Verisimilitude

In most genres authors strive for authenticity. That is, what they write should sound like the truth.

If it is fiction, then it shouldn’t be the actual truth. At least, if it is, it should be well enough disguised to pass as fiction.

Part of this feeling of authenticity comes from the descriptive details.

The wind should be recognizably “wind-like,” whatever that is. Despite our desires, nature is not teleological. It has neither purpose nor intent. It just is. An author cannot ascribe evil or good to forces of nature, except metaphorically. “The wind was against us,” means only that we were sailing into the wind, not that the wind chooses to oppose us. Similarly, we cannot claim weather beyond the bounds of likely ranges. As far as I know, there is no place on earth that reaches more 150 degrees as a daytime high, global warming notwithstanding. In a volcano, sure, but not out in the desert.

Authenticity is essential while writing in a historical context.  Bombers during WWII didn’t drop laser guided bombs. The laser wasn’t discovered until the 1960s. That said, Clive Cussler tells a tale built around the premise that the Chinese utilized a natural laser thousands of years ago. Okay… maybe thriller readers are more gullible or are more willing to suspend disbelief.

Authenticity can often be found in museums.

I just got back from the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, OH. If you’re looking for fantastic and real, that’s not a bad place to start. If you’re interested in guns, go to the Remington museum in Cody, Wyoming. My wife had to drag me out before the bus left without us.

Then again, the bar is not too high. Many authors, even those whose reputations are built on technical authenticity too frequently confuse revolvers with semi-automatic pistols. A Luger is not, and never will be a revolver. Neither will a M1911 Colt .45. If you need a .45 Colt revolver, you better be writing about the old west.

I mention museums because an object is more than its name. Pearl grips and a chrome finish tell much more of a story than “.45 automatic.” The matte black finish and cobra-like forms of a SR-71 convey much more of its sinister character than the simple model designation.

Even if it has no intention of biting you.