My daughter has just started taking horseback riding lessons.
The lady who’s instructing her wants to loop me in on what’s going on. I appreciate this, but I have no idea what she’s talking about.
She said, “Your daughter will come in and will put the harness on the horse….blah blah, brush…blah blah, saddle blanket and bumper and saddle, blah blah, girth…blah blah, bridle and bit…”
I listened politely during the first lesson, but at the second lesson I said, “I’m sorry—I’m not an equestrian.” Plus, I didn’t think I really needed to know about all the equipment. We’re not buying a horse (thankfully) and I’m not planning on buying the tack.
I was reminded of this on Thursday when I had an talk with one of my editors about my first quilting mystery, Quilt or Innocence which is coming out next summer. Y’all might be shocked to hear this, but I’m not a quilter. :)
This means I’ve done a lot of quilting research. That’s because we have to know a lot to be able to convey a subject seamlessly.
But if I write about all the details of quilting, that’s going to make the readers feel like I did with the riding instructor. Besides, I don’t want to bring my readers out of the story and mystery plot. And I’m not writing a quilting how-to book.
What my editor wanted more of was the texture and colors and patterns—things that many readers would appreciate—the art of the quilts. What she wanted less of was quilting terms (or more quilting terms in context.) Because once or twice I dropped in a quilting verb and didn’t really put it into context (not wanting to over-explain…but under explained, instead.) Her ideas seemed like excellent suggestions to me…that I was able to convey the feel of the quilting world and not do a research dump on the unsuspecting reader.
Other ways I added quilting to the book:
I’ve got a novice quilter in the book who occasionally needs pithy explanations of quilting techniques.
There are a couple of scenes where quilting terminology and fabrics are naturally integrated—in a quilt shop.
There were some quick mentions in dialogue. I tried to indicate a little bit about each character when they discussed quilting. (Confident, reticent, boastful, etc.)
I think the balance between the craft and the mystery worked out pretty well in the book…although it was a real challenge for me. Do you have to research for your books? How do you integrate your research in a natural way?
Elizabeth – Oh, I’m looking forward to Quilt or Innocence :-) (excellent title by the way). About research… I always do at least a little research for what I write. For instance, one of my stories is about a truly gifted violinist, so I had to find out a little about playing the violin, the world of musical competitions and so on. I worked my research in in small bits and only used terms here or there as they came up naturally (e.g. one of the scenes takes place at an important musical competition). I think research is an important part of making a story authentic.
Ah, research :)
I’m currently doing exactly what you did with quilting. Except instead of quilting, I’m doing it with something else. Wish me luck that I’m doing it right.
You put your finger on the problem with using research over experience. Research tends to give you a very intellectual “fact based” view of something. If you’ve done it, you know how it feels.
As a reader, however, I do prefer that proper terminology be used — I can always look it up. (Although it’s best if I can pick it up from context.)
Here’s a question for you though: do you worry about the reaction of experienced quilters to your stories?
I usually use Google and research along the way. The most difficult thing is to decide on names of characters or fictional place names.
Perhaps you can write a cozy in a horse riding school.
Every Savage Can Reproduce
I try to make the research a part of the storyline but sometimes I just include a tiny bit for authenticity.
Sounds like when my husband goes into computer geek speak – I have no idea what he’s saying!
I think it’s the vernacular that’s tough. Every pastime has its own language and its very difficult to decode for those not in the know!
Enid–Naming is tough, isn’t it?
Ha! I would need to learn a *whole* lot more about horses. :)
Laura–It’s nice to have that authenticity, I think. It helps to transport the reader (without hitting them over the head with it.)
Margot–Good idea, having a musical competition in there to work your research in. That’s sort of what I did with the quilt shop…set the scene in a place where these terms and props would naturally fit in.
Diane–That happens in my house, too. :)
I do a ton of research. I use real establishments like hotels sine my main characters practically live out of them. So I need to Google them, call the front desk and ask questions, look for customer reviews on Yahoo!
