forget the doctor, is there a mason in the house?

[feralfreak]

im wondering if there is a mason on the forum, i need one to verify some information, i know a little about masonry, but not enough to know if what i got written down is 100 percent accurate, its kinda long, so if there is a mason, private message me an email address to send it to?

[AbabeBill]

I know sometimes it can get complicated, maybe too much to find exactly what you need, and maybe you’ve already gone to “Google” already? But, I’ll mention looking there anyway. A DIY’s best friend. I use often, and sometimes end up directed to a YouTube. 
Good luck with your project!

[feralfreak]

the project, for all the good it will do(likely none) is a book, i dont think any will read it beyond it being a pity read, but in the off chance someone does, i want to make sure everything is right, but im not a mason, i was just a masons helper(first job) and that was decades ago. i did some looking on google, some post some questions on a diy forum

[ValentinesStuff]

Given all the books I've read, being wrong in a book is part of the writing. Some of these were by best selling highly popular, famous even, authors. With professional editors, and major publishing houses behind them. Others are self published Kindle authors.

 

These sorts of facts have ranged from biology, to history, to military, to self created "facts" that changed during the books. And all those facts would have been easily found with a Google search or reference book.

 

Really the only people that would notice would be masons, and possibly contractors and others in the building trades.

 

As long as it sounds right and stays consistent, you shouldn't worry too much about it.

[vvp39]

I remember when we toured the Washington Cathedral and learned about the masons' village that was set up during its construction to accommodate the stonemasons working on the building, a fascinating experience. The guide said that the cathedral couldn't be built today because there just aren't enough masons.
Given this, the number of people who would read a work of fiction and nit-pick about minor errors in this trade would be vanishingly small, I'd suspect.

[rusty pins]

Not sure, but maybe this will help some?   

 

[Crinklz Kat]

33 minutes ago, rusty pins said:

Not sure, but maybe this will help some?   

 

It's the @spoonchicken Anthem!

 

[spoonchicken]

LOL

I've seen a version of that song performed by Glen Campbell live that rocked !

Glen Campbell - Classical Gas - YouTube

 

[feralfreak]

if my information is wrong and someone follows it, and it causes a problem, it would be my fault for not being accurate, i dont want that, or the lawsuit that could happen

[vvp39]

On 7/10/2023 at 9:13 PM, feralfreak said:

if my information is wrong and someone follows it, and it causes a problem, it would be my fault for not being accurate, i dont want that, or the lawsuit that could happen

A disclaimer in the intro or the acknowledgement section, "This is a work of fiction. Technical details may have been altered to fit the story line, or simply because of misinterpretation on my part." Something along that line, I'd think, would cover you.

[Little BabyDoll Christine]

4 hours ago, vvp39 said:

A disclaimer in the intro or the acknowledgement section, "This is a work of fiction. Technical details may have been altered to fit the story line, or simply because of misinterpretation on my part." Something along that line, I'd think, would cover you.

Actually, not even. This is a fetish site, not a home maintenance one. If you took advice from here without follow-up, or even if you took advice from a professional home maintenance site, and then sued, it would be thrown out of any rational court for failure to practice due dilligence and would be considered neglect. If it weren't tossed oout of the trial court, 9 out of 10 times it would be ruled invalid on appeal and that presumes you could get a lawyer to take the case

Another thing DOCUMENT your actions. Get everything in writing and save all records

[feralfreak]

15 hours ago, vvp39 said:

A disclaimer in the intro or the acknowledgement section, "This is a work of fiction. Technical details may have been altered to fit the story line, or simply because of misinterpretation on my part." Something along that line, I'd think, would cover you.

you think my piece of shit book is a story, its a how to for VERY basic carpentry, for total retards written by a retard

[Nyte Kitsune]

Can't help with masonry as I'm a painter (Journeyman Level, unlicensed),  only Mason I know passed away 10 years or so ago (my grandfather) so he wouldn't  be much help, unless you can commune with the dead. 😜 

[Cute_Kitten]

On 7/11/2023 at 12:13 AM, feralfreak said:

if my information is wrong and someone follows it, and it causes a problem, it would be my fault for not being accurate, i dont want that, or the lawsuit that could happen

For Fiction:

If someone takes actual work or construction advice from a novel or a work of fiction, they're a fucking moron. In fact, I'd bet dollars to donuts any ridiculous lawuit like that would get thrown out of court. (Then again, it's current year so who the hell knows any crazy shit can happen.🤡) But any competent lawyer should be able to handle it and translate "Your Honor, the person suing my client is a fucking moron" into legalese and get it dismissed with prejudice. (aka the moron wouldn't be able to try that lawsuit with you again).

