By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Last December I was at a Christmas
drop-in and was hanging out near the back of the room…my favorite haunt at
social events. This spot is even better
if there is wine near the back of the room, which was the case for this party.
drop-in and was hanging out near the back of the room…my favorite haunt at
social events. This spot is even better
if there is wine near the back of the room, which was the case for this party.
I’m sure I’m the despair of many a poor
hostess, but this one was doing a great job trying to engage me. “Let me introduce you
to my friend,” she said. She brought me over to a
gentleman who was also standing in the back of a room, this one the
kitchen. “Elizabeth is a mystery
writer,” she said with a smile. Of
course I winced at being outed as a writer—you just never know how that’s going
to go. And the hostess continued, “Elizabeth, my friend is a botanist.”
hostess, but this one was doing a great job trying to engage me. “Let me introduce you
to my friend,” she said. She brought me over to a
gentleman who was also standing in the back of a room, this one the
kitchen. “Elizabeth is a mystery
writer,” she said with a smile. Of
course I winced at being outed as a writer—you just never know how that’s going
to go. And the hostess continued, “Elizabeth, my friend is a botanist.”
I lit up.
The party flew by and I wasn’t the first person to leave this
time—perhaps not even the fourth or fifth person. I’d immediately gasped as if
I’d met a rock star and said, “So you must know all about poisons!” He did.
The poor man.
The party flew by and I wasn’t the first person to leave this
time—perhaps not even the fourth or fifth person. I’d immediately gasped as if
I’d met a rock star and said, “So you must know all about poisons!” He did.
The poor man.
It was a good thing that no one else
found the botanist as fascinating as I did.
I completely monopolized him as I avidly picked his brain on North
Carolina poisons, emailing myself the information on my phone. My husband gave up trying to be part of our
conversation as I recorded poison after poison in complete delight. It was my
most favorite party ever. And—I got lots of information on Destroying Angel, a
type of mushroom that I’m using in my next book.
found the botanist as fascinating as I did.
I completely monopolized him as I avidly picked his brain on North
Carolina poisons, emailing myself the information on my phone. My husband gave up trying to be part of our
conversation as I recorded poison after poison in complete delight. It was my
most favorite party ever. And—I got lots of information on Destroying Angel, a
type of mushroom that I’m using in my next book.
This made me realize that, introverted as
I am and as fond of computer research as I am—sometimes nothing beats primary
sources. The botanist loved talking about poisons and had ideas for
many different types. I could
immediately learn if they’d work for my story by asking how long before they
took effect, if they had a bitter taste that would prevent the victim from
continuing to eat/drink the item, etc.
I am and as fond of computer research as I am—sometimes nothing beats primary
sources. The botanist loved talking about poisons and had ideas for
many different types. I could
immediately learn if they’d work for my story by asking how long before they
took effect, if they had a bitter taste that would prevent the victim from
continuing to eat/drink the item, etc.
I’ve also used primary sources to fill in
bits of research that would take forever for me to research online. Last year, I asked a successful barbeque
competitor how teams were set up for the Memphis in May barbeque competition
and what it took to win. I’ve asked cops
police procedural questions, particularly how they relate to small towns. And I’ve asked a former participant in beauty
contests exactly how one contestant could take revenge on another and ruin
their chances…and if these contests got that competitive (they can and do,
apparently).
bits of research that would take forever for me to research online. Last year, I asked a successful barbeque
competitor how teams were set up for the Memphis in May barbeque competition
and what it took to win. I’ve asked cops
police procedural questions, particularly how they relate to small towns. And I’ve asked a former participant in beauty
contests exactly how one contestant could take revenge on another and ruin
their chances…and if these contests got that competitive (they can and do,
apparently).