Weird as it sounds, I do write what I know. Yeah…yeah…I know…old hat, boring, but I’ve done a lot of stuff in my life and I incorporate that into my books. If I need small details, I either look in a book or on google.
Quilting would be challenging if you don’t quilt.
Can I just say, I’m so happy you didn’t add all the quilting stuff because you’re right, that would bore me to death… look forward to reading the book. I’m currently reading your latest Myrtle.
I love doing research because it can really make a story come to life. But it is also really hard to incorporate it naturally. I like your strategy to have a novice quilter in the group to explain things. That gives you a clever excuse to include the information you worked so hard to gather.
Stephen–And that would be something I’d need to research, too! I don’t frequently stay in hotels. :)
Carol–Hmm! The plot thickens. I’m going to really start guessing about this new project of yours…
The Daring Novelist–It’s true…we’re armed with facts after research. Which is why I think my editor was so interested in texture and the emotion of the quilters as they quilted…more realism.
Do I worry about experienced quilters? Yes! All the time. They’re the ones who will email me and might mention the quilting part in a review. It’s why I’ve worked hard to make sure the facts I *am* using are correct. But I think about the quilters every day as I’m writing…and worry over the things I’m putting in the book.
Clarissa–Yeah, I’d think it would bore most of us! Thanks for getting Myrtle!
Bluestocking–I think that’s the sort of thing that would work for a variety of stories, too.
That’s a very crafty way to work in some of the research and add to the atmosphere rather than ‘teach’ the reader. I love it!
Congrats to your daughter on her horseback riding lessons!
Now this post is near and dear to my heart. As a scientist who writes science based mysteries, I’m constantly fighting myself to tone down the facts because my nature is to stuff in all the pertinent details, but it’s enough to make a reader’s eyes glaze over.
Because I don’t write in my own specific area of expertise (I work in HIV research and write forensic anthropology) I do a ton of research. My background and workplace give me the tools to find all the information I need, but I need to work hard at filtering that information for the reader. And when I occasionally (!) go overboard, my partner and agent are well versed in reining me in! ;)
I’ve been trying to do the same with my story – except I’m adding in all kinds of horsey things. I’m the one who should be going to those lessons with your daughter!
Googling is always great, but I also like going to the library and checking out books on the subject. There should be lots of books about quilting with lots of pictures that will probably capture your interest in the texture and color area, just like they want.
S.B. Niccum
Author Website
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Chicks In Lit Blog
Heather–I’m definitely not a person to teach quilting! But I hope that my appreciation of it comes through. It’s an art form. And..thanks! She’s enjoying her lessons. :)
Elspeth–Yes, and talking to actual quilters was the only way to figure it out. I wanted to say ‘quilting club’ and clubs are called ‘guilds.’ Big difference.
Jen–And filtering, I bet, would be very hard because this is a topic that you’re interested in and probably passionate about, too. For me, I can get a pretty good sense of what readers will be bored by.
Julia–In many ways, I’m writing what I know…the setting, the Southern feel, the characters (who are amalgams of people I know or see)…but, no, not quilting. :) Editors sometimes will ask for different things to be included in books, though…and this was a request.
Jemi–Yes, you should! Ha! You’d get a lot more out of it than me. :)
I have to research a number of things. And when I’m in another state (so far I’ve stayed within the boundaries of U.S.), I will use Google Earth for certain places. That is a great tool to have!
Also, you wouldn’t believe that someone who writes urban fantasy needs to research vampires, and the like, but you do. I like to be a little ahead of the compitition by knowing all about vampires–including the real life human addiction to blood, which I’m researching now. Have a biology student who is helping me. (:
The whole idea is to learn all you can so that once you need to place a sentence into your novel that came from everything you learned, you sound like you know what you’re saying!
I try not to add a lot of technical stuff. Besides, I really have no idea how a teleporter works!
For me its in the little details. If you have these in a way that would seem natural to someone heavily involved in something like horseback riding or quilting, I think it shows.
Sarah Allen
(my creative writing blog)
Your book sounds intriguing! Looking forward to reading it.