AND THE READER SAID . . . "GOTCHA!"

Last night, we were watching an episode of NCIS (the original version with Mark Harmon and crew) when Abbey, the brilliant scientific sleuth of the show, discovered an important clue: a plastic water bottle buried in the dirt of Vietnam next to an artifact from the sixties. This raised me from my eight o'clock stupor to mumble, "Vietnam was way before bottled water became an everyday phenomenon."

The thought of this scene nagged at me, even through this morning. It may have been they were trying to tie the artifact to the bad guy who was still in Vietnam in the here and now. But . . . that point wasn't and still isn't clear in my mind. Which brought me to two points I wanted to share with you about writing.

POINT ONE: Readers are so good at picking up on the tiniest of flaws. The funniest blooper I remember (in a movie) is an actress who was in the kitchen making a sandwich during a very poignant scene with her child. As she spoke, she slathered the peanut butter and jelly onto the bread and before putting the bread away, blew into the bag so it filled with air like a balloon, then added the twist tie. I don't remember any of the conversation that occurred after that. My eyes were fixated on the sandwich bag and the thought that this woman had never made a sandwich in her life!

As a writer, it is so important that we understand our subject matter: pay attention to details; know the mannerisms; understand the lingo; and totally enmesh ourselves in the experiences we are committing to paper.

Don't be shy about interviewing at least two professionals, if you have a scene planned that is out of your area of expertise. Ask them to review what you've written or better yet, role-play the parts. I have found my sources to be very receptive because they know they're going to be represented as accurately as possible. This rule of thumb is applicable to all genres, especially fiction.

POINT TWO: Ask for feedback from beta readers. Not family or friends who love you and may say what you want to hear rather than what you need to hear. Ask objective, love-to-read people to critique your work. There are groups of people who will help you in this way. One source with multiple programs for writers and a boatload of books for readers is www.Goodreads.com.

Good luck with you writing goals.

Jo Ann V. Glim is a seasoned veteran of freelance writing and author of the award winning book, "Begotten With Love."  

FIRST PLACE - Biography - Published

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