The Need For Speed!

 By Mark W. Danielson

A new television commercial unexpectedly sent me back to my early teen years.  In the commercial, a police officer steps off his motorcycle, slowly approaches the stopped vehicle, and asks the kid in his kiddie car, “Do you know how fast you were going?”  Whatever happened after that is lost because in my mind, I was delivering newspapers again in the East SF Bay Area.  At the end of my route, I sped down very steep hill as fast as my bike would take me, hoping the radar cop that frequently parked at the bottom before a great curve would pull me over for speeding.  I have no idea how fast I was actually going, but my bike was banked way over as it took the curve.  Of course, the cop would never have caught me because I would have disappeared up a different hill and down a side street had he ever given chase.  Then again, a wise cop would have realized from my flapping newspaper pack that I was a paper boy and would be repeating my act at same bat time, same bat place, the very next day. 

Two things came from this recollection.  First, for unexplained reasons, I have always felt “the need for speed”, so famously scripted into the movie TOPGUN.  When I was delivering newspapers, I was already flying airplanes.  My paper boy job only allowed one flight per month, but it was worth every cent to get airborne.  Many years later I found myself flying fighter jets a few feet off the deck as fast as they would go and did graduate from TOPGUN.  In all my years since, I have never lost my joy of flying low and fast, but I assure you I don’t do any of that as an airline pilot.

The other thought from this television commercial was how quickly this scene with the cop transported me back in time.  In novels, this is called good writing.  Whether intended or not, a well-written scene or line has the potential to flash readers back to their own experiences.  Although some lines may open old wounds, others may bring smiles or tears of joy.  Either way, if it envelopes the reader then your story has become theirs.  Isn’t that the definition of successful writing? 

When Reality Becomes Fiction

 By Mark W. Danielson

Writing non-fiction can be a lot of fun, but it also requires tremendous scrutiny.  While I prefer accuracy in fictional details, there is no room for error in non-fiction.  In fact, the only thing worse than errors in non-fiction is stealing someone else’s work.  Case in point, reflect on how plagiarism tarnished author Stephen Ambrose’s credibility.

I am currently involved in co-writing a biography, and it has been one of my most challenging works because my collaboration does not involve direct research.  Instead, my job is to turn the presented material into a publishable document. 

The story is one of an immigrant who enlisted in the Marine Corps and becomes a fighter pilot.  A genius that invented air-to-air radar missiles and shot down two MIG 15s on a dark Korean night.  A man so brilliant that President Kennedy asked him to get out of the Marine Corps and go into the private sector.  A man that eventually took us to the moon as NASA’s Chief Engineer for NASA’s Apollo space program.  Sound interesting?  I thought so. 

In the eyes of the co-author, I was the perfect choice to help write this story.  After all, I flew fighters from the same Korean air base a generation later, am a US Navy TOPGUN graduate and air-to-air combat instructor, have published over one hundred non-fiction articles and four novels, and I believe in this story.  But progress has been slow because my understanding of non-fiction is different from my co-author.  While I believe that facts are facts, he thought we could re-write history to give the story more flair.  Sorry, but it doesn’t work that way.  I will never put my name on anything that isn’t true, even under a pseudo name.   

During our last meeting we agreed that he would organize every one of his documents by date, create an accurate timeline, and start over.  Many moons will pass before I become involved in this project again.  However, taking a break is good because whatever material he presents will then be fresh. 

My reason for mentioning this is because any inaccuracy in a non-fiction work will forever cost an author his or her credibility, and without credibility there is no chance of publishing non-fiction again.  Stephen Ambrose’s infractions still haunt his grave.   

To protect yourself, never rely on Internet research, question every source, and consider that every picture relevant to your topic could be Photoshopped.  Most importantly, have an independent source that is familiar with the topic review your work before ever sending it on.    

Don't Mess With Texas

By Mark W. Danielson

I love Texas for its attitude as well as its landscapes. Texas is “The Lone Star State” because it was once the Republic of Texas. Paris, France, still commemorates the Ambassade Du Texas, 1842-1843, as shown in the photo. Interestingly, the Republic of Texas’ relationship with France was strong enough to warrant naming one of its towns after the City of Light. Love it or leave it, Texas is one unique state.

I spent many years living in Texas, and from its panhandle to the Gulf, Texans are full of pride. The “Don’t Mess With Texas” signs that dot its highways warn outsiders of its no-littering policy, but truthfully, this slogan is also an anthem. Where else but Texas would you find a semi-automatic pistol mailbox? ’Nuff said.

Writers love creating Texas characters because of their distinctive qualities. Movies and TV shows love to portray oil barons as rotund, boozing, loud-mouthed middle-aged men who wear cowboy boots, cowboy hats, and drive Caddies with bull horns on their hoods, and while I’ve seen plenty of Texas businessmen in boots and hats with their suits, I can’t say that I’ve ever seen a bull-horned Cadillac on the street. Now gun-toting pickups are a whole different animal, and they’re certainly not on the endangered list.

Because of its stereotypes, people may not realize that Texas has as much geographical variety as California, and along with its topography, its dialects can vary by city. Even towns that are physically close like Fort Worth and Dallas have completely different feels, so if you’re going to write Texas characters into your stories, you had better know what you’re talking about. You’ll find Dallas is as cosmopolitan as Chicago while Fort Worth rivals any cow town. I suspect that Fort Worth’s “Billy Bob’s” is where the country group Alabama realized that “if you’re gonna play in Texas, you gotta have a fiddle in the band.” Of course, some might compare Houston to Nashville because it’s turned out so many country musicians.

The point to all of this is that researching characters is as important as researching locations. Sometimes stereotypes are suitable, but most of the time they’re not, and thinking that Hollywood has done its homework is simply naïve. For example, when some Navy friends of mine spoke to the director of the movie Topgun about its inaccuracies, the director replied, “We’re not making a documentary.” While it’s true that fiction writers make up their stories, unless you’re writing fantasy, it’s best to keep your characters and locations believable. Doing so makes it easier for the reader to put themselves in the setting and become emotionally attached to your characters.