Research and Inspiration in the Information Age

RHYS BOWEN:  Since I write historical fiction I have to do a lot of research. It is important to get everything right. I don't know about you, but if I find one glaring error, that's the last I read of that book. Like a train coming into the wrong station in London, or calling the king "Your Highness."  yes, I've read both.

I am always fascinated with the way other writers do their research. I can remember driving to the library and asking for help from the reference desk. So I was interested to see that Vincent O'Neil's experiences mirrored my own.  We're happy to welcome him to Jungle Red Writers today.... take it away Vinnie!

VINCENT O'NEIL:
 

When I first started writing, it was on a manual typewriter. I used the card catalog and the microfiche reader at the library to do research, in a process that was time-consuming and often ineffective. If I needed inspiration for setting the mood in a story, I would usually read the works of other authors who had written about a place or situation similar to the one I hoped to depict.

I can’t say I miss the card catalog and the microfiche reader very much; after all, it took some leg work to go and find the right book or journal, and the search often turned up items that didn’t match their descriptions. As for setting the mood by reading the writing of others, even when that worked it felt more like imitation than inspiration.

That’s why I much prefer the resources we have now. In addition to easy access and multiple media, the inspiration I’ve received from photos, videos, and personal blogs has helped me to mentally experience places I’ve never been and things I’ve never done. While acknowledging the difficulties of sorting through the incredible amount of information available to us now, and recognizing that some of it is inaccurate, I must say that the tools of the information age have really helped my writing and even my development as a writer.

When I’m approaching a topic about which I know nothing, I usually try to find one of the “Idiot’s Guides” because they’re usually such excellent sources of fundamental information. For example, when I started researching my theater-themed murder mystery Death Troupe, I began with a copy of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Amateur Theatricals. I slowly worked my way up to reading the memoirs of some famous directors, but the nuts-and-bolts understanding of the stage that I got from that particular Idiot’s Guide was invaluable.

Death Troupe is set in the Adirondack region during the wintertime and, while I had visited the area years before, my personal knowledge of that part of the world was dated. I wanted to set the story in a small town, but I didn’t know much about the organization of such a place, beginning with what kind of local businesses they might have. Thanks to the Internet, I could view the entire region as either a map or a very detailed satellite photograph. That helped me to find a few towns and villages that resembled the place I wanted to invent, and then by looking up the webpages for those towns and villages I easily got an idea of common businesses and industries.

Photographs on those websites were also very helpful, both for suggesting exciting locations such as an old fire tower on a tall hill and for stirring up ideas regarding the general atmosphere of the town that would be in my book. Later on I ran into difficulty describing a cross-country skiing lesson, even though I had once been pretty good at that sport. It was important to get the sequence of actions right, describing how weight shifts from ski to ski and the way the poles are used for balance. I’d forgotten exactly how that all worked, and yet a YouTube video of basic cross-country skiing techniques brought me back up to speed in no time.

I’ve always believed that research can lead to great inspirations, and just getting back in touch with that part of the world reminded me of impressions I’d had years earlier while also suggesting new ways of looking at the locale. From videos and still photographs to town websites and community newsletters, a wealth of information was literally at my fingertips.

When I was writing my horror novel Interlands, I decided to include a haunted hayride. The already-frightening experience of rolling past scary scenes, complete with gory special effects and live actors in disturbing costumes, was to be made even creepier by supernatural elements intruding on the main character’s perceptions. The problem was that I had never been on one of those hayrides. Once again YouTube videos came to the rescue, not only showing real haunted hayride attractions as they played out, but also describing some of the behind-the-scenes work that helps to make the experience so unsettling. Just by watching those videos, I was able to get a feel for at least part of the mood I wanted to create. I also got some great ideas for spooky stations along the route of the hayride and the ways they could be made even more terrifying by the involvement of supernatural influences.

None of these techniques is meant to take the place of actually visiting or experiencing the locations and activities we seek to describe. However, they certainly helped me in that they augmented what I already knew (or thought I knew) and often provided me with fresh ideas.

In closing, I’d like to repeat that some of the information found on the Internet is not accurate, and so it’s important to check anything we decide to present as being realistic or factual. But for conducting background research, gaining inspiration, and just helping to generate a mood similar to the one we hope to create, I’ll take the technology available to us now over the microfiche reader any day.

