SETTING STANDARDS AND CONSISTENCY IN YOUR WRITING REVISITED

            In the original articles, from 2013 and 2018, I addressed this issue but decided it was worth covering again today. I got the initial inspiration right in the middle of not only editing a manuscript for a friend, but creating maps for Meleena’s world in my fantasy series. Since this is the updated version of those articles, I have tweaked and rethought it.

            Some may call this style, but that’s not really what I’m talking about when I say standards and continuity (consistency) in writing. I’ll give an example in the form of a non-existent paragraph from my one of my Meleena’s Adventures novels.

            Meleena did not like taking orders from someone else, yet when Queelan told her to sit down, she did without hesitation. Something about his manner compelled her to comply where she wouldn’t do that for anyone else.

            Hmmm… now that I look at it, I may actually use it somewhere. Sorry, I digress.

            How many of you see the inconsistency? If not, I’ll give you a hint. I didn’t do things the same everywhere.

            For those of you that still didn’t get it, it’s the use of contractions. In the first sentence, I used did not, whereas in the last sentence, I used wouldn’t. This is called a continuity (consistency) error. It’s a simple example of what can be a complex issue. One way is to always use contractions, regardless. Another way is to not use them in the narrative and only use them in dialogue (which I do). Then there’s the possibility of not using contractions in the dialogue when the speaker is a non-native English speaker like I do with one of my characters in the Gold series. The whole point is that however you do it, keep it the same throughout the story.

            Contractions are an immediate example. The same could be said for standards of measure. Say, your characters are European where they’d use the metric system. Don’t have them using meters through most of the story then slip in a foot or an inch somewhere. That’ll likely jar the reader and throw them out of the story.

            In a bigger-picture issue, and to have fun with a terrible cliché, if it’s a dark and stormy night, don’t have a scene with sunshine arcing through a window!

            If you spell a word a certain way, especially if it can be spelled multiple ways, or if it’s a unique name, make sure you keep it spelled the same way throughout. Don’t count on the “saving it in your spell checker” trick to work every time. Don’t forget that you might be working on a different machine once in a while. Or, you may decide not to save it in the spell checker, which I often don’t do with a lot of special words like names. I’m used to seeing red-lined words, especially in my fantasy stories.

            If you have catch phrases your characters say, or habits they have, make sure they say or do them the same each time. Or, if they vary them, make sure to explain the variance somehow so the reader knows why they’re doing it differently. If not, that’s an unexplained continuity issue and will jerk your audience right out of the story.

A WORK IN PROGRESS

            I was once editing a manuscript for a friend. One of my editing standards is that there are no contractions in the narrative, but contractions in the dialogue. The MS, accordingly, was full of red ink. ANY author, when writing from the hip, is going to be inconsistent out the gate with contractions. I am! Even with my own standards and for the most part, automatically using them in dialogue, and not in narrative most of the time, I still slip and put contractions in the wrong place. Even editing, sometimes I don’t catch them, and it takes an editor or proofreader, a second set of eyes to see this.

            Naming characters the same throughout the story is another minor issue, especially in the first few chapters. When I first started my Gold series or The Greenhouse, geez, a few of my characters changed names. I say no more. Continuity and consistency.

            Dialogue tags. This one is a bit more tricky. If you make them too consistent, it looks like a pattern and can be monotonous. In the edit, and in my own work, I used a few “saids” but tend to use action tags most of the time. Same with this manuscript.

            The biggies are story flaws. When a character does something at the beginning yet all of a sudden, halfway through the story, does something completely different, you have a story flaw. Continuity and consistency. A made up example is a character hates apples in the beginning. Then, halfway through, he or she loves apples. We have a problem, especially if there’s no explanation to go with it.

MY MAPPING ISSUE

            At the time, I was dealing with a mapping issue for the second book in the Meleena’s Adventures series. My readers have been asking for a map to go with the book. I drew a crude chicken scratch for Treasure Of The Umbrunna but never went any further with it. It never made the book. I guess a good thing! However, now that the directions for everything were set in stone with that one, I was in the predicament of having to scramble to fix directions with Gods Of The Blue Mountains so that the map for it made sense. It’s something I only vaguely thought of when I wrote it.

            I then had the edited copy of the manuscript and went through it, looking specifically for directions and places. With that info, I made the map and only altered directions and nothing else!

            Eventually, I came up with a workable map that my publisher turned into a palatable presentation for my readers. I guess it was something I should’ve thought about more carefully before I started it all!

SUMMARY

            I’ve barely dipped my toes into all the things to consider when you write your big lie for everyone to enjoy. There are many more examples. Can you name some?

            Happy writing!