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Write what you know, everyone says. If I did that, I’d have written one (maybe) very boring book. Write what you can learn is a much better piece of advice. Since I’ve never been a cop or a covert ops specialist, I have to rely on research to make my books ring true.
The Internet makes doing research much easier than it was in days of having to go to the library, but it’s not your only resource. It’s a great place to start, but sometimes you need more.
I’ve been working on a sequel to DEADLY SECRETS. As readers of this blog know, I’m not much of a plotter, so I don’t do a lot of research until I come to a place I need the details. After all, if I don’t know what’s going to happen next, I can’t very well be looking it up, can I?
DEADLY SECRETS is set in a small town. Not wanting to get into the Jessica Fletcher/Cabot Cove Syndrome, I didn’t want another graphic homicide to be the backbone of the new book. After all, the murder in DEADLY SECRETS was the first homicide in decades in my made-up town of Mapleton, Colorado. Thus, I decided to use a cold case as the basis for the new book.
Nook Contest Question #7 (Remember to use the Contact Form to answer the question, and put “Nook Contest” in your response.)
What television show do I credit with my start in writing?
And now, back to today’s post:
First decision was to figure out how the cold case comes to the attention of my cop hero. I decided to have it based on a dog discovering a bone. I wrote about 5 chapters before I consulted one of my expert friends to find out whether my cops had done an acceptable thing in digging up the area where the bone was found and bringing everything back to sift through the dirt in more favorable conditions.
What he told me was that if there was any possibility the bone was human, that the cops would have to call in the Coroner’s Office immediately and leave the bone where it was. Yikes! Who knew?
Now, I could have had the person who found the bone (an Animal Control officer) not know this and bring the bone to the police station, but my expert told me that everyone would have been trained in procedure, and the last thing I wanted was to have my cops be stupid.
Rewrite. Note to self: check facts before writing 5 chapters based on an assumption, no matter how logical it seems. I ended up having a very informative chat with someone at the Coroner’s Office. After I apologized for taking up his time, he said he was more than happy to help someone get things right, since there’s so much wrong information out there, especially on television.
Next plot point to research: one of my eccentric characters was blowing up tree stumps on his property. Is this legal in the county on which I’m basing my book? If it’s not legal,ll my cop will behave differently than if it is. An Internet search of the Sheriff’s Office’s website yielded a contact information officer. I emailed her and she was happy to provide me the answer I needed, plus a little bonus information—I’d given my character 30 acres, but the PIO informed me that if he had 35 acres, he’d avoid a lot of zoning regulations. Find/Replace. My character now lives on a 35 acre property.
Some tips:
1. Cultivate sources. These can be your friends, people you meet at conferences, on line, on an airplane, in line at the movies. You can ask a doctor, your nail tech—anyone who knows more about the field in question than you do. I belong to a number of Yahoo groups that are filled with experts willing to help writers get their facts straight. These focus on crime fiction, but there should be groups you can tap in any field.
2. Use the Internet to find the local agency/organization/expert. Most will have contact information. If you’re shy, email is a great way to start. But, if you explain that you’re writing a book, I’ve found most people are happy to help. For ROOTED IN DANGER, I searched Facebook looking for a pilot who would answer a couple of questions, and he not only responded, but took an active interest in helping me get things right throughout the book..
3. Use the phone. Usually, the person who answers the phone isn’t going to be the person you need, but they’ll know where to transfer your call. And, with only 1 exception, I’ve always been called back.
Next week, I’ll be back talking about what to do with all these facts you’re going to get.
Terry, I’m not much of a plotter either, so I do what you do — when I get there, I research it. I have to know enough to project myself into the scene — never mind if the information gets into the novel (explicitly) or not. For my current WIP, a sci fi novel, I researched the World Court and its mission because one of the courts in the novel is supposed to have a similar one. I usually have to do the research before I can write anything about it {grimace} because otherwise I’m not “there.”
I’m okay sketching out the basics of a scene (right now, I’m writing one on a search by a cadaver dog), but I get the initial information, then write the scene, then see if my consultations with experts require tweaking. Of course, if I can reach my consultants first, that helps, but too often there’s a delay, and I don’t want to stop writing.
Exellent post, Terry. Little jars readers more than happening upon a factual error. It rips the reader out of the story and can destroy reader trust, making difficult to read on.
PS — Meant to say, there will always be someone who knows.
Yes — and if you’re lucky, you’ll find these people BEFORE the book is published. I owe a crit partner dearly for telling me the Highlander SUV doesn’t come with a manual transmission! Never thought to look that one up.
Terry, excellent post and so true. My second book which is due out in January 2013 Burn in Hell, A Jake Carrington Mystery was fun to write because I knew my subject so well. I worked at a cemetery for over ten years as office manager and assisted in cremations. So I took that, mixed it up a girl with a gambling problem, who owes the mob money and to make matters worse have her dating a cop. Fun, Fun Fun.. PS I love your blog.
Thanks, Marian — and I’m sure you talked to gamblers and cops, too!
Sometimes, it’s all in the details. I had a plumber hero and had to research plumbing. I have a heroine looking for a specific handbag and had to research the handbag because it was made in the sixties. A hero baker–talked to a baker. It makes the difference. Good post!
Murder she wrote? LOL
Vicki, yes, I’ve researched luxury vehicles, expensive men’s suits, and just about everything else. I’m lucky that my brother is/was a cook/chef with a pastry specialty. He was golden for Saving Scott (and several of the recipes I share in that book are his)
Great tips, Terry. I had to laugh at your “notes to self”. I have done the same thing when I discovered an assumption was not correct, or what worked in a previous novel no longer applies.
Writing modern day stories means technology will probably be obsolete before you get the book published. So, far, about 90% of my cadaver dog scene is “accurate” and the other details seem to be “could go either way,” but I’d never trust my instincts.
Nice research tips. What has been your favorite thing to research?
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bn, I suppose my ‘favorite’ would have been the recipes for Saving Scott. After all, someone had to test them to make sure they were good!
Hey Terry, I have found the same problem. I finished my book and began revising/rewriting it. Then I sat down brainstormed with my brother-in-law he pointed out plot holes. Well darn that way won’t work. So I began again changing locations. I bogged down again. Then it dawned on me how to begin it again. I did contact Honolulu PD with some questions, my story is based in Hawaii, about where the detectives would be located. I went to another loop for a question when several people poked holes in the way I had handled handing off a toddler. By brainstorming with two friends I found a way to work it. Now I’m happy to say I can keep most of what I’ve written with a few deletions and additions. Good luck with yours Terry. I’m not a plotter/planner.
the hardest part of research is knowing what you don’t know so you can research it.
Hi Terry,
Loved your blog today. As a reader, nothing irritates me more than really being involved in a book, totally loving it & then all of a sudden there is something written that I know is completely inaccurate. It can make it difficult to trust that what the author has written in the rest of the story is accurate. I can think of maybe two or three titles where it was bad enough that I was unable to finish the book.
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That’s so true. Make one mistake and the reader will wonder what else you got wrong. Reader trust is critical.