Yesterday,
we talked about building story-worlds.
A local business did a great job
of building a story around their products.
Over the past couple of years,
they’ve shown the same family
using their products.
These family members are recognizable.
We know their personalities.
We know which new products
each family member would prefer.
Then in a commercial airing this year,
the actor playing the father
and the actor playing the neighbor
were switched.
With this simple continuity mistake,
the world went from being ‘real’
to being ‘fake.’
Even though I knew it was a marketing campaign,
I felt betrayed by the company.
In the romance writing world,
we have editors and beta (or test) readers
who ensure there are no continuity mistakes.
Little mistakes like changing the hero’s tie color
pull readers out of the story.
They destroy trust.
When you’re building a story
around your product,
appoint someone to look for continuity issues.