Getting The Facts Straight

I am now entering what I consider the tough part of editing: getting the facts right. Even in fiction, there are some simple facts that you will have to get correct unless you make it clear that your story takes place in a parallel universe or something like that. I have spent the last few days looking at maps of Germany and the UK, reading up on various towns, and mapping out where my characters would travel. Closer inspection revealed that I will have to re-tweek their journeys.

This is why, as much as many writers hate it, we have to put on our historian hats during this process. I found that I made some huge errors in distance and location of various story landmarks. I mean, HUGE errors. Like, I was pissed at myself for not knowing something that basic. Still, it was good that it was caught and can be corrected before an agent or publishing house saw it. It is very easy to forget or gloss over basic facts during the writing process.

Actually, I think it is best that we do just that, for the sake of getting it all on paper. We just have to remember to go back and really look at the details. Here were a couple of mine:

Are there really any mountains in the areas I said had mountains? I lucked out, because the answer is yes. Is there an area in Ireland where a place like Great Hall could exist without human knowledge? The answer is yes, once a few changes in Great Hall's layout were made.

For every fact I just happened to get right, though, there was one I screwed up on. The best example is the aforementioned big one, which will lead to a total rewrite of a crucial part of both of the first two books. I will be spending the next few days trying to figure out how to correct that blunder without dragging out the action. Again, I'm happy I caught the mistake sooner rather than later.

I say all of that to say this: Keep editing in mind as you write. Read through your work often, and highlight any fact or statement that you are unsure of. Look it up. Be prepared to make major changes if, for example, that bridge you put in during a huge battle never actually existed. There are some things fiction writers can get anyway with, but even in fiction, if the characters believe and live the facts, then we should strive to get them correct.