories. I love to read them!
Yes, as an author, I try to pay attention to the details. What plants grow in that region? Do they have bears, coyotes, even beavers? Of course, I’m working on an 1800s western right now, but it’s all the same. And you always do an excellent job on your research. But this article was quite interesting. Thanks!!
YES! (Fist pump!) Thank you for going that extra mile to make sure the details are right. Authors can get away with fudging those details with readers who aren’t well-versed in a particular time period, but readers who adore that time period, or also write stories set in that era, will know off the bat if it’s wrong. I recently read two highly-reviewed novels set in WW2 (my era of choice) and was appalled by the historical mistakes – all of which could have been easily corrected during the editorial process. As for my own work, I once misspelled the name of a small Missouri town in a writing contest about seven years ago only to receive the following comment from a judge: “If you can’t get this right, it makes me doubt the rest of your research.” I was so crushed, after getting every other detail correct, that I have since verified every historical detail twice. And may I address a word usage pet peeve? It makes me NUTS every time I find the word “siblings” in a historical novel! I realize authors have to get that word count down, and the word has Old English origins, but it wasn’t commonly used before the mid-20th century. Please use “brothers and sisters” instead!
Like Julie, I try to get my language right for the period, but sometimes words slip through because the English language is so full of expressions and word use has changed so much. Thank you for highlighting the late introduction of the word sibling. It hadn’t occurred to me it was wrong for the period, so I’d never looked it up before. I’ll make sure not to use it in the future!
This blog was so interesting!
I often do my own research of words and details, that I am not familiar with, when reading your books. For example, I googled ‘picayune‘ from you blog. I love your attention to the historical aspects of your writing, especially the details that you include!
Such an interesting post! I knew there are many things an author goes through to create a book, but your detail makes me admire authors even more than I already do. Thank you for doing so much to produce the many enjoyable novels that you do. I am in even more awe. I could never write a book, and appreciate all of those who do!
In my very first book (which was not edited by the small New York romance publisher who bought it so all my mistakes were in print!), I included kudzu in the Georgia Civil War setting. Problem was, kudzu wasn’t introduced to the US until the 1900s. Ack! I only heard from one reader (back in 1984, readers had to send actual letters by mail), but it did make me feel better, about a decade later, when a major bestselling author made the same mistake in one of her novels. I figured, with her readership, she must have heard from many more readers, pointing out her error. I’ve also learned, after 90 books, that no matter how hard I try, some mistakes will slip through. I’m so thankful for editors and early readers who can see things with fresh eyes and help catch those oopsies!
Very interesting. Thanks for enlightening us, your readers, with the details that each book requires before we have the pleasure of reading it.
As an author, I relate to this SO MUCH! I often leave a placeholder like XYZ in place of a detail I know I need to look up while writing the first draft because I don’t want to stop the creative flow. But then, when rewriting like I’m doing now, I’m snowed under by details I need to look up! If I’m pressed for time to get my goal number of pages rewritten in a day, I’ll just leave the placeholder and continue on, putting off the research for yet another day. Getting the details right is intricate, time-consuming work even for me and I write contemporaries!
This makes me glad I am currently writing in ancient times, when no one spoke English, so everything I write is a translation! But even then, readers fuss if one of my English phrases “sounds too modern.” So one trick I’ve learned is to eliminate most of my contractions. As you know, it makes the dialogue sound stilted, which sounds, well, old-fashioned. A trick, but it works! Your post made me grateful I don’t write in the Regency period . . . 🙂
This was such a fascinating glimpse into the writing and editing process, Julie; thank you!
Thanks for a great article that will especially open the eyes of beginning authors! When I wrote two volumes for the “America, the Beautiful” series for Scholastic (Georgia and Kansas) I was constantly aware of issues you’ve presented while having to be meticulous about facts. Writing encyclopedias that have to be factually correct but currently relevant to readers was a challenge like nothing I had imagined. I’d like permission to quote from this article with full credit to you. I never cease to be amazed that so many who want to write a book are unaware of the process that goes with it, but also reconized myself still making some of the same mistakes! Humbling and grateful even for the “death in the details” edits.
Yes, I really appreciate when an author and their team pay attention to details. I probably wouldn’t catch on to words or phrases that weren’t in use yet (unless you used “groovy” in a regency novel, lol). But continuity is a big deal for me. If I’m reading and the characters are sitting down, for example, and then they are standing, I will go back and reread to see when they stood up.
Thank you for sharing this part of the writing process, Julie. I have recently read two books, one a debut novel and the other by a well known (and well loved by me) author which contained a glaring error in mentioning landmarks that were not in existence until 20 years later. In both instances I knew the time period was wrong because I had lived or traveled in the vicinity when they were being built and I was a wee babe during the fictional time referenced. Today I don’t remember anything about the story, plot or characters. I remember those two seemingly insignificant errors.
Fascinating, thanks for posting this and a quick peek of your forthcoming novel!
I didn’t know some of the words and terms weren’t yet known in Regency era England.
I am a new reader of your novels and appreciate how accurate the language and setting is. Those details are so important! It drives me nuts when I read a historical book using modern day dialogue.