How do you know that? WHY do you know that?

Random Academic to the author of this article.

Are you one of those people to whom just about everybody says, 'You know the strangest trivia.'? Does it get your nanny sometimes? Me, too. You see, there is no such thing as truly useless information. Sooner or later, you're glad you knew that. It will come in handy, whether to save your life or win the pub quiz.

Or help you with your next piece of writing.

You can recycle, you know. Nothing you learn about should ever go to waste. Think about it. That trip to the grocery store. Did you learn anything? Well, the fat content of that cheese was way higher than you thought. Hmm…

• 500-word post to a user-generated nutrition site on the importance of reading labels.
• In-depth interview with food tester. (Needs more research.)
• Scene in your new novel in which the main character muses over the connection between her food choices and her responses at speed dating nights.
• Science fiction story about aliens who discover cheese. Or use it to control humanity. Or go to war against it.

See what I mean? Put that packrat mind of yours to good use. It doesn't have to be exotic information, such as Matthew Weiner's command of advertising trivia, or Thomas Harris' encyclopedic knowledge of Italian art. You might have just found out something cool about the history of the corkscrew. You could work it in.

Let me give you a couple of examples. I promise they won't hurt. The first one is fairly lighthearted. Study this picture:

The year is 1922. This young lady is a 'flapper', a liberated young woman. Good for her. Now, if you thought flappers were about fashion, think again. They were about making a statement. Boy, does that outfit make a statement. Like a 21st-century woman wearing a lace camisole, broomstick skirt, and Doc Martens. It says, 'Don't tell me what I'm like. I'll tell you.' Fair enough.

To make the statement, these young ladies wore their galoshes unfastened. We know that kind of fashion statement. Like unlaced shoes, or an unbuttoned shirt. That kind of thing sends the parental units up the walls. Can you use this? Sure, in a historical article or story set in the past. Or anecdote. Or cartoon. NOT, please, in casual conversation.

Used in casual conversation, that sort of factoid gets you Looks. You know what I mean. But judiciously applied, this sort of trivia livens up your writing, illuminates the story, and enlightens your readers without boring the socks off them. The 'not boring the socks off them' part is important, so keep it in mind.

Okay, my second example. This one's not funny at all. In fact, everybody I've shared it with has become angry. But it's still a good way to get a point across.

Did you know that there was a Pan-African flag? It's very simple: red, black, and green. It was designed for Marcus Garvey's UNIA in 1920 to carry at a rally in New York. Now, your first reaction may be to ask, 'Why would African Americans want a flag? Weren't they happy with the US flag? What were they trying to prove?' etc, etc. A natural reaction from a denizen of the 21st Century. But wait till you hear the story.

In 1901, there was a hit song. A hit, mind you, that played on Broadway. This song sold records and sheet music and was performed by a lot of singers. This song's title was 'Everyone Has a Flag But…'… and I'm not going to finish that song title. It's offensive. We don't even let that past the filter on this site. See what I mean? Now, if you were an African American living in the US at that time, how would you have felt? Did you listen to that song?

Now, you're as mad as the rest of us. Good.

So Marcus Garvey and his friends decided to make their own flag. Garvey said make it red for the oppressed workers of the world, black for Africans and African Americans, and green because he sympathised with Irish independence. Of course, later they said it was red for the blood shed for freedom, and green for growth, or some such, but you get the idea. Now, don't you look at that flag differently now?

What's trivial, we ask? Nothing that helps us better understand the story we're telling ourselves. As the old Roman said, 'Nihil humanum a me alienum puto', meaning 'Nothing human is alien to me.' Amen, Terence.

So keep on picking up those factoids. Keep squirreling them away for later use. And keep recycling them in different forms for different audiences. Please remember, though: a little goes a long way. To share your factoids, keep these points in mind:

• Don't overload the reader. They get bored long before you do.
• It is not necessary to tell everything that you know. And certainly not all at once.
• Make sure the factoid you're sharing is relevant to the rest of your text.
• Make doubly sure you've explained it in such a way that it's clear and interesting to the reader.

And so, with those words, the author will leave you now. So many facts to learn, so little time…

PS: The above two factoids were recycled from pixels used in other venues in the preceding week. They are not past their sell-by date.

Writing Right with Dmitri Archive

Dmitri Gheorgheni

11.05.15 Front Page

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