Research Can Be Fun

14th century tithe barn

There's no denying that research is a part of writing whether non-fiction or fiction.  And within the parameters of fiction, the genre somewhat dictates how much research is required.  Certainly, historical fiction requires extensive research into place and time in order to be accurate with details down to the simplest clothing items.  Techno thrillers, legal thrillers, and medical themed novels need to be accurate in terminology, science, and procedures.

But there is an area of research that is often considered trivial or inconsequential in the overall scope of your story.  And that's the location where your story is set. Certainly the setting is important, but as a matter of research seldom makes it to the top of the list.

A contemporary novel set in your home town requires little in the way of research for location.  You live there so you know about the terrain, weather, the businesses, the good neighborhoods vs. the bad neighborhoods, streets and highways, tourist attractions, places of special interest and historical interest.  That's easy.

But, what about setting your story somewhere that you have never been?  If that is the case, you have options available.  The most obvious for accuracy is to visit the location—take in the ambiance, make note of the geographic elements, study the activities of the residents, and grab the tourist brochures available in the hotel lobby.  All major metropolitan areas have certain must see tourist attractions that are common knowledge around the world.  The Empire State Building, the Golden Gate Bridge, Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower.  Well known tourist attractions can certainly be included in descriptive passages of your setting or become part of a scene where some action takes place.  That gives the reader an immediate mental image reference to go along with your descriptive passages.

Travel and tour books can be a great help for general research information.  In the U.S., the Auto Club (AAA) publishes tour books for all the states that includes information about the major cities in that state and certainly the tourist areas.  A real estate search of a city will give you knowledge of the various neighborhoods.  A city's website will tell you about the educational system, shopping, cultural events, sports activities, etc.

My most interesting research experience was for one of my Harlequin Intrigue novels, THE SEDGWICK CURSE, a mystery romantic suspense recently reissued by Harlequin in ebook.

My story was set in a stereotypical English country village of the type found in the Cotswolds.  A large estate inhabited by the Lord of the manor—land and a title that had been in the family for centuries.  An annual festival that had been held on the estate grounds every year for over two hundred years.  And murder involving the titled rich and powerful from a century ago and from today.

I needed to research several things.  Certainly accurate information about the physical setting I'd chosen.  And then specifics (beyond what I'd gleaned from various British crime drama series on PBS' Mystery) about the way local law enforcement interacted with the privileged titled aristocracy when investigating a murder.

I had already been to England several times and had another trip planned, so I included spending one week in the Cotswolds to do the research I needed.  **This is where the fun part of the research came in.  :) **  I found a charming centuries old hotel in the town of Tewkesbury and used it as my base to explore the surrounding area.

My research started when I walked into the local police station, said I was a writer doing research for a novel, and asked if there was someone I could talk to about how a local murder would be investigated.  I was passed on to a Detective Sergeant who was very helpful and spent about two hours with me, which was an hour and forty-five minutes longer than expected.  I garnered far more information than I needed for that specific book, but great research material for future needs.

The next step in my research was the immediate location for my fictional Lord Sedgwick's estate.  This was a major stroke of good luck.  About three miles north of Tewkesbury is the village of Bredon that had everything I needed, including a large estate that hosted a village festival every year and the weekend I was there happened to be festival weekend.  I was able to wander around the grounds, take pictures, and get information about the estate straight from the owner's mouth.  One of the buildings on the grounds, the Tithe Barn pictured here, is part of the National Trust and dates back to the 1300s.  It is accurately described and used in my book, as are many of the features of the real counterpart of my Sedgwick Estate.

Obviously, traveling to a foreign country to research a location isn't that practical.  If the location is a well-known tourist attraction, you will have lots of research material available to you.  But what if your desired setting is a typical small town or village in a specific area?  That brings us to the more practical solution of creating a fictional small town as the setting for your story.

I have set many of my Harlequin and Silhouette books in fictional small towns.  But the one thing these fictional small towns have in common is that they are all patterned after a real place that I've been in the state where I've set the story.  And in lieu of that, there's always the ability of taking something like a beach town or mountain village you've been to and transplanting it to another state for the purposes of your story.

