Ever watch an old TV show and find yourself distracted by the outdated technology? On Seinfeld, for instance, Jerry had a huge cordless phone that he'd constantly be answering, then slamming the handset down on the counter when the conversation ended. And that's not even the most defunct device depicted on old but still popular programs. It might be because I've seen these episodes so many times, but I'm paying closer attention to those things than to the actual storyline. Jerry also had a rudimentary computer in the corner of the living room that was never even powered up, much less used.
It's not just technology that can easily date a novel, but it's the most glaring example. When I repurposed my second novel into a novella, I found the names of many musical artists that needed to be changed. My main character worked as a disc jockey, so naturally artists and songs would be mentioned from time to time. I hadn't been a fan of newer music for a few years, so I originally inserted the names of artists who Google told me were popular. When I pulled it up to begin revising, I'd see a name and ask, "Who's that?" Once again, all these seven or so years later, I needed to again Google to find out which artists were popular today. Not that it likely matters ~ the novella isn't selling ~ but if I was truly interested, I'd need to revise it every two or three years to keep it relevant.
It's so much easier, and less fraught, to set a novel in the past. The show Mad Men will never feel dated because it's set in the sixties, whereas Succession is going to feel dated in a snap. Frankly, a lot of it is already outdated. How many people watch cable TV now?
Writing my novella Find My Way Home was fun for me because I could utilize the technology of the day; what technology actually existed. Pay phones, handwritten letters; they're more impactful than jabbing a button on a cell phone. The MC needed to search out a phone booth; she needed to sit down and compose in longhand a heartfelt missive. These simple things added character to the story. And that book will never require updating.
My first novel, Once in a Blue Moon, traveled all the way back to the forties, then eventually zoomed back to present day. The forties, as well as the seventies were more interesting because of their emphasis on real, tactile things. A boxy crackling radio that was a character's source of news, especially about the war. The long twisted cord of a wall phone that a seventies teenager stretched to its limit to carry on a conversation away from her mother.
For some genres, I suppose it doesn't matter. A sci fi novel can feature whatever technology the author chooses to invent, although if he chooses wrong and that invention becomes real, it, too, will soon feel outdated. The movie 2001: A Space Odyssey seems almost quaint now. AI is far more advanced and malevolent than the computer highlighted in the film.
None of my books are technology-heavy overall, because that's not the story I'm telling; but the technology is definitely there. How could it not be? My characters certainly make and receive a lot of phone calls. Just my luck, in a few years there won't be cell phones. People will simply control communications with their minds.
If an author publishes multiple books over the course of years, he'll find that they date themselves, which is, I guess, why older novels in a catalog rarely sell. Old technology takes a reader out of the story, just like my Seinfeld reruns do.
If the story itself is interesting enough, those old-timey references can be overlooked. But that's the answer to everything, isn't it? Write an interesting story.
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