Being that I'm a new author, I don't know how much from what I have to say you'll want to take away from this blog, but I just read a book that made me feel the need to write it.
The book I read, Bestial: Werewolf Apocalypse and reviewed here was full of errors that I just couldn't get past.
In this modern day and age we have something on our sides that helps tremendously when it comes to writing, and that thing is called Google. Had William D. Carl spent more time on Google than he did on a Thesaurus, he would have had a much better book.
First let me explain. This book takes place in Cincinnati, where I am from and where I currently live. That was one reason I purchased the book. I wanted to see what kind of chaos Carl was going to bring to my city.
He brought a lot to it, and I was thankful for that. Overall, it was a great story, and for anybody who has never been to Cincinnati, I'm sure it would be the perfect read.
But for me, the errors of the facts of the city in the book were a little too much to ignore, and it made me wonder why he would write a book without doing research, or adequate research.
He did enough to know some of our landmarks, like the Aronoff Center (which he spelled Aranoff), the Brent Spense Bridge (which he called one of the largest suspension bridges in the world and it is neither one of the largest nor a suspension bridge) and State Route 71 (it's actually Interstate 71, Carl).
This got me to thinking about the hours of research I did for my book, Hand One Is Dealt. I spent countless hours on Google and Google Maps, finding locations, double checking to make sure they were still there, checking street view to make sure I was talking about a park bench that actually existed on a street corner that actually existed, and emailing businesses in cities I had never been to just to make sure I had the street name correct that they sat on. I did my time for my book, because I wanted it to be all it could be. I could make a joke here (and really want to) about how if I wanted it to be all it could be I should have had someone else write it, but I won't, even though I just did.
What really gets to me about it all is, I spent the time doing research and for the month that my book has been out in e-book format and the hundreds of people who have downloaded it (and possibly read it) I have yet to hear one review of it, aside from my dad who said it legitimately gave him nightmares and my mom who said I should try writing something nicer and not so scary. Their reviews don't count, they're my parents.
On the flip side, and while trying not to sound bitter at all, Carl has rave reviews about his non-researched book, such as "the kind of debut novel authors dream of writing" and "Carl is an accomplished writer, and this is an excellent first novel". If this is an excellent first novel, which as I said the story is awesome but the facts of the city are horrible, then where does my book rate?
My point here, fellow readers and writers, is that research should be tied with your story in importance. You have a good story to write, and you want to tell it the best you can, make sure you do your research. If you're writing a fantasy novel, don't worry about it so much, because chances are you're going to be writing about stuff that you had to create from the ground up. But if you're writing about a city, especially one that you've never been to, don't say the Greater Cincinnati Airport is right across the street in downtown Cincinnati when it's actually 20 minutes away in Northern Kentucky and can't be seen from Cincinnati, especially if that info can easily be found on Google.
Do your research friends, and all will be well. It can take a decent book and make it worthwhile, and it can take a great book and make it less than decent. It all depends on if you do the research or not.
The book I read, Bestial: Werewolf Apocalypse and reviewed here was full of errors that I just couldn't get past.
In this modern day and age we have something on our sides that helps tremendously when it comes to writing, and that thing is called Google. Had William D. Carl spent more time on Google than he did on a Thesaurus, he would have had a much better book.
First let me explain. This book takes place in Cincinnati, where I am from and where I currently live. That was one reason I purchased the book. I wanted to see what kind of chaos Carl was going to bring to my city.
He brought a lot to it, and I was thankful for that. Overall, it was a great story, and for anybody who has never been to Cincinnati, I'm sure it would be the perfect read.
But for me, the errors of the facts of the city in the book were a little too much to ignore, and it made me wonder why he would write a book without doing research, or adequate research.
He did enough to know some of our landmarks, like the Aronoff Center (which he spelled Aranoff), the Brent Spense Bridge (which he called one of the largest suspension bridges in the world and it is neither one of the largest nor a suspension bridge) and State Route 71 (it's actually Interstate 71, Carl).
This got me to thinking about the hours of research I did for my book, Hand One Is Dealt. I spent countless hours on Google and Google Maps, finding locations, double checking to make sure they were still there, checking street view to make sure I was talking about a park bench that actually existed on a street corner that actually existed, and emailing businesses in cities I had never been to just to make sure I had the street name correct that they sat on. I did my time for my book, because I wanted it to be all it could be. I could make a joke here (and really want to) about how if I wanted it to be all it could be I should have had someone else write it, but I won't, even though I just did.
What really gets to me about it all is, I spent the time doing research and for the month that my book has been out in e-book format and the hundreds of people who have downloaded it (and possibly read it) I have yet to hear one review of it, aside from my dad who said it legitimately gave him nightmares and my mom who said I should try writing something nicer and not so scary. Their reviews don't count, they're my parents.
On the flip side, and while trying not to sound bitter at all, Carl has rave reviews about his non-researched book, such as "the kind of debut novel authors dream of writing" and "Carl is an accomplished writer, and this is an excellent first novel". If this is an excellent first novel, which as I said the story is awesome but the facts of the city are horrible, then where does my book rate?
My point here, fellow readers and writers, is that research should be tied with your story in importance. You have a good story to write, and you want to tell it the best you can, make sure you do your research. If you're writing a fantasy novel, don't worry about it so much, because chances are you're going to be writing about stuff that you had to create from the ground up. But if you're writing about a city, especially one that you've never been to, don't say the Greater Cincinnati Airport is right across the street in downtown Cincinnati when it's actually 20 minutes away in Northern Kentucky and can't be seen from Cincinnati, especially if that info can easily be found on Google.
Do your research friends, and all will be well. It can take a decent book and make it worthwhile, and it can take a great book and make it less than decent. It all depends on if you do the research or not.
No comments have been added yet.