Aside from the botanist, I’m usually
fairly organized when I contact a primary source. If I’m calling, I immediately explain that
I’m a writer (especially when I ask police officers murder-related questions!),
ask if there’s a good time to call them back or if they’re currently available,
and always make sure I have my list of questions in front of me. Email sometimes is a better way to
communicate with sources because then you’ve got it all in writing. I’m not fond of the phone, but sometimes
that’s preferred by the person I’m interviewing. And, as much as I dislike it, I probably do
get the information faster because I can ask follow-up questions right then
instead of having to email them back.
fairly organized when I contact a primary source. If I’m calling, I immediately explain that
I’m a writer (especially when I ask police officers murder-related questions!),
ask if there’s a good time to call them back or if they’re currently available,
and always make sure I have my list of questions in front of me. Email sometimes is a better way to
communicate with sources because then you’ve got it all in writing. I’m not fond of the phone, but sometimes
that’s preferred by the person I’m interviewing. And, as much as I dislike it, I probably do
get the information faster because I can ask follow-up questions right then
instead of having to email them back.
Something else I’ve found on these
occasions when I’ve talked with a primary source—I get ideas and information to
work with on other projects. Plus, it gives me extra inspiration to talk
with someone who really knows the topic I’m asking them about and who’s excited
about it.
occasions when I’ve talked with a primary source—I get ideas and information to
work with on other projects. Plus, it gives me extra inspiration to talk
with someone who really knows the topic I’m asking them about and who’s excited
about it.
I credit my source in my acknowledgments
and send them a signed book when it releases.
and send them a signed book when it releases.
Have you ever used primary sources for
researching a book?
researching a book?
Image: Destroying Angel, Wikimedia Commons, Calvero
Elizabeth – Oh, I know just what you mean about parties!! Lucky you to meet such a helpful resource. And I agree about the need to go right to the source, so to speak. I’ve done that too. When I was researching one of my books, I contacted the good folks at Valley Forge National Park because I had a question about police jurisdiction. They were very helpful. And for another story, I had a great conversation with a retail manager who was able to help me with some questions about store security. Those people usually love to help, and are very informative.
I love the image of you taking down notes and emailing yourself while talking to the botanist at the party. Just so you know, I do the same thing at parties where I don’t know most of the people. Talking to real people for research is ideal. Since my story takes place in pre-history, that would be quite difficult for me, however, LOL.
I love learning about other peoples expertise. I often ask specific questions and they normally spill whatever I want to hear. I store it away in my brain for later use.
Margot–You make a good point here. These folks are frequently flattered at being asked for help as a resource. I tend to think of myself as sort of a pain…taking people away from their work to help me with mine. But I think the people I’ve talked to have always enjoyed it.
Karen–Ha! Yes, you’d have to have a seance for that kind of research. :) That sounds like such a cool setting for a story, though!
Yes! When working on Book V of my series, I emailed the head girl’s basketball coach at Clemson to get details on what an assistant coach did. She was very gracious and helpful with giving me inside information.
You probably made that botanist’s day.
I’ve been fortunate enough to speak with real fighter pilots which helped when writing dogfights in my books.
Diane–That’s a terrific way to get information that you probably would never have been able to find online. Sounds like she was very happy to help out.
Alex–They’re very realistic reads, so I can tell you did some excellent research!
I use primary sources for my news reports and nowadays I get them more quickly and easily by email. It saves me half a day of travel and transcription which can be a pain. I just shoot the questions by email.
I can explore a little in that party environment–a glass of wine buttering it all up and all, but I’m TERRIFIED to cold call. I admire your bravery.
Teresa–I put it all in a Word file, since my memory is so faulty!
Prashant–I *much* prefer email. Sometimes the sources prefer phone calls…ugh. But it can make things quicker sometimes.
Hart–It’s a little scary sometimes. But they’re always happy to help. The worst is probably calling the police and trying not to sound like a crazy person… :)
I worked in TV news for many years and have used sources nurtured back then – an arson investigator, a search and rescue dog handler, a detective. I’ve been out of the business for some time now and my sources have retired, but I’ve found you’re never more than 5 or 6 phone calls away from what you need to know and most people are happy to talk about their area of expertise.
