A POTPOURRI OF RESEARCH

Posted by: Genene Valleau

Current project: Nine-book contemporary romance series

Mood: Optimistic

For me, research is a potpourri of methods that includes interviews, reading books, visits, and searching the Internet as well as my life experiences. It's fun and easy to get caught up in--as others have mentioned.

I'm working on a nine-book contemporary romance series, so have the careers, hobbies and backgrounds of nine heroes and heroines to research. 

Several of the heroes are in law enforcement, so the Citizen Police Academy I attended will provide much of the background material for these characters. I've also printed Minnette Meador's recent interviews with Portland police detectives for additional information. 

Since each of these heroes has a different speciality, I'll search out LEA personnel in those areas to interview. 

The heroes will also differ in which agency they work for: State Police, big city police department, and rural sheriff's department. I'll do more research on the Internet to get a general feel for how each of those law enforcement agencies work.

I also have a bookshelf of books relating to police procedures, the "language" of law enforcement, and anecdotal stories from real police cases. 

I'll do similar research for the careers, hobbies and lifestyles of the other characters, as well as draw on my life experiences. For instance, one of my heroines is a social worker. I spent twenty years working for a social service agency, so have a lot of background in that area. 

While much of my research is done before I do the bulk of my writing, other interesting tidbits will come up as I write that I will also research. 

Yes, research can be fun and addictive. However, for me that's balanced with the excitement of actually telling the story. That means I don't get stuck in research, but I do have a good time on that part of the writing journey!

Dog Days

Posted by: Lisa Hendrix

Current Project: IMMORTAL CHAMPION

Mood: Twitterific.

I love research. If I were ever to stop writing, it would be to do research professionally. So rather than just talking about research, I though I'd do some and put in all the links so you can follow along. Right now, this is just an intellectual exercise and I have no intention of using what I find. But then again, one of the Vikings in my Immortal Brotherhood is a war-dog...

It's been a long, hot summer here in the Pacific NW, the kind of weather Grammie used to call the dog days of Summer. So I decided to see what's up with that term.

According to my research source of first resort, Wikipedia, 'the phrase Dog Days or "the dog days of summer", Latin: Caniculae or Caniculares dies, refers to the hottest, most sultry days of summer.' I never stop with Wiki, btw, but it's a good start, and there are usually outside links at the bottom of each article. In this case, none of the links were all that useful, but one was to another Wiki page, and from *that* one, I found something good.

Some people assume the name comes from the way dogs lay about in the summer heat. The Oxford American Dictionary on my Mac even references that in the secondary definition, "a period of inactivity or sluggishness." But it turns out the ancients were thinking not of the family pet, but of the Dog Star, Sirius, named for the dog-headed Egyptian god

Osirus (not Harry Potter's godfather) . It was an important star because its annual conjunction with the Sun coincided with the critical Nile floods. Sirius also happens to be the brightest star in the heavens, so bright that the Romans actually believed it added to the summer heat, which reinforced the association of Dog Days and heat. (Curious About Astronomy)

Traditionally the Dog Days are the 20 days before and after the Sun/Sirius conjunction. Nowadays, that's roughly from July 5 to August 10 (northern hemisphere), but because of astronomical precession, it's changed over the years; in ancient times, it was somewhat later, more like mid