You know when you read something, then shake your head and mentally grumble, “That’s not true” or, “That’s impossible, I know.”

I read this line in a novel and had that reaction:

He limped out of there, with a badly busted knee.

NO WAY. Having broken mine, I can tell you with 100% certainty that NO ONE can ‘limp’ away with a broken knee. I couldn’t even breathe much less limp. If an author has doubts over what a human character can do physically (obviously there are exceptions, like super humans, mythic creatures, vampires, zombies, etc.), they need to consult with medical experts. Or, ask someone who’s broken a knee.

Another novel I read that made me gnash my teeth happened when a character dropped a huge emerald and it skittered across the floor. NEVER HAPPENING. Emeralds are softer stones. You drop it, it’ll shatter.

It’s up to the author to check the facts. Even details that seem minor can cast a pall of disbelief if gotten wrong. If the small stuff can’t be believed, can a reader believe the rest of the story? Of course, it’s different if you’re world building. You can bend time, transverse space, do magic, etc. BUT- some truths must still apply. You can’t, for example, have a human walking on Mars without life support suits because the atmosphere on Mars is 95% carbon dioxide, and the temperature is -80F (-60C). However, that rule doesn’t have to apply to aliens. But If Hollywood changes something and gets it wrong, it’s out of the author’s control, and we should blame Hollywood, not them.

For my novel, The Excalibur Vow, I did a lot of checking and rechecking. Because there is little concrete evidence over the existence of King Arthur, Excalibur, and the rest of the legend, I had a lot of leeway to stretch my story. But some details can’t be blustered through: what ancient historic sites like Glastonbury Tor and the inside of the House of Lords look like, what style of sword Excalibur would be, and even what common life was like in 330 C.E.

Yes, it’s time consuming, but I hope no one out there can point to a part of my novel and say, “That’s not possible.” That’s what all writers should strive for.