fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #4656 ]

[ SECRET POST #4656 ]

⌈ Secret Post #4656 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.

__________________________________________________

02.

__________________________________________________

03.

__________________________________________________

04.

__________________________________________________

05.

__________________________________________________

06.

__________________________________________________

07.

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 44 secrets from Secret Submission Post #667.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I'm writing a story with a modern setting. I don't know much about the vocations the characters have, but I don't have time to research them. It's shaping up to an okay story on the whole. Do I fudge it and make it an AU where it won't matter that the details aren't quite right, or do you think that's just tacky?

I'm unlikely to get any time to flesh this thing out properly. :(

My opinion is: it's fanfiction, who the hell cares, most people won't even acknowledge they've read or enjoyed it. Make things easy on yourself, and please yourself first.

It's original fic, not fanfic. Although point taken, I'm not exactly writing it professionally.

If it worries you, you could always see if someone who already knows something about these vocations would be willing to beta for you.

That would frankly be amazing. Unfortunately, I sincerely doubt that there are many people who have experience of that vocation who are kicking around this sort of scene and willing to beta.

Couldn't hurt to ask.

I'm curious, where would you ask out of interest? I know ff.net have betas for fandoms but I don't think they have them for original fic?

Try tumblr or reddit.

There's this website called Ask A Manager. It's an advice column about work related questions. But every Saturday they have an open post for commenting about anything. It has a wide readership. You might not get a beta, but if you said you were writing a story and had your top questions about the job, you might get someone who would answer.

Does it really require a ton of time to get the basic idea, though? If you're going to spend many hours writing the story, what's half an hour of Googling?

The other anon is probably right to say that most people won't know or care, but that depends on how prominent these vocations are to your plot. I might be in the minority, but I like it when an author pays attention to the small details. It shows me that they're thoughtful and that they care about the writing. I trust them more to tell a good story to the best of their ability.

Conversely, if an author thinks that doing a little basic research on Wikipedia or doesn't make any effort to get basic terminology right, that tells me a lot, too. It tells me that they think it's OK to do things half-assed, which makes me wonder what else they've half-assed in the fic. It also tells me that they don't have a very high opinion of my intelligence or taste. But like I said, I'm probably in the minority.

It really is that complicated. It's not the basic terminology, it's the whole goddamn complex world in which these vocations operate (military) and the realities of two people in that world falling in love.

That sounds tough. Honestly, if I weren't prepared to do the research and do a halfway decent job of the little details, I wouldn't set a fic in that universe where those little details are so conspicuous and important.

I understand if you're on a deadline, but very few writers look back at something they wrote and say, "Damn, I spent so much time on research and nailed it... wish I hadn't bothered."

It's not a case of not being prepared to do the research, but rather I don't have time. I get 15 minutes time to myself a day atm and I'm usually too tired to do anything constructive.

It’s also not a subject that’s easy to research on Google because the kibd of details i need are about day to day life on a military base. I flat out don't want to Google some of my questions anyway. 'How easy is it to walk into a US army base?' Is probably going to get me added to a fair few watch lists!

I like the story though. If I make it a fictional universe, the glaring inaccuracies won't matter. It's not the solution I would normally pick but don't know what else to do tbh.

Or, you know, you can just google "Life on a military base" and get all kinds of because that shit's not top secret and military brats have social media accounts too.

But anyway, if you've got a military ID, or an approved contractor ID, or a sponsor with a military ID who doesn't appear to be coerced or a hostage, it's a matter of checking in at the gate with the guard and walking on base. You're not going to accidentally walk onto a base because there's a big security fence with cameras and alarms around it and armed guards posted at the entrances. This isn't top secret. People in the army who live on bases generally have civilian friends and families who come to visit them.

First, it's your fic and you can do what you want!
I'm going to say, if their jobs aren't really the focus of the story, it's a lot easier to just drop a few details in as scenery and focus on the love story.
Also, do you characters have to know the entire structure of the military? If they're relatively low-level people, they might not need to know about anything beyond their own little bit of it.

I saw some advice for fantasy writers that said, just write, leave notes about what your character might need to know as you go, and then do your research afterwards and tweak the story accordingly. That way you don't get bogged down researching things that don't directly influence your characters/story.

Plus remember, like 90% of films and tv shows don't get these details right either because they don't know any better, or it doesn't suit the plot!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ SECRET POST #4656 ]

To finish or not to finish

Re: To finish or not to finish

Re: To finish or not to finish

Re: To finish or not to finish

Re: To finish or not to finish

Re: To finish or not to finish

Re: To finish or not to finish

Re: To finish or not to finish

Re: To finish or not to finish

Re: To finish or not to finish

Re: To finish or not to finish

Re: To finish or not to finish

Re: To finish or not to finish

Re: To finish or not to finish

Re: To finish or not to finish