Q: Kailangan ko lang naman na ipa-edit yung grammar and spelling ko, diba? Bakit kailangan pa ng fact checking?
Ideally a writer would get all their facts right sa writing stage pa lang, but sometimes it doesn't happen, so an editor usually has to step in. Sometimes writers get carried away in the creating of their story, na may mga nakakalusot na details.
Ang mga "facts" na dapat i-check ay magbabago per story, but here are some examples:
- Many arranged marriage story events. Pero na-discuss na natin yan separately.
- Misquoting an author or a movie. Maaaring may quote ka nga at na-cite mo yung source, pero mali naman yung source mo. Mali ka pa rin. Sources of quotes should be credible.
- How foreigners speak. Americans don't say "push through" (as in "the event won't push through") or "conscious" (as in "conscious about my appearance"). Brits say "lift" instead of "elevator." You don't need to add "lah" after every sentence to show a person is Singaporean.
- Timeline inconsistences. For example: Original story is contemporary, mentions iPhone, Facebook, Daniel Padilla etc. Sequel story features the daughter - is realistically supposed to be 20 years in the future, pero hindi "future" ang setting, at contemporary pa rin ang references: may iPhone, Facebook, Daniel Padilla pa rin.
- Travel time. Guy is chasing girl to a place, or another country, and gets there before her. Dapat significantly delayed ang travel ng girl (na-traffic or maraming connection yung flight) otherwise the scenario would be impossible.
- Severity of gun shot wounds. Realistically, one can still die from being shot in the arm or leg, kahit hindi sa heart or major organ tinamaan.
...and many more. These are the facts that sometimes affect your stories and their believability in a big way.
Kailangan pa bang gawin ito? Ang hirap naman. Lahat naman ng telenovela may ganyan. Hindi naman tayo nagde-demand na ifact-check ang telenovela.
Of course you don't have to do this. You can be exactly like the status quo, and do things exactly the way it's been done before. Quits lang.
But you can also choose to be better (especially if you're writing contemporary) and set an example for writers who are learning from you, the way you learned from others.
BINABASA MO ANG
Publishing and Self-publishing: Advice for Writers
Non-Fiction[FILIPINO/ENGLISH] Advice for writers based on my experience self-publishing (more than 20 novels as of now) and traditional publishing (more than 10 novels with a traditional publisher, and consulting for other fellow authors). Read and learn, but...