You can always put a clause in your fiction book of "This is written for entertainment purposes only and while the author made an attempt to be as accurate as possible, any information or facts presented in the story may not be accurate. If you take mason construction advice from this work of fiction, you're a fucking moron."  Or something in that ball park.

If you want to be as accurate as possible in your work of fiction, my suggestion would be to make a list of the facts you're not sure of/ things you need to know. And go down the old rabbit hole of research. Maybe check out if there are any mason forums? Or if there are any masonry societies or even mason companies in your area you can reach out to. Send them an email or a phone call or an old fashioned letter, whatever floats your boat. Be all "Hey, My name is John Smith and I'm a writer researching masonry for a book. Are there any masons in your company who would be willing to answer a few technical questions?" 

For fiction, IME the general vibe seems to be readers generally expect an author to put forth some effort into researching X topic so  they're at least familiar with the overall ideas and sound like they know what they're talking about. Something along the lines of "I'm not a doctor, I just play one on TV".  You don't have to be an expert, but it does help to be somewhat familiar with your topic so your fictional masons sound like they know what they're talking about. Like if you're writing a novel and you have the Amazon River in Egypt instead of the Nile...well, even general layman readers will know something is not right and might call an author out on that. On the other end of the scale are the nit-picky Experts In Their Field who may or may not even read your book. In general they would proabably be in the minority and while you're writing and editing, my advice would be to not worry about pleasing them. They could the really picky types that no matter how hard you try you'll never please them because they just like to poo-poo everything. 

TLDR: Try to be as accurate as you can but don't kill yourself worrying over every little detail. Do some research so you're familiar with your topic. You're not a doctor; you're just playing one. If you want, you can always try to find an expert to read over your work and fact-check it for you.

 

For Nonfiction:

Now, if you're writing a factual, nonfiction book on masonry....that is where you would want to have your facts right. If you're not a mason, it would depend on the topic. Are you writing an introductory guide (like a general information) to masonry?

If you're writing nonfiction, this is where having your facts right and accurate would be more important. My only advice would be to let your readers know "Hey, I was a Mason's Helper XYZ years ago and here's my experience!" but anything you're not sure of- especially in nonfiction books- it's more important than in a work of fiction to have an expert go over it for accuracy.

Is your nonfiction a memoir? Then you can be straight with your readers and just say "Hey, this book is all about my memories and lived experience, I'm not sure of Facts X,Y,Z so take my words with a grain of rice and double check those facts! I tried reaching out to professional masons, etc did my due diligence and didn't turn up any answers so y'all are on your own. Anyway, back to the time that toilet exploded and everyone had to wear diapers..."  Memoirs are a different nonfiction ball game than instruction manuals or information books such as The ABDL's Guide to Masonry (just made that up, couldn't resist 😁)

 

There is a big difference between the accuracy standard of facts for fiction books vs nonfiction books. Nonfiction books get used as references by readers for facts and information. 

Either way, I wish you the best of luck  and success and have fun writing your book! 

[feralfreak]

what im writing is a how to guide to very basic carpentry, not a book on masonry, but carpentry requires a foundation, which is usually masonry, so my book just touches on a bit of it, what i need is someone who can confirm the names of some of the foudation types, and verify that my information is correct. the book is just enough to be able to build a simple 1 story house(you could probably do a 2 story if you wanted to, but im keeping it basic, 1 story, gable roof, might touch on stairs, the rafters do get a bit detailed but there is a lot to learn about rafters)