I was writing a story about a baker for months and got the flour all wrong

I was describing my character sifting flour for a cake, picturing that big fluffy cloud. Then I watched my friend, who actually runs a bakery in Toledo, make a batch of scones. She just scooped and leveled it right from the bag, saying 'You only sift if it's lumpy or you need it super light.' I'd been adding this poetic detail that was totally wrong for the scene. Has anyone else had a simple real-world fact completely upend a piece you were writing?

3 comments

3 Comments

emeryj661mo ago

Man, that's why I always google the boring stuff first.

mianelson1mo ago

Yeah, that's a classic. I did the same thing with car engines once. Wrote a whole scene about a mechanic fixing something that was totally wrong.

annajenkins1mo ago

My last book had a character identify a bird by its call... it was a tropical bird that doesn't even live here. A reader who was a birdwatcher sent me a very nice, very detailed email correcting me. I wanted to crawl into a hole.