BY TERRI WAGNER
Here’s something you have to consider if you want to attain the level of an international writer. Think about how often you read a highly acclaimed book that seems mired in details. I have no interest in what kind of stone the horse is walking on unless it’s germane to the story. Like it was loose stone, and the knight later used it for throwing rocks at bad guys.
However, when you are creating a new world, as in fantasy, or writing for a worldwide audience, you have to consider your cultural slipups.
Small example: in the elevator business, everyone knows the machine room is just that, even the Russians and Asians who read and contributed to the magazine knew that. But, in New York only, it was the motor room. A description left over from the very early years of elevatoring. Point being, as technical writers, we had to write “motor room (machine room)” or visa versa just to make sure all of our readers knew what was what.
This is especially true when you are writing about things we all take for granted. For years, in Vietnam, prisoners would rap on the wall when a new prisoner was brought in. The rap went dunt-da-da-dunt-dunt and the corresponding answer was dunt-dunt. That simple code gave the older prisoners and the new one(s) the knowledge that it was an American. For years, “okay” was purely American, but has now traversed the globe and can be used in most any piece of literature.
Bottom line: Don’t assume people in France know what a Confederate rebel is. Don’t assume an Asian will understand a pasta dish. Make sure if you use cultural references, you explain them.
Terri Wagner lives, writes, and edits from her home in Alabama. Her most recent project, Mr. Gunn & Dr. Bohemia by Pete Ford, was released in October, 2013.
