Are you ready for a surprise? I actually have a thought to share about writing today...because, you know, I thought it would be good to write about writing on a blog for writers - at least now and then. Besides, I'm supposed to tend grandchildren in a couple of hours and it takes me an hour to drive there, so I don't have a lot of time this morning. What that has to do with writing, I have no idea. Well, except that I find myself struggling to get words down lately. My brand new tablet refuses to boot up this morning, just when I have so many ideas and writing projects lined up to work on. And, I'll stop rambling now and get to the point.
A few days ago, one of my cousins posted a picture of what happens when you put a soda in the freezer to get it colder faster and then forget about said soda:
I commented on the sticky mess and she replied, "Well, at least it was a diet soda."
My brain froze for a second. Oh. Without the sugar base, diet soda wouldn't be nearly as sticky as regular soda. Duh. Confession time: I rarely drink soda, and I can count on one hand the number of times I have tasted a diet soda. I do know what happens when a bottle of soda at the bottom of a 10 foot high stack of cases of soda explodes. The entire stack topples over and it takes hours for an army of employees and their families, called from their cozy beds on a Sunday morning, to mop up the goo (my dad worked for Coca-Cola when this happened).
What does this have to do with writing? Well, what if the character in my story left her soda in the freezer and I had described it as a diet soda and then went on to describe the nasty, sticky mess and how difficult it was to clean up. Diet soda drinkers would be all over it, because I didn't have my facts straight. Those readers will think my writing looks like this:
Happy writing!
hugs~
My writing looks like this often. My critique group cleans up my messes quite often. This was a great chuckle. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHehehehe. Awesome. Yup, fact checking is soooo important. I've known people to stop reading certain books because the premise was based on a faulty line of thinking. As in plot bust. :) Love the analogy!!! Happy Writing!! (without the goo) :)
ReplyDeleteThat fact checking was such an important part of my nonfiction writing. Really rather pointless without it. Thanks for reminding us.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kari!
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