Vincent H. O’Neil is the Malice Award-winning author of the Frank Cole mystery series, the theater-themed mystery Death Troupe, and the horror novel Interlands. His military science fiction novel Glory Main (written as Henry V. O’Neil) was published by HarperVoyager in July and the sequel, Orphan Brigade, is set for release in January, 2015. Please visit his website www.vincenthoneil for reviews, sample chapters, and important links. 

RHYS: So Reds--what's the most interesting or unusual piece of research you have done?  I remember riding a train up a Welsh mountain, looking out of the window for the best place to push someone to their death. When I found the perfect place, and shared this info with my husband, I noticed the train car had gone very quiet and people had moved as far away as possible!

And readers--has there been one glaring error that has made you stop reading a book?

Writer's Challenge Week II

It's an illness, and I've go the cure

JAN BROGAN - It was a rough beginning to the week, with some serious elbow pain and family issues messing with my writing schedule. Also preparations for the New England Crime Bake annual conference - where I actually am today, as you read this.

On the other hand, I did a ton of research that I needed to do for my new novel, and to be fair to myself, I really need to do that research before I can write that much.

By Wednesday though, I was disgusted with my progress, or lack of progress. Mostly, I was disgusted by how easily distracted I was. Then, in a fit of distraction, I read a new study by (yes, again) my favorite blog, PSYBLOG on discipline. And how it really builds on itself. The more you exert discipline, the easier it becomes.

So.... I put really put my foot down on Internet distractions and this is how I did it. I set the alarms on my I-Phone for 11:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. And these are the rules, I can use Internet for book or assignment related research during that period, and I'm allowed to check in at Jungle Red, which I consider work-related, but I can't go anywhere else on the Internet. I also cannot check email until I hear the alarm.

Yes, I'm just like Pavlov's dog, I practically start salivating for email when the alarm goes off, but you know what? I've been insanely productive between the alarms. I finished a freelance article I was working on, made huge headway on two other assignments, and have done a ton of research.

Yes, I'm all smarmy with feeling better about myself - and wanted to share because it really does work!

Anyone else have any helpful hints to share? Confessions to unload? Pages to boast about?

Writers Challenge - UPDATE

JAN: I'm thrilled with the response to the Writer's Challenge, which was more than 50 brave participants as of three o'clock Saturday. And I'm amazed at how many of you, like me, needed both a kick in the butt, and some discipline to get away from the Internet.

What challenge?

In case you missed Friday's post, here's the shorthand version: You have to write one page every single day (even weekends) before you check your email or go on the Internet for any reason. For six weeks. There are variations for people who have to go to work so early they can't write first, and for screenwriters. Scroll down to Friday, August 6th post for details.

We've also decided you can sign up late, as long as you make up the lost pages. Actually, you can do whatever you want, how would we ever know?? But, we're relying on the honor system. And of course, your desire to write more consistently and at a higher quality.

To qualify for prizes, you have to comment at least three times, updating us on your progress, your obstacles, your solutions, your eureka moments. Please post your comments on Sundays. Otherwise, it might get lost, as topics change during the week.

JAN's Day One (that was yesterday) experience:

I'm a lunkhead who stays up late reading --All Souls by Michael Patrick McDonald kept me up until 1 a.m. last night -- so I usually like sleep on Saturdays. My husband and I had an appointment to see a house on the south shore at 11 a.m. which meant we had to leave home by 10 a.m. To do my page first, I made the supreme sacrifice and set the alarm for eight o'clock. I went straight to my laptop in my jammies. Because I'd left the screen open to Jungle Red Writers comments the day before, I had to immediately switch out of the Internet and into Word. Then I wrote a page, which actually turned into a page in a half. And a good page and a half at that. Although I couldn't do my yoga first, my husband very kindly made me a latte, which greatly assisted my productivity.

It was about 11:30 when I realized, I'd gotten so carried away with writing, I forgot to eat breakfast. So guys, I wound up having breakfast at 2 pm yesterday. And you know what?? It tasted better because I'd done my Writer's Challenge page for the day!!

So if you really want to enjoy every bite: WRITE FIRST!!

