If there's one thing I hate, it's anachronisms--something not in context of the time in which it is presented. The most famous example is the clock striking in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. The Romans didn't have clocks, they had sundials. Of course, "the sundial just struck midnight" wouldn't have quite the same force, and ol' Will being who he was, we allow for things like that, whereas, if Toni V. Sweeney or Icy Snow Blackstone wrote it, we wouldn't! Writers do it, though. With a vengeance. I suppose it's difficult to remember that people in time periods other than our own--give or take even a few decades--didn't always speak the same way we do today. Even the meanings of words change. Take, as an example, the word "gay." (Now, don't cringe.) In its original use, this word meant either: 1)bright and showy, or 2) lively and merry. In the 17th century, it meant licentious and wanton, or a prostitute; back then, a gay man was one who chased women. Hm. During the 'Thirties and 'Forties," it meant "to be a smart-mouth" or "to speak back," and today...? Language is a fluid thing and is continuously changing, as this little example shows. That's the one big argument for time travel stories--even two hundred years ago, English didn't sound exactly like it does now. For example, in Murder in Old Blood, the police lieutenant (who just happens to have a degree in Ancient Terran Languages, what a surprise!) speaks to the vampire in his own language--18th century English, thereby bringing herself most definitely to his attention, since he hasn't spoken it in half a millennium.) Oh, we have to have a little leeway--otherwise the books is going to get bogged down and go nowhere--but just how difficult is it to remember that modern slang has no place in a story set in medieval England, unless it's a time travel story or is being played for laughs and satire? There is nothing that makes me cringe quicker than the weary knight who just went ten rounds with a fire-breathing dragon, saying, as he staggers to his tent: "I'm sleeping in tomorrow. Don't anyone wake me, okay?" As far as I'm concerned, the story came to a skidding halt, right there. When I write a story, I always try to insert a few words or phrases actually used in that period, but ones comprehensible in their context so even if the reader doesn't know the word, he can infer its meaning. Look for substitutes for "Okay." Yes, aye, as you will, it will be as you say, very well, so be it....there are plenty of ways to get the idea of agreement across without using that word which is such now an integral part of our language.

The same goes for objects. Let's say your hero is in 1813 Vienna, Austria. He puffs on a cigarette. How prevalent were cigarettes in 1806? Research showed that cigarettes were common during that time in Europe but were called cigaritos. Sulphur matches (later called Lucifers) were developed around the same time in England. He goes to a coffee shop and has a cup of Joe. If he's in Vienna, that's permissible, because coffeehouses (the proper term) were common during that time, so the drinking of coffee (not "Joe" or "java") was an accepted practice. How about chewing gum? Could your hero chomp on a stick of gum to dispel his coffee-breath before going to court his sweetheart? The formula for gum was introduced by none other than General Santa Ana, of Alamo fame. It was very available throughout the Midwest during the late 19th century, so you might have to switch locales or have him be an American who brought a couple of samples of Mr. Wrigley's gum with him when he moved to Austria.

Now that we're in a new century, the opposite is in effect. Stories I wrote in the 20th century have to be updated. That cell-phone which was a science fiction marvel in 1989 is now a common accessory. The "cold" laser I introduced in The Rose and the Dragon, in 1990, actually exists! So, whether your story is set in 1009 or 2009, make certain your characters' speech, clothing, and ways of life are set within those boundaries, and you won't set your readers'--and my--teeth on edge!