: Re: Is it ok to reference something modern to give the reader a better idea of what something looks like if the book is set in the Middle Ages? This is a random example but would it be bad

@Carla500

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Attempting To Keep Readers' Minds Inside Our Story

As authors we attempt to do everything we can to keep our readers' minds in our story.

In most stories, as authors, we also want to disappear so the reader can forget she is even reading. In order to do that we create a setting such as 1400s England or whenever/wherever. We do our best to describe the setting so the reader isn't confused.

All of that work we do would be broken in the moment that the reader reads the sentence comparing the shiny sword to a shiny car.

But there is another explanation too.

Writing In The Perspective of A Character

The story should be written in the perspective of some viewpoint character. For example an author may use first-person viewpoint. And, obviously, in that case the first-person character (who lives in the 1400s) cannot make this analogy of shiny car to shiny sword.

But even if we used 3rd person close type of viewpoint we wouldn't want to make that kind of comparison because again the viewpoint character is living in the 1400s.

The main reason we don't do this is because it will tend to jar the reader from the story and make her question if the setting really is the 1400s since the author or character has mentioned an automobile.

As much as possible we do not want to jar the reader from the story because those are the moments when the reader may feel confused and may decide to stop reading.

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