A Line and Salt

In case you haven't noticed yet, a lot of my comments on literacy eventually devolve to talking about writing. So this time I'm just going to say right off the bat, I will end up talking about writing.

What I want to look at today is research and its influence on literacy. The first thing that comes to mind is that reading a variety of books provides for a unique insight to research in actual topics. For example, reading a fictional book set in the medieval period may not show you significant historical events- although it can- but it will show you the background behind them. The society that existed then and the ways people went around their business. They will not always give you a concrete thing to say you learned, but they will provide you with an insight into motive.

That said, take fictional pieces (or self-proclaimed factual ones as well- but that’s a whole different rant) with a grain of salt. Not all authors do their research and even those who do must take liberty at some points. Here is where I digress to writing. There is a line between researching for historical accuracy and sacrificing the character. For example, I am currently writing for a character that has transposed from colonial New York into modern day NYC. I have spent hours reading about values and mindsets of the colonial era and figuring out what words and what inventions were around or not around back then. However, I recognize that checking every word and every small detail is time consuming and to the point that will not be appreciated by a reader.

And in fiction, I think that it is okay to draw that line. When your reader knows what they are reading is not the absolute truth, there is room to take liberties. While I would never have the character naturally using recent slang (although awkward use of recent slang is later going to be extremely fun to write for him) it is acceptable to ignore the fact that maybe he has not seen a doorknob that turns before. Well, I didn’t ignore that one fact but I’m sure there are a hundred like it that I did. It is unrealistic to expect an author to know absolutely every little thing about an era long gone and as long as they do enough research to create a realistic portrayal, that’s enough.

So where did I actually start this from? Right; learning from reading- or writing it seems. In research for this new character I have learned a lot of things about word origins and inventions and in reading a British young adult series I have learned a lot of new vernacular mainly exclusive to the United Kingdoms. The point of this babble? Read and learn. Write and learn. Recognize the line and keep your salt close by.