If there's someplace you've been, a vacation you enjoyed, and you want to recreate the feel and ambiance for your story setting without fear of getting some of the facts wrong about the real place, the best way to handle it is to create a fictional location.  Do some basic research on the general type of location you've selected for your story such as a fishing village on the coast of Maine.  That will give you basic generic facts for that type of setting.  Then you can take the feel of the real life place you visited and impose those memories and impressions on top of your researched facts for a fully realized story setting.  Your characters can then impart that sense of place to the readers with the words and actions you give them in addition to your descriptons.

Do any of you have any research tips for story setting that you'd like to share?

The World's Most Romantic Islands

 BORA-BORA

In honor of Valentine's Day, I thought it might be interesting to take a look at a list of the world's seven most romantic islands, travel destinations that offer more than just beautiful beaches.

7)  MAUI, HAWAII

Behind the outer wrapping of a tropical paradise with beautiful beaches you will find an interesting and varied landscape. On the way to the summit of the Haleakala volcano crater you pass through vegetation that includes cactus. There are vast stretches of sugar cane fields, a 1900s cowboy town, and a rain forest with an almost primeval feel to it.

6)  MALDIVES

An archipelago in the Indian Ocean with white sand beaches, atolls, and secluded resorts.  This is the world's lowest elevation nation (overall elevation of high and low averaged). You will find a hotel with a coral nursery and an underwater nightclub. And how about a restaurant reachable only by boat?

5)  BORACAY, PHILIPPINES

This five mile long island was once a haven for backpackers with only the most basic accommodations.  Today it rivals many of the well-known Asian destinations.  Boracay starts with a forty-five minute flight from Manila followed by a boat connection to the final destination of White Beach with powdery sand that just might be the softest in the world.

4)  KAUAI, HAWAII

This is the oldest of Hawaii's eight main islands and has the most dramatic scenery from wind sculpted mountains, red-walled canyons (Waimea Canyon is referred to as Hawaii's Grand Canyon), primeval rain forest, and a wide range of waterfalls. Kauai has also been the location for several movies including The Descendants, Avatar, Body Heat, and I think also South Pacific.

3)  SANTORINI, GREECE

Every place you look gives you a postcard perfect view.  White washed buildings, colorful flowers, blue-domed churches all clinging to the hillsides of an ancient volcanic crater.  In addition to the spectacular scenery, Santorini offers a wide variety of diversions—fine wines, black and red and white sand beaches, archaeological sites including one referred to as the Minoan Pompeii.

2)  CAPRI, ITALY

This four-square mile dot in the Tyrrhenian Sea embodies la dolce vita.  There is a funicular railway to take visitors from the main port to the street of Capri town with its boutiques, restaurants, and romantic getaways.

1)  BORA-BORA, FRENCH POLYNESIA

What could be more romantic than staying in a bungalow above the waters of a turquoise lagoon?  At the heart of Bora-Bora is the jagged peak of Mount Otemanu and on its fringes are islets and a coral reef perfect for snorkeling to observe the varied and colorful marine life.

Who Was Emily Post?

Etiquette expert Emily Post died over fifty years ago.  In a recent Vanity Fair poll of 18-44 year-olds, forty percent of those queried had no idea who Emily Post was or why she was famous.

Society has changed quite a bit in the ninety-one years since the publication of her 1922 book, Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics, and at Home. So, how relevant are Emily Post's etiquette rules to modern life in today's fast paced society of five second sound bites, social media, and instant global communication?

Some of the topics she covered in her book seem totally irrelevant today.  Subjects such as one of my favorites—how to keep your fan, gloves, and napkin on your lap at fancy dinner parties.  That skill has always been a stumbling block for me at the many fancy dinner parties I routinely attend where I need to bring my own fan because there isn't any air conditioning.  :) 

Some of her other advice, however, is still relevant today.

Fashion:  For men she recommended suits for everywhere and all occasions except what she referred to as the country.  When on a country outing, breeches and polished leather riding boots were acceptable.  Her thoughts on female style, however, are more relevant.  She said most women were fashion sheep, that they should take the trends of the day and personalize them for their own style.

