Research

A lot of people were surprised to learn that Elizabeth George was a former schoolteacher who lived in Southern California (and now lives near Puget Sound since the State of Washington changed the tax laws to encourage artists). From reading her fiction you would have thought she was British. Ah, the power of research. She traveled to England to research her locales, but that was only after her first two books were published. Prior to that she haunted the travel section of her local bookstores, reading everything she could find. It's no secret that after her first couple of books the tactile feel of her settings increases tremendously.

This was brought home to me some 20 years ago when I visited the Antietam National Battlefield Park, and the Manassas Battlefield Park. At Antietam the northern part of the battlefield was the scene of some of the heaviest fighting on that blood-soaked day. Miller's Cornfield saw several thousand casualties in its 30-acre expanse in the course of some 90 minutes. While tracking the movement of some of the units I was struck by how many times units would pause in the middle of the Cornfield, reorganize for a minute or so, before pressing on. Every map I consulted (and the few photos I saw) could not explain why. And then I visited it in person and saw that there was a slight dip there, maybe a couple of feet lower than the rest of the Cornfield. The incoming fire there had to seem lighter, which is why they paused there.

At Manassas I wondered why Pope's artillery did not blow the Confederates off the face of the Earth, and why Stephen Lee's artillery didn't shatter the Union troops where they were forming up, but only when they advanced. Nobody explained the small patch of woods 150 yards from the Confederate position where the Union troops formed up, and that screend the Confederate position. When I could walk the battlefield I could see it (a recent history does show this now, but it wasn't available in 1986).

I saw the reverse of this when I was reading a popular detective series set in Seattle (by somebody who had never visited that city). She had the main character driving south on Fourth Avenue through the heart of the city. I have yet to see a guidebook that explains that Fourth Avenue is one-way northbound through the central business core of Seattle. And later the main character ran east on James Street (!). When you walk up James Street you feel you need two Sherpas and a mountain goat to assist you (yes, it is that steep). This was corrected after the author visited Seattle.

This highlights the results of personal research. I saw this when I was on Aruba in 2004. We went horseback riding, and I could experience for myself that this was a desert island (cactus and that type of sand you only get with a desert). The travel books may tell you that, but it is one of those things you have to experience.

David Morrell (author of Rambo, First Blood and some 30 other thrillers) suggested that whenever you go anywhere, record your impressions, sight, sound, taste, touch, feel and so on. Then if you set a story there it will show up in your prose.

Nobody said research should be hard, either. Last Spring we did an Alaska cruise; up the Inside Passage to Juneau, visiting Ketchikan, Skagway and Glacier Bay (and Victoria) on our way back. I especially enjoyed those parts of Skagway that they've tried to keep with a Gold Rush feel, the wooden sidewalks, the taverns, and so on. Of course one block away it was the modern world, but for a few yards it was "historical".

Hmm, maybe that's why erotica is so popular to write. Look at all of the research you need to do!

So the next time you travel, after reading everything about the destination you are visiting, get out and walk around. Try to absorb everything you can about the place. You'll be pleasantly surprised at how it populates your stories and gives it that touch of verisimilitude.