by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
One of the hazards of reading so many blogs is that I find out about a lot of fantastic-sounding books. I have a lot of to-be-read books on my Kindle and an even longer list of books that I plan to read.
I’m a very fast reader, but I’m wondering if my list of books can possibly be read in a year or two—if I stop putting new books on it.
Right now, I’m reading a book that mystery writer Margot Kinberg recommended back in February of last year. :)
The book is Josephine Tey’s The Man in the Queue, which was first published in 1929. It’s been a very interesting and enjoyable read so far.
I loved the feeling of being taken back in time with this book. It opens with a line of people waiting to enter a popular show that has a very Vaudeville feel to it.
The police investigation that’s portrayed is, of course, completely different from our modern day methods. There aren’t any police cars—they’re walking or taking the train as they work the case.
This is the enjoyable part of reading a book set in a different time—being transported back in a time machine. This is what I’m expecting and enjoying most about reading a book that launched in 1929. It’s the same enjoyment I get from watching a costume drama at the movies or even from watching black and white films from the 1950s.
It’s a little different when something brings me to a full-stop in a book or movie. That’s when I’m taken out of the experience and am trying to figure out what’s going on.
With Tey’s book, it was a term she used to describe the murder victim: Levantine.
At first, I tried my usual tricks to figure out the word—looked at the context, etc. Then I just skipped over it, hoping I wasn’t missing something important to do with the mystery.
But darned if she didn’t repeat that word over and over again in the next few pages, referred to the victim as a Levantine. Then I remembered that my Kindle had a handy dictionary so I right-clicked on the word and the definition came up.
Le·van·tine CHIEFLY ARCHAIC adj. of or trading to the Levant: the Levantine coast. ■ n. a person who lives in or comes from the Levant.
(2010-04-01). The New Oxford American Dictionary (Kindle Locations 470127-470142). Oxford University Press. Kindle Edition.
I hope I’m not the only one who doesn’t know where the Levant is/was. I had to look that up, too:
Le·vant ARCHAIC the eastern part of the Mediterranean with its islands and neighboring countries.
late 15th cent.: from French, literally “rising,” present participle of lever “to lift” used as a noun in the sense “point of sunrise, east.” (2010-04-01). The New Oxford American Dictionary (Kindle Locations 470088-470099). Oxford University Press. Kindle Edition.
So—an archaic reference. Definitely something I’d want to avoid having in my own books! All the books I’ve written are available as ebooks. To me, this means that they’re going to be around for a long time and potentially read by people after I’m long dead. With any luck.
Of course, we’ve always had the ability to read very old books. But now, digital books provide an even greater chance that our books will be read far into the future. They’re going to be more easily available.
It would be impossible (nearly impossible—I’ve tried) to write a book relevant to modern life without including any modern devices. But naturally, mentioning modern devices dates the books. And I’m writing for today’s reader, primarily.
Old references to technology, to me, date the books in a charming, period-piece way. As long as the references aren’t huge stumbling blocks.
What I am trying to do, though, is construct my sentences so that a reader could get the experience of living in the early 21st century, but hopefully not be completely confused by what they’re reading. And still make sure I’m not irritating today’s readers by over-explaining anything.
I’ve used the word Twitter in one of my books, but I’m thinking in future I might skip references to a particular platform. Because although Twitter is a strong pop-culture reference right now, who knows what will happen to it in the future.
I’m trying to avoid slang and pop culture references that seem micro-trendy.
I’m making sure that there’s enough context around any technology mentions so that a reader could figure out the type of technology I’m talking about. Without annoying modern day readers.
Basically, I’m just trying to make sure there’s nothing in the books that will ever stop a reader completely cold.
I’ve recently heard, on email loops I’m a member of, of some authors who uploaded their backlist to Amazon and edited their books when they did—removing dated references from past decades.
There’s definitely some charm in reading books set in the past, so I didn’t think the authors necessarily had to update their books. But—I did make a couple of changes to Dyeing Shame when I self-published it from backlist. Just a couple of things that jumped out at me as dated when I was reading through the book that I’d originally written in 2002ish.
I really hesitated recently when I structured a murder mystery around a postal carrier as a victim (for a book for Penguin that’s coming out next year.) With all the troubles for the US Postal Service, I wondered if I were dating my book before it even released.
But then I decided that would be a reference that would date the book in a pleasant way instead of a confusing one. My editor seemed to agree with me.
How much has the shift to digital (and the longevity of books) changed the way you write modern-day references into your novels?
Image: Daniel Moyle
Because of the shift to digital I worry less, rather than more. As you pointed out with your experience, ereaders are making it even easier to look things up — to even go and read whole Wikipedia articles.
I do think we have to be conscious of our decisions, though. How much time is passing in your character’s life? Are you going to do like Sue Grafton and make all the stories set in the period the series started, or are you going to do like Rex Stout, and make all books present day… but have your characters remain magically the same age, and their lifestyle never changes? Or are you going to age them like Christie did with Tuppence and Tommy?