Conversational Skills:  After you dismiss all the complicated stuff about when to doff a hat or curtsy, a lot of her advice is still common sense today.  Things such as—will what you have to say be interesting to those around you, don't repeat yourself, let other people talk, and don't pretend to know more than you do.

At a Live Performance:  Her book has lots of advice about things like how to dress and whether it's acceptable for a woman to attend with a man who is not her husband.  Bear in mind that she was referring to the theater, opera, or the symphony.  Her two biggest rules are one hundred percent relevant today—don't talk during the performance and be on time!

Introductions:  She apparently loved all the formalities of meeting new people, presenting calling cards, and how to properly address each other.  In today's society it's very common for people to know each other even without having ever met face-to-face.  We're friends on Facebook, I saw your video on YouTube, I read your tweet.  I imagine that would have thrown Emily into quite a tizzy.  :)

Mustn't:  Emily Post had lots of mustn'ts.  Here are a couple of examples.  "A lady mustn't carry a bundle of anything on the streets, but if she has to, a man must carry it for her."  "If a man doesn't enjoy the conversation a lady has offered, a woman mustn't be offended, but rather keep fishing for topics he might find agreeable."  This sort of reminds me of that magazine article from the mid 1950s about how to be a good wife.  Definitely advice to make today's woman cringe.  :)

Houses:  Her advice in this area seems the most outdated and indicates that her advice was apparently intended for the wealthy.  She advised that a house must have servants on hand to collect a visitor's things when they visit.

It's easy to make fun of etiquette rules published ninety-one years ago, but Emily Post's most basic rule seems as necessary today as it was back then.  "Never do anything that is unpleasant to others."

Facebook—A Source Of Envy?

I read a recent article about two German universities that conducted a joint study of Facebook (a report titled Envy on Facebook: A Hidden Threat To Users' Life Satisfaction?) which produced some very interesting conclusions.

And what are those conclusions, you might be asking?

The study found that the world's largest social network with over one billion users has provided a huge platform for comparisons of all kinds resulting in rampant envy. The researchers found that one in three Facebook users felt more dissatisfied with their lives after browsing the site. And apparently those who normally lurk without contributing were affected the most.

Their negative Facebook experience with envy left them feeling lonely, frustrated, or angry resulting in some of them leaving Facebook or, at the least, drastically reducing their use. This conclusion contributed to speculation that Facebook might be reaching a saturation point in some markets.

Researchers found that vacation photos were the largest cause of resentment, comprising more than half of the envy incidents. Social interaction was the second largest cause of envy, resulting from how many birthday greetings a friend received or how many Likes or comments were attached to photos or postings.

They found that users in their mid 30s were most likely to envy family happiness. Men were shown to post more self-promotional items to let everyone know about their accomplishments while women were more apt to stress their good looks and social lives.

The researchers said their study respondents were German but they expected the findings to apply internationally since envy is a universal feeling.

Have any of you ever had a twinge of envy when seeing vacation photos posted, read about work accomplishments, or seen the lifestyle portrayed by those on your Facebook Friends list? Wishing you could travel to those places? Or afford one of those luxury cars? Live in those elaborate surroundings? Or, for those Friends that you don't really know personally, have you ever wondered if everything they post is true?

I can say, in all honesty, that I've been envious of other people's lives (sometimes material things and at other times personal interactions). But I have had people tell me they envy some of the things I've done and accomplished, both of my long term careers over the years and personally—things that I'm seeing from a different perspective. They are outside looking in while I'm inside the reality looking out.

So…to put it in writer's terminology—it's Point Of View!

Fighting A Writer's Self-doubts

Motivation…and the kinds of doubts unique to writers.  I know exactly what you're up against to make it as a writer.  Writers work alone.  There's no one to give us attagirls or attaboys on the days when the words won't come.  There's no rule book to tell us if we have enough talent, if our writing is good enough, if we have what it takes to make it.  Worse than that, no matter how good we are we face repeated rejections of our efforts.  Rejection is a part of life, but it's still different for a writer.  When we submit a manuscript, we're sending in part of our heart and soul…our blood, sweat and tears.  When a story is rejected, it's like a kick in our heart, a direct and personal blow—and everyone is vulnerable to that kind of hurt.

