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PSA: Distances in America
Feb. 13th, 2012 09:14 pmTo all writers, both professional and fannish: America is a big place, and yet some of the important places (though not all) are relatively close together. Sometimes you have to fly to get places in a day. But not always. Sometimes, it is quicker to drive. When your characters are traveling somewhere in America, somewhere you have never been, please do some elementary research to figure out whether it would make more sense for your characters to fly or drive. There's this newfangled thing called Google Maps that can help. It is your friend. Use it.
I have seen so many goofs about stuff like that, it's not even funny. From pros and amateurs.
Like the ep of SG-1 where we meet Sam's new boyfriend Pete, a cop from Denver in Colorado Springs on a case, who says he flew there. It's only like an hour or two away by car.
Like the NCIS/SG-1 crossover where Gibbs et al took a helicopter to the SGC headquarters. From the Navy Yard. Now, the Navy Yard is in DC. The SGC is in Colorado Springs, which is over half a continent away. That's some helicopter. A commercial jet would have been a lot quicker.
Like the NCIS fic I just read where Gibbs' dad flew down to DC instead of driving. Stillwater's about 3.5/4 hours north of DC, and it's an hour away from the nearest airport (Scranton/Wilkes Barre); by the time you drove to the airport, got checked in, got through security, waited for the plane, flew down, got off the plane and through the airport, and then through DC traffic, it would probably be about that fast to just drive, and it would be a lot less hassle.
This is not rocket science, folks. It takes five minutes to figure out.
I have seen so many goofs about stuff like that, it's not even funny. From pros and amateurs.
Like the ep of SG-1 where we meet Sam's new boyfriend Pete, a cop from Denver in Colorado Springs on a case, who says he flew there. It's only like an hour or two away by car.
Like the NCIS/SG-1 crossover where Gibbs et al took a helicopter to the SGC headquarters. From the Navy Yard. Now, the Navy Yard is in DC. The SGC is in Colorado Springs, which is over half a continent away. That's some helicopter. A commercial jet would have been a lot quicker.
Like the NCIS fic I just read where Gibbs' dad flew down to DC instead of driving. Stillwater's about 3.5/4 hours north of DC, and it's an hour away from the nearest airport (Scranton/Wilkes Barre); by the time you drove to the airport, got checked in, got through security, waited for the plane, flew down, got off the plane and through the airport, and then through DC traffic, it would probably be about that fast to just drive, and it would be a lot less hassle.
This is not rocket science, folks. It takes five minutes to figure out.
