tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4954486699810607306.post5953281884777333730..comments2023-11-02T02:40:48.410-07:00Comments on Crime Fiction Collective: Research and RealismL.J. Sellershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10213491074676394406noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4954486699810607306.post-89744257792163539372013-02-13T04:47:42.694-08:002013-02-13T04:47:42.694-08:00Research is research and it all takes enormous amo...Research is research and it all takes enormous amounts of time away from our writing. I don't think online research is cutting corners at all. However you get the info, being accurate is what's important. I do a combo of online and field research and enjoy mixing it up. Jennyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10384070533603453713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4954486699810607306.post-69271616404354291222013-02-12T17:02:32.045-08:002013-02-12T17:02:32.045-08:00Here's what I've decided, Allan,
I'm ...Here's what I've decided, Allan,<br /><br />I'm just going to go buy your book, read it, then go do a whole ton of ridiculously intense research to see if I can find any mistakes.<br /><br />That'll show you, won't it! -smile-<br /><br />Seriously, as long as you don't contradict common knowledge and easily-accessible sources, and you don't screw up your continuity (or the time period details) -- then it all comes down to acing the essentials.<br /><br />Glad you subbed in to write this post, Allan. Your book sounds like something I will enjoy very much. Jim Besseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07875352026571948234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4954486699810607306.post-62287627166955997392013-02-12T12:49:48.705-08:002013-02-12T12:49:48.705-08:00If a novelist puts me so firmly into the story'...If a novelist puts me so firmly into the story's characters or time period that I'm inspired to wrap my arms around them, I'm very likely to dive into scholarly books/web sites to dig out detailed information. A novel, Katherine by Anya Seton (1954), that I read several decades ago, prompted a passionate and life-long fascination with the Plantagenets and sparked a love of Medieval/Renaissance history I didn't know I possessed. <br /><br />Maggie Danahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09397320196343147825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4954486699810607306.post-55740243640744976682013-02-12T01:57:20.076-08:002013-02-12T01:57:20.076-08:00I write historical crime fantasy, but I still rese...I write historical crime fantasy, but I still research everything to the nth degree. I think research and writing are like salt. You have a great big barrel of it, but you only add a pinch to your cooking. How many books have we all read where there is so much lecturing by the author that the reader gets glassy-eyed? It's like too much salt on your fries - inedible. Likewise when not enough basic research has been done, like the recent book I read where the author could smell carbon-monoxide.April Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09323616899009501244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4954486699810607306.post-79272777891230886892013-02-11T20:18:08.762-08:002013-02-11T20:18:08.762-08:00Great post, Allan. And exactly right. Writers shou...Great post, Allan. And exactly right. Writers should inform readers of details only on a "need to know" basis. And what they need to know is only as much as necessary to keep them enchanted and believing in the Story World. Robert Bidinottohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11777797272563802442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4954486699810607306.post-34240116514794458812013-02-11T19:19:34.729-08:002013-02-11T19:19:34.729-08:00I think it was Stephen King who said, when you'...I think it was Stephen King who said, when you're writing (i suspect he meant drafting) and you come to a detail you don't know or can't get to in a few seconds, put in a marker (like [DETAIL]) and keep going. Do the research later. <br /><br />It might not have been him, though, because I'm not sure he stopped writing long enough to do a second draft/revision wherein that research would show up. SF, and certainly Fantasy, once the world's been built (or the premise/science laid out) doesn't need research in the same way.<br /><br />Yes, the googles make research so much easier - as I tell my students. :) I think the tools mentioned here - mapquest/google maps, various search engines, interviews, set websites, etc. cover most of the immediate needs. There's always a library for books on 18th shirt manufacturing or such, though even now a lot of that's online via PDF.<br /><br />To address your question, Allan, yes it's cutting corners to research online. Writing fiction is cutting corners - if the object is objective reportage. What you're talking about, though, is setting. Movies and TV cut the same corners all the time: miniature sets, 'filmed on location' in the back of a studio, or in City A which is supposed to be City XYZ. As you noted, the setting (research, background) as no inherent value in fiction. It's the place wherein the story occurs. The place must be real (real enough - verisimilitude) or there is no story. So we only need as much setting (research, background, details,etc.) as the story demands.<br /><br />To provide more would be to provide less.<br /><br />Thanks for a great post.David Y.B. Kaufmannhttp://www.davidybkaufmann.