How Real is Too Real?
Tuesday, December 7, 2010 Question of the day (as a follow-up to yesterday's): Does referring to certain real events or pop culture facts make your book dated? Should we just forget about what was going on in the world during the period in which our novels take place unless the events are absolutely crucial to the story? Or does mentioning these things help draw the reader in?
Oh, this is such a good question, and one that I bet everyone will have a different take on - especially depending on your genre (i.e. historical fiction vs. chick lit). I can only speak from experience and say that I don't think there's any hard and fast line, that it's almost a see-as-you-go, in terms of if something will date you or pull the reader out of the story. I also think that it depends on the type of event you're referencing and how much you want readers to reflect on said event/cultural moment.
For example, in Time of My Life, my character travels back to 2000. We all know what happens in 2001 - namely, 9/11. But my character very intentionally makes no reference to the attack, though she makes plenty of other (accurate) historical references. Why? Well, my manuscript was originally set in 2001. When we sold the book, my editor thought it was too much - there were (and are) too many emotions about the events of that year that can set readers off in a variety of directions, and if I had her relive 9/11 (or even just relive the time around it), it became a book about the terrorist attack rather than a book about a woman who wanted to live a different life. And then what? Does she rush to the CIA to warn them? Does her entire quest become about preventing the attacks? You can see how there would be about a million threads to explore around this event alone - and to be sure, they are very worthy threads to explore - but they weren't part of the book I wanted to write. As a reader, much less a writer, I knew how complicated my feelings were about that day, and I understood that many others would feel the same. So I opted to ignore it entirely.
(In hindsight, I do wish, perhaps, that I'd made a small mention of it - maybe she glimpsed the Twin Towers and had a moment of true anguish, but even writing this now, I feel myself wondering - would that be enough? How do you handle it tastefully? It just opens up so many new wounds.)
On the other hand - and in a totally different light - in The Memory of Us, I originally had an entire plot line/theme built around Friends, the tv show. I, of course, thought it was brilliant, until my editor sent me a note and said, exactly as you have asked her, that it dates the book and becomes almost kitschy. Once she pointed this out, I could see what she meant, even though the point of that plot - to have my character relive some of her life from the '90s - was still important to the book. So I focused on a variety of pop culture moments - Fatal Attraction, Four Weddings and a Funeral, etc - and now, I think it works. I don't think there's any shame in focusing on a period of time - in this book, the 80s and 90s - but, well, you can't be cheesy about it.
So how do you know if you're being cheesy? That's the tough part, and as my experience shows me, I think you need wise readers and editors to help guide you. As with many things, you may not truly know what's working and what's not, what's dating the book and what's not, until someone tells you explicitly.
But I'd love to hear from others out there: how much history or pop culture is too much? Do you acknowledge what was going on in the world to a certain degree or choose to create your own versions of the world?
Reader Comments (10)
I don't think there's an easy answer to this one... Like you said, it depends on the story, on the genre, and on the references themselves. I've gone both routes (mentioning or parodying current pop references like "Kanye East" -- but also making up towns and companies to avoid ensnaring myself in anything I'm not specifically trying to address).
Cop out answer: Like any writing technique, it can certainly serve to draw a reader in IF IT'S DONE WELL.
As a reader, I love seeing references to things of certain time periods. I recently read a book that was written in the 80s and really enjoyed all the references the author made. I don't think it dates a book/story at all. It helps us remember. I think if you go back in time, even in fiction, you definitely should talk about things of that time. Even if it's fiction, the story must be believable (unless it's SF or fantasy) or we as readers will think the writer rushed through it. Just my thoughts. By the way, I actually love stories where the author choses a real city or town and throws in references. Even if I haven't been there, it transports me there.
Having my novel set around Hollywood has proven challenging in this area. When I first wrote the book, CNN hadn't started running news at the bottom of the TV screen. That, with the addition of celebrity gossip web sites and streaming, has given me more angles to explore. I've tried to stay focused on the culture surrounding pop events, rather than the specific events themselves.
Good article. I had to get rid of a few Bush references in my novel.
I agree with what Linda S has said. I like to look on novels as windows into a certain time and era. It would be odd to purposely leave out cultural references. A novel is going to reflect the author's time and place whether they want it to or not. We might as well communicate what is actually going on in the world. How much is too much is a more difficult question. Maybe we can ask how much the characters in the novel would naturally encounter pop culture and be influenced by it as the story unfolds.
It also depends on the intent: is the work supposed to be "timeless," or is it supposed to be in a particular time and place? If the former, then you'd want as few anchors (cultural references, place names, etc.) as possible. If the latter, then you'd want as many anchors as you can fit in. Shakespeare is an example of the former; Dickens is an example of the latter.
In addition to being a plot monster, Shakespeare never allowed historical baggage to get in the way of his characters and stories. That's why Richard III works just as well set in the 15th Century as it does in 20th Century fascist England, and why A Midsummer Night's Dream can play equally well in Olde Fantasyland and a 1970's New York disco (see The Donkey Show). But don't read Will for insights into the social, economic or cultural world surrounding his characters.
It's ironic that while critics applaud the accretion of detail and cultural references in a historical novel (think Alan Furst or Patrick O'Brien), they think that same accretion in a story set in 2010 will "date" the work. Will it? Not if the action and characters are informed by the social, political and cultural events of that time. After all, the Victorian era can't be removed from Dickens' novels without wrecking them; the manners and mores of the times are the prime motivators of all his plots. Dickens stories are very hard to set in the modern world -- but we still read them.
It could be the real key is how the cultural (social, economic, political) references explain or advance the plot. If they're just Christmas ornaments -- shiny and pretty, but non-functional -- then all they'll do is make readers ten years from now scratch their heads. (If you get really obscure, those references will make your readers today scratch their heads.) If they work hard enough to set the atmosphere surrounding the story, or even motivate the characters' actions or thoughts, then they serve a purpose.
So, Matt, you may not have to excise those Bush references, as long as one or more of your characters do or think something because they love/hate Bush -- or one of them gets shipped to Iraq. Just make sure the way you set it up will mean something to a reader a few years from now.
Great question; and as an Australian writer, who uses a lot of pop culture references in fiction, I've wondered if referring to things that were and are culturally specific to Australia will make it off-putting for non-Australian readers. This includes significant historical events or people as well as music, childhood tv programs, etc. And yet to leave these out seems tragic and compromising. Be very interested to know what others think. I know that authors like Peter Carey usually have separate editions for the US and Australian and UK markets, with different editors. But that's a luxury most of us won't get. Any thoughts?
I write historical fiction where world events are pretty important, but I'm a fan of cultural references in any genre. I'm especially partial to musical references. Nothing sets a book better for me than the soundtrack. Perhaps author created soundtracks could be downloaded onto ereaders. They probably already are.
I just finished the Stieg Larsson series and didn't find the cultural references that were foreign to me off-putting. I even looked up a few things to find out more about them.
Just saw this - thanks for answering my question, Allison!
I think we just really need another set of eyes to see if what we're mentioning is relevant...