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One especially sultry day this past
summer I found myself with my son, husband, and good friends
at a Virginia Beach water park. For a span of forever, I studied
the "Waterfall Drop," a terrifying, two red-flag, expert swimmer,
ten on the wedgie scale three seconds of fun. I reminded myself,
as I do every day lately, that I'm writing a novel set in
16th century Scotland. And a research opportunity has neatly
presented itself. So, up the concrete stair I climbed, away
from my loved ones and common sense, watching children eagerly
positioning themselves on top of the waterfall and plunging
into chlorine oblivion. Then it was my turn.
I took a seat on the concrete, water
sluicing all around my legs and under my nether regions, preparing
myself. Now, I'm my heroine: frightened, being chased by the
villain, and the hero says the only way to survive is to ride
the waterfall with him. (Some hero.) I wear two stone (that's
28 pounds to you Yanks) of wool and linen, no underwear, and
no Esther Williams bathing suit bought at JC Penney. Releasing
the handlebars, pretending they are moss-covered stones, I
plunge down, grappling for my hero's arms, free-falling, then
splashing, shooting to the bottom of the pool like a finely-honed
arrow. Disoriented, I have to open my eyes to see which end
is up by watching bubbles all around me. My hero is also giving
me a fine view of his bits and pieces as his kilt sways up
his thighs in the bubbles. But I digress. I sputter to the
surface captured by my hero's arms as the villain, wearing
a teal Speedo, blows his whistle and arcs a thumb to the side
of the pool, telling me my turn is over.
OK, so you don't have to risk drowning
to do research. I have been writing since forever and research
comes hand-in-hand with all writing, whether it's historical,
contemporary, or... Well, you know the rest. You write them,
after all. When I sat down to write my first book, a tragically
horrid science fiction, my research library consisted of a
battered thesaurus from junior high school and a coverless
collegiate dictionary.
Research comes from need. You'll be
writing along, guarding your precious writing time like a
pit bull in heat, and lo and behold, you discover you need
to know what Denmark's one krone coin looks like. Mark you
place with a note in your manuscript that you'll research
it later and keep on with your story.
Eventually, you'll need to know about
that coin. There are many ways to go at it. One is to ask
any Danish friends you may know. Don't have any? Give the
Danish embassy a call. Now you know the one krone coin has
a hole in the middle with crowns and decorations around it.
It took you only a moment, and you've made a valuable contact
with some great Danes that may come in handy if you decide
to write that Viking book.
I once bent the ear of a re-enactor
at the Claude Moore Historical Farm. I took notes and that
made him talk even more. You've got to talk to people. Remember
these re-enactors don't wear those clothes in the middle of
August because they can't afford a sauna. They want to talk
to you, especially if you're a writer. Tell them so, with
pride.
A lot of you like researching on the
internet. You may pull up a site on 18th century British military
uniforms with specific questions in mind. Some are answered,
but not all. Write to the email address of the author of the
site. I found a site written by Revolutionary War British
re-enactors who travel all over the country losing, mostly,
to Patriot re-enactors. I wrote to the email address provided
with an introduction of me and my work. One gentleman kindly
replied with a bibliography of sources I would have to travel
to the UK to get. Remember to say thank-you -- always! Keep
that name in mind for future acknowledgements.
Go beyond books and articles, but
get them too. Keep a file of pamphlets and articles on any
topic you think could be remotely useful. Be somewhat organized.
Your library will grow as fast as your children or grandchildren,
and the next thing you know that New Yankee Workshop guy and
his program on building bookshelves looks better than sex
-- almost.
So, when you’re thinking about your
latest book, think about looking for research opportunities
in all the odd places. You’ll have fun -- believe me!
Now, where’s that water park receipt
for my acccountant?
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