That's intrinsic to the job of writing, but it's also easy to get sidetracked by the wrong things.  When we're working on our first book, we're afraid we'll never finish it.  Then we're afraid it's not good enough to be published.  Once we get it published, we're afraid that first sale is a fluke and we'll never publish a second one.  Along the way, maybe John Doe got a better review than we did.  Maybe Jane Doe got a higher advance than we did.  Then there's Suzy Smith who used to be such a close friend, and she just sold a hardback mainstream novel to a major New York print publisher.  We can't even talk to her—we feel left in the shade because we write ebook short stories.  And then there's Mary Jones who we feel is a much better writer than we are.  We'll never be that good and we know it.  And Polly Perfect…she just sold the first manuscript she wrote and we're on our fourth one after having the first three rejected by every publisher we submitted to.

Possibly if we didn't work alone we wouldn't be so susceptible to letting those kinds of doubts affect our confidence.  But we DO work alone. And that makes it extraordinarily easy to lose sight of what motivated us to start with.  There is a reason we started writing, and for most of us it's because we love doing it.  That's the strongest tool we have to beat the nasty dragon of doubt.  All those other things that can sabotage our confidence—some of them are real and some of them are doubts we lay on ourselves—are not strong enough to beat us if we keep what matters on the front line.

No flower has the chance to grow if it's getting choked out at the root level by weeds.  When we sit down to write, we have to get the irrelevant stuff out of the way.  We need to give ourselves the right—the freedom—to concentrate on one thing only.  Write the type of book we love.  The first magic we found…when we first discovered the wonder of characters coming alive for us, the joy of watching a story take life on a page…that magic is not something we use up.  It's not something we can lose, like a pair of socks.  It's not something we can forget like a memory we can't get back.  It's still there, the same place it's always been, inside us.

Confidence is like a suntan.  It comes and goes.  There's nothing we can buy in a bottle to eternally keep that tan.  There is no cure for the doubts we go through.  There's no magic elixir that will make us feel better after a rejection, or guarantee that we'll never suffer writers' block, or help us not worry during a rough stretch.  All I can tell you is that I've been there, as has every writer I know.  Doubts detract from what matters and trick us into focusing on things that don't matter.  The next time we sit down at the keyboard we just need to remember to keep what counts in front of us and not allow those doubts to sway us from the task at hand. 

January's Historical Events

As with every month, there are events of historical significance that occurred almost every day in January over the last few centuries. Some of these we celebrate today, others are merely noted in passing.

Here is a partial listing of some of those January events.

January 1   Paul Revere was born (1735)

January 1   Emma M. Nutt became the first woman telephone operator (1878)

January 1   The New Year's ball was first dropped at Times Square in New York City (1908)

January 3   Construction began on the Brooklyn Bridge (1870)

January 6   Samuel Morse demonstrated the telegraph (1838)

January 7   Astronomer Galileo discovered four of Jupiter's moons (1610)

January 9   The United Nations opened its headquarters in New York City

January 10 World's first underground passenger railway system opened in London, England (1863)

January 11 American League baseball adopted the designated hitter rule (1973)

January 12 The campy Batman television series debuted as a midseason replacement (1966)

January 14 The United States of America ratified a treaty with England ending the Revolutionary War (1784)

January 14 The Miami Dolphins football team defeated the Washington Redskins in Superbowl VII, becoming the first undefeated team in National Football League history (1973)

January 14 The animated television series The Simpsons debuted as a midseason replacement (1990)

January 15 The Pentagon opened (1943)

January 15 The television series Happy Days debuted as a midseason replacement (1974)

January 16 Operation Desert Storm began to oust Saddam Hussein's Iraqi forces from Kuwait (1991)

January 17 The United States Supreme Court ruled that taping on home VCRs did not violate copyright laws (1984)

January 20 Ronald Reagan became the oldest person sworn in as President of the United States at 69 years 349 days of age.