NEWS FLASH (As if you needed any other incentive than the sheer joy of productivity)

Rhys Bowen, our blog mate vacationing in the south of France, has graciously offered to give away a signed copy of her newest Lady Georgie book, ROYAL BLOOD, which comes out Sept 7th. Hot off the presses!

To recap: First prize, drawn randomly, is first choice of Rhys' new book, or any of the books below. I'm also offering a free critique of whatever you wrote during the challenge. (sixty page maximum) But this is totally optional -- you don't have to show anyone your work if you don't want to.

Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel, (Hallie Ephron)
Teaser (Jan Brogan)
Dead Head (Rosemary Harris),
Air Time, (Hank Phillippi Ryan)
Asking for Murder (Roberta Isleib)

There's second and third prizes,also drawn randomly from comments, as well as a prize for the most inspired, insightful and helpful comments. Winners will be awarded one of the books above.

ALSO, if you've signed in as "anonymous" for comments, and want to be entered in the contest for prizes, please give us a way to distinguish you from other anonymous commentators. It can be simple as Anonymous #3 or whatever.

To refresh yourself on the details of the challenge, scroll down to August 6th post.

And go out to that keyboard tomorrow morning and KICK BUTT!!

The Writer's Challenge

JAN: If you are a writer, the Internet is both your best friend and your mortal enemy. Need to find an expert or see what a Glock looks like?? The info is only minutes away by Google.


But sometimes, all that time you save goes down the drain in lost productivity. In terms of writing (not promotion) that would be Email, Facebook, Twitter, etc.


Here's the challenge:
For six weeks, starting tomorrow, you must write one, full page every day -- even Saturday and Sunday -- BEFORE checking email or visiting anywhere online. That's the critical part. You can get online as soon as you finish your one page, but no sooner. If you have to check email at work in the morning, the challenge can start as soon as you come home. You are not allowed to go back to the Internet for ANY reason until you write that one page.


Why one page?

• Because if you only wrote one page a day for an entire year, you'd have a novel.
• Because when I gave myself a five-page-a-day quota, I found myself writing drivel, just to get the pages done.
• Because with with a one page quota, you have time to go back and revise earlier pages. Sometimes they bulk up, lengthwise, to create an extra page. (and yes, that counts as a new page.)
• Because one page is eminently doable.
• Because even on the weekends, you can get yourself to sit down at the computer if it's ONLY one page. And the consistency of a writing every day enhances productivity in terms of story structure.
• Because one page often leads to another. In other words, one page is the minimum, not the maximum.

Why now?

• Because for many of us, August is the least productive month of the year. (hey, and I'm even going to do this on vacation)
• Challenging yourself in January when is snowing outside is no challenge.

Why six weeks?

• Because after six weeks, we'll all have 42 pages. If you are starting a novel, that's about where you'd end on a hook, so you'll have enough material to send it to the agent/editor with a query.
• If you are writing short stories -- that's at least two of them.
• Because I host the blog every six weeks.

Why do you really want to do this?

• Aside from becoming a more disciplined writer and an all around superior person, we're also giving away prizes.

No cheating:

• One page is defined as the FULL page, double spaced.
• If, by any chance, you are writing a screenplay, you can still do the challenge, but that's TWO AND HALF pages a day for you.

How to enter?

• Sign into the comments page any time through Sunday (okay Monday for you procrastinators).
• Report in (via the comments page) every Sunday.
• Tell us anything, your obstacles, your solutions, your progress, the best sentence you wrote, or any tricks you've learned along the way.

Prizes:
If you post at least three times (on different weeks), we enter your name in raffle and the winner gets a signed copy of Hallie Ephron's Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel. I will also read and critique your work, if you want. (you can forgo that prize if the idea of critique stunts your productivity. It's your choice.)


There's also second and third prizes, as well as a prize for the most inspired, insightful or helpful comment.


In no particular order, those prizes will be signed copies of:
Teaser (Jan Brogan)
Dead Head (Rosemary Harris),
Air Time, (Hank Phillippi Ryan)
Asking for Murder (Roberta Isleib)


(Rhys is on vacation in Europe, so we didn't want to bother her, but more prizes may be added later.)


The challenge technically ends Saturday September 18th and you have all weekend until 5 p.m. Sunday on the 19th to post your comments. I'll be drawing and deciding winners one minute after 5 p.m.
I'll announce winners September 20th.


So get started and good luck!!