Yes! I can definitely relate. So, okay, I cheated on my first novel–I gave one of my characters a hobby of making jewelry. My husband makes jewelry, so my primary resource was easy to talk to :). But I’ve put off working on a novel that’s been in my head for two years because I’m so intimidated by the research required. I have to get over my fear of asking sources for information.
I once showed my mom a book on natural poisons I’d found and was excited about. She told me to pray that she died of obviously natural causes or I was in deep poo.
If you are using research to write complex scenes or scenarios, it’s also a good idea to let your expert read those scenes so you won’t be caught in obvious errors or have your expert within the book say something an expert would never say.
Yes, indeedy. For my adult book coming out next year, I chatted to a pathologist (death, murder, suicide and autopsy info) and a locksmith (how to break into an office). For my current WIP, I just spent an afternoon with a firearms instructor, learning the ins and outs of rifles and Glocks (and firing them!).One or two Twitter folks helped me with info on New Orleans neighborhoods, but no matter how many times I reached out, no one from the Sea Shepard anti-whaling crew would chat to me :(
Nothing beats talking to experts in person.
Marilynn–Ha! Yes, my husband told my children something similar: “If anything strange ever happens to Dad, be sure to tell the police what Mom does….” :)
Oh, yes. Good point. A couple of times I wrote in my acknowledgments: “any mistakes are my own and not _____’s.” But I felt better when I emailed the particular parts of the book that dealt with the topic to the source. Just to double-check it.
Carolyn–That would have been the BEST job to find sources!
And I think you’re right–everyone is proud of being an expert in their own area. Most of these folks don’t have jobs where people are hounding them to tell them about it. I’m sure I was the first person who thought the botanist was fabulously interesting. It’s got to be flattering, right?
Elizabeth–It’s a little scary. But then I think, “I’ll never have to talk to these people again.” That takes a lot of the fear factor out of it. And email is definitely the easier of the two ways. You could always call, and ask for an email address so that you could send them your questions.
Jo–Oh, gosh, those are fantastic sources. I’d love to get ahold of a pathologist. A locksmith would be handy to speak with, too. Too bad about the anti-whaling crew, though! Maybe they didn’t believe you were who you said you were? I always think that, with email, I can leave all my links and they can check me out if they need to. On the phone…sometimes I wonder if they think I’m some crackpot. But they *still* usually give me info, even if they do think I’m nuts. :)
Love your posts and now I really think you’re fascinating (okay, always do) – because my WIP includes use of belladonna, or deadly nightshade. I did lots of online research and also have to admit I’ve seen it as a plot item in enough books or movies that I think it must be a good one… But does it have a taste that would discourage one from a sip with their tea? (Did your botanist mention?) // I was lucky to have a policeman in a writing course I took, and he was kind enough to review the police sections of my book. I wonder how many fellow writers he had to do that for! I still need to discuss some things with a criminal lawyer, too…
Meredith–The berries are sweet, the leaves are bitter. :) Can you brew the tea with the berries? Or maybe have the berries mixed in a smoothie or juice of some kind?
There are some other good resources for crime writers that I’ve used from time to time. There are a few Yahoo groups for mystery writers that cops frequent: http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Weapons_Info/info and http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/crimescenewriter/info . There are blogs, too, that are helpful: http://forensics4fiction.com/ and http://writersforensicsblog.wordpress.com/. Specific to poisons, Clarissa Draper had an excellent series on them: http://clarissadraper.blogspot.com/search/label/Poisons . Hope this helps!
Oh my gosh, how funny. Probably the first time he’s been asked at a party, “So you know about poisons?” HA!
I wrote an article, which was bought by Highlights. It was about the sentinels who guard the tomb of the unknowns. I’d done lots of research, but the article truly came to life when I did a phone interview with one of the guards. Amazing guy. Amazing story.
Julie–That sounds like a terrific article! I can imagine that talking with the guard made all the difference.