January 21 Edward Jenner introduced the smallpox vaccine (1799)

January 21 Science fiction writer George Orwell died (1950)

January 23 The deadliest earthquake in history struck Shansi, China, killing 830,000 people (1556)

January 24 Beer was first sold in cans (1935)

January 25 The first Winter Olympic games began in Chamonix, France (1924)

January 25 The first Emmy awards were given out (1949)

January 26 The dental drill was patented (1875)

January 28 U.S. space shuttle Challenger exploded 72 seconds after liftoff, killing the 7 crew members including school teacher Christa McAuliffe (1986)

January 31 The Confederacy appointed Robert E. Lee as their Commander-In-Chief for the Civil War.

This certainly isn't a complete list, but a cross-section of January events from history.

January's Bizarre and Weird Holidays

Every month has its share of bizarre and weird holidays, some official and others that won't get you a paid day off at work.  And it's those unofficial holidays that are the most fun.

January offers a month long celebration for the following:  National Bath Safety Month, National Blood Donor Month, National Braille Literacy Month, National Hobby Month, Hot Tea Month, National Oatmeal Month and National Soup Month.

And there is a week long celebration for Letter Writing Week that occurs the second week of January.

So…let's move on to the daily holidays of dubious origin.

January 1   New Year's Day starts out the year with parades and football games

January 2   Run Up The Flagpole And See If Anyone Salutes Day

January 3   Festival of Sleep Day

January 3   Fruitcake Toss Day: This is your opportunity to throw away the old fruitcakes from years gone past.  Caution—do not toss the fruitcake at anyone.  This weighty steel-like mass of sugar, flour and fruits could truly insure someone if they were hit by it.

January 3   Humiliation Day

January 4   Trivia Day: Trivia Day is a fun day.  It's an opportunity to share those little tidbits of knowledge.  No matter how big or how small, dazzle your friends and family with your knowledge.

January 5   National Bird Day

January 6   Bean Day

January 6   Cuddle Up Day

January 7   Old Rock Day

January 8   Bubble Bath Day

January 8   Male Watcher's Day:  This is the day for all the ladies out there to watch the guys.  You can perform your male watching anywhere that suits your fancy, such as the following—at work where tight shirts cover bulging muscles, at a singles bar or sports bar, at the mall (your turn to do the leering at a place where the guys usually do it), whether discreetly or blatantly it's the day for it.

January 9   Play God Day

January 10 Houseplant Appreciation Day

January 10 Peculiar People Day:  This is the day to look for the good in your peculiar friends or it's the day to be honored and appreciated if you are the one who is peculiar.

January 11 Step In A Puddle And Splash Your Friend's Day

January 12 Feast Of Fabulous Wild Men Day:  If you're a fabulous wild man this is your day to be ogled by women and if you're a woman this is your day to ogle all those fabulous wild men…a definite link to January 8 Male Watcher's Day.

January 13 International Skeptics Day

January 13 Make Your Dreams Come True Day:  Dreams don't usually come true on their own, so today is the time to do something about it.

January 14 Dress Up Your Pet Day

January 15 National Hat Day

January 16 National Nothing Day

January 17 Ditch New Year's Resolutions Day:  There's a day to make resolutions and a day to ditch them.  If you're still keeping some of those resolutions, you're doing better than most of us.

January 18 Thesaurus Day

January 18 Winnie The Pooh Day (the birthday of author A.A. Milne)

January 19 National Popcorn Day

January 20 National Buttercrunch Day

January 20 National Penguin Awareness Day

January 21 National Hugging Day

January 21 Squirrel Appreciation Day

January 22 National Blonde Brownie Day

January 23 National Pie Day

January 23 National Handwriting Day

January 23 Measure Your Feet Day:  The first question is, of course, why?  Oh, well…celebrate the day and enjoy it.

January 24 Beer Can Appreciation Day

January 24 Compliment Day

January 25 Opposite Day

January 26 Spouse's Day

January 27 Chocolate Cake Day

January 27 Punch The Clock Day

January 28 Fun At Work Day

January 28 National Kazoo Day:  Kazoo Day celebrates the joy of this musical instrument.  They're easy to play and can be played solo or in groups.

January 29 National Puzzle Day

January 29 National Cornchip Day

January 30 National Inane Answering Machine Day

January 31 Backward Day

January 31 Inspire Your Heart With Art Day

And that's January's offering of the bizarre and weird when it comes to celebrations.