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4954486699810607306.post-91408058518278952362013-02-11T19:15:49.434-08:002013-02-11T19:15:49.434-08:00Elisabeth, thanks very much; I really appreciate t...Elisabeth, thanks very much; I really appreciate that!Al Leveronehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09875867178918970838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4954486699810607306.post-64184517752591263282013-02-11T11:28:50.648-08:002013-02-11T11:28:50.648-08:00Great post Allan - you also have great books!Great post Allan - you also have great books!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4954486699810607306.post-64369223773612355272013-02-11T09:46:37.240-08:002013-02-11T09:46:37.240-08:00I get my start with research online. Then I buy bo...I get my start with research online. Then I buy books (right now I have three non-fiction books for the story I'm writing now—THE SWAMP; THE CAJUNS and THE DILOGGÚN) and later I'll actually talk to people who know more than I do about each of these subjects. Whenever I speak to an "expert" I always pick up something that further authenticates my story. Usually that's an odd little factoid or some kind of slang.<br /><br />I have two friends who will simply stop reading a novel the minute they can no longer trust the writer to get things right, even if it's a terrific story. I sort of feel sorry for them and sort of understand them.<br /><br />Great post, Al!Peg Brantleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04906858123466177508noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4954486699810607306.post-55690960343178736882013-02-11T09:41:38.100-08:002013-02-11T09:41:38.100-08:00Welcome, Al. CFC is a great place to hang out.Welcome, Al. CFC is a great place to hang out.Peg Brantleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04906858123466177508noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4954486699810607306.post-4673284561040154572013-02-11T07:34:23.367-08:002013-02-11T07:34:23.367-08:00I do the same, LJ, especially since it's nearl...I do the same, LJ, especially since it's nearly impossible to know enough about all the different subjects that arise while you're writing.<br /><br />Thing is, there are always going to be readers who know more about a particular subject than you do, no matter how much research you've done, so how do you know when to pull the plug on the research and start typing?Al Leveronehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09875867178918970838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4954486699810607306.post-85248646959816469222013-02-11T07:23:42.734-08:002013-02-11T07:23:42.734-08:00I do some research online for specific, small deta...I do some research online for specific, small details, but I also conduct interviews with specialists for every novel. It's worth it for the extra, and often vital, information I get. Sometimes, it's not even stuff I ask about, it just comes up. L.J. Sellershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10213491074676394406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4954486699810607306.post-58311459842603793712013-02-11T07:14:30.049-08:002013-02-11T07:14:30.049-08:00I worked late last night so I'm remiss in gett...I worked late last night so I'm remiss in getting to this until now, but I want to extend my thanks to Jodie Renner and to everyone else at Crime Fiction Collective for opening up your virtual home to me - pretty nice digs here, you might have to call the authorities to get me out...Al Leveronehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09875867178918970838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4954486699810607306.post-11140226628271731982013-02-11T07:11:11.389-08:002013-02-11T07:11:11.389-08:00Yoni, thanks for checking in - Mapquest, Google Ea...Yoni, thanks for checking in - Mapquest, Google Earth, the Yahoo groups, those are just a few of the nearly limitless tools available now, all of which are just a few clicks of a mouse away.<br /><br />The last thing I want is to pull the reader out of the story - I heard from a reader of my first novel, FINAL VECTOR, and she was unhappy that I didn't describe her town (Hull, MA) the way she remembered it from living there.<br /><br />I decided at that time to use fictional locations as much as possible, but doing so is a lot more feasible in my horror novels than in my thrillers.Al Leveronehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09875867178918970838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4954486699810607306.post-58756531759249937152013-02-11T06:05:47.791-08:002013-02-11T06:05:47.791-08:00Excellent post, Allan. Realism and the research to...Excellent post, Allan. Realism and the research to get it right is so important. Readers can so easily be snatched out of the story by something as simple as a timing detail or a location goof.<br /><br />I like to place my stories in places I've been, but not necessarily recently. Mapquest is my biggest friend, giving me distances and where things are. I don't want a Chicago reader to say, "Hey, you can't get from downtown to Cicero, Illinois in 20 minutes!" or "There's no El service to [wherever]."<br /><br />As for Ramstein, I suspect that someone based there might blink and notice a discrepency, but probably not enough to stop reading.<br /><br />The Internet is fabulous for writers' research needs. Thanks for the words.toni lelandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07464547482495400281noreply@blogger.com