: Re: How do you verify information? This is a problem I usually come across with my stories. I often worry about whether the plotlines I introduce are realistic or not, and it's usually something

Ditto to Cloudchaser. But let me add a few thoughts.

Do what research you reasonably can. There's no excuse for being lazy. Especially in this Internet age. If I was writing a story set in France and I couldn't remember what the capital of France was, I'd look it up.

If it's hard to find answers because the subject is complex and/or no one really knows, then your readers probably don't know either. While there are some people who delight in pouncing on errors in tiny details, most people don't care. Like, I'm a computer guy. If I read a story in which a character said that COBOL was the first computer language invented, well that's wrong, but unless that statement was central to the whole story I'd surely brush it off and move on.

When in doubt, be vague if possible. If you just can't find out what George Washington's wife's name was, avoid bringing it up, just call her "George Washington's wife" or "Mrs Washington". If you aren't sure whether something would take 5 days or 10 days but common sense says it must be in that ball park, don't say "5 days", just say "many days". Etc.

Readers will routinely accept that you play loose with the truth for the sake of a story. Let them wonder whether you got facts wrong because you really don't know or because you deliberately tinkered with the facts to make your story work. :-) These days I don't think twice about a story where the star ship travels faster than light or where the aliens look exactly like humans but are able to fly and have x-ray vision. Or where Perry Mason only gets big murder cases with innocent clients.

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: Create looping patterns within the dialog, such as the order that people speak, and little mannerisms within their speech. Then repeat the pattern a few times. You don't need to be too rigid

@Annie587

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: Dialog problems with a character with only one name? I have a character who starts as a low servant caste and rises up through society. While plotting, I never bothered to give her more than

@Annie587

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: How do I ratchet down expectations in a genre that seems to have gone gonzo? I've done worldbuilding and extensive plotting for a Book 1 based around a "detective" (not a literal detective

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: Archetype or Stereotype? After feedback on character design for my visual novel, my grizzled Noir Detective is drifting into an Old Jazz Musician. There's a reason I post the artwork: what

: Re: How do you verify information? This is a problem I usually come across with my stories. I often worry about whether the plotlines I introduce are realistic or not, and it's usually something

More posts by @Annie587

: Create looping patterns within the dialog, such as the order that people speak, and little mannerisms within their speech. Then repeat the pattern a few times. You don't need to be too rigid

: Dialog problems with a character with only one name? I have a character who starts as a low servant caste and rises up through society. While plotting, I never bothered to give her more than

: How do I ratchet down expectations in a genre that seems to have gone gonzo? I've done worldbuilding and extensive plotting for a Book 1 based around a "detective" (not a literal detective

: Archetype or Stereotype? After feedback on character design for my visual novel, my grizzled Noir Detective is drifting into an Old Jazz Musician. There's a reason I post the artwork: what

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