Great points, I found I had to add cell phones to my story, and then make sure my character hated them to fit the plot. Also, personal security has advanced so much I had to make sure my character made the statement. “No camera’s — I don’t want my murder on youtube. Technology has moved so damn fast, makes it harder to put folks in jeopardy! :)
I try to avoid naming specific personalities or brands in all of my writing. My characters have never “Googled” anything and they use cellphones rather than iPhones. I do make a few pop-culture references, though.
Elizabeth – First, thank you for the kind mention. I’m glad that you’ve been enjoying The Man in the Queue. You’re right though. There are things in that novel (and lots of others too) that date it. Things like particular words or certain kinds of technology can indeed date a novel, and so can certain kinds of attitudes characters have. How do I avoid that (if I even do…)? I try not to be more specific than I have to be about technology. And I try to use straightforward language that will (I hope anyway) not be too “faddish.”
You make a good point. In the book I’m working on now, I made a reference to “The Brady Bunch” and then wondered if should I include it. Will some of my readers know why mentioning this dated 70’s television show makes my heroine’s comment funny? Something to think about.
I noticed in a Star Trek episode the computer pad too. Way before the iPad.
I think some things will be forever things, but there will be things we want to put in books that will definitely make people say, huh? in the future.
Great post.
The Daring Novelist–They definitely can look it up. I wonder if it will take them out of the story, though. It took me out of Tey’s, but that’s mostly because I originally forgot about the dictionary feature on the Kindle and I was trying to chase down my dictionary.
How much time is passing is key. For instance, my Myrtle Clover series started in the early 2000s. Then it had an ’09 release. Then I decided to put out a book last year. So…Myrtle, an octogenarian, clearly shouldn’t be living in real time. I’m writing another Myrtle right now and she’s still an octogenarian. So many more mobility issues when you’re in your 90s, I think. So everyone is frozen in time. :)
Yolanda–It’s tough, isn’t it? Maybe have the person *lose* their cell phone or not have reception in that location, or something like that. I’m planning on writing a country house murder at the end of the year, and I have to make sure no one can call out–it’s not easy!
Paul–I think I remember Google coming after people in court who mentioned them (well, the publisher, anyway). I’m like you–I have my characters “search online.”
That’s the other reason I try to avoid naming companies and their products! ;-)
It depends, for me – sometimes it frustrates me to read something dated and possibly confusing, but most of the time I actually enjoy reading about something specific to the time because it sets me more thoroughly in that time period. And I don’t even mind having to look something up. (When my sister and I were kids and we would ask our mother to explain absolutely anything that we’d read in a book, she would inevitably reply, “Let’s look it up!”, which would cause great groaning at the time, but now has given me a deep appreciation for digging deeper into what things mean.)
Hopefully since my work is science fiction and set in another galaxy, it won’t be dated for a long time. Funny how technology can catch up though. When I wrote the first book, giving the characters small computer pads, the iPad didn’t even exist yet. I’m sure people read the books now and think I just copied the iPad. (Actually, I got the idea from Star Trek.)
Paul–And a good one!
Margot–Character attitudes–good point. I’m hoping that’s just something that will pleasantly date my books! But it’s definitely something that is specific to an era.
Louise–Ha! My mother and father did the same thing! We had a well-thumbed dictionary. :)
Teresa–It’s food for thought!
Alex –That’s the benefit to writing SF!
Teresa Coltrin–Star Trek was way ahead of its time!
@Elizabeth: I had exactly the same situation with bringing out my back list — the addition of cell phones, etc., REALLY can complicate a plot situation. I don’t think there’s an easy answer, unless we try and make the novel HISTORICAL, so we have an out.
Meanwhile, thanks for all the tweets. I knew I had an angel — !
When it comes to reading, I feel like a child in a candy store with a hundred dollar bill.
Yeah, I go crazy man. :-)
I don’t think you should avoid details that will put your mysteries squarely in the time of the story. Twitter won’t vanish THAT soon, and part of the pleasure of future readers will be the sense that, yes, the early decades of the 21st century were like that. I’d hate to read something from the 60s or 80s or 40s and have all the relevant setting missing and just find myself in a story that might be anywhere and anytime. Reading is a wonderful way to understand history.
Hi Elizabeth – Josephine Tey is an excellent writer .. my uncle was a devoted fan & he was erudite to put it mildly …
I love the term Levantine – coming from the east … from the Eastern Mediterranean: the lands from Greece through to Egypt … in the 16th and 17th Cs the Far East was sometimes known as the High Levant.
The east wind is the Levant, and the west wind is the Ponent … the former from the Latin (levare) ‘to raise’ (sunrise), the latter from (ponere) ‘to set’ (sunset) …
very descriptive words … the Moors would be from the African part of the Med …
But you’re right – and I sure hope your books are around in 100 years, and perhaps even 200 years – now that would be amazing ..
Cheers Hilary
So many points to think about! I would like to have my characters transcend time like Agatha Christie’s. Even though they’re from a different era, people of today still buy her books to read or watch PBS to see them come alive on Masterpiece Theater or Masterpiece Mystery. Margot’s blog is a great place to find new authors and books! There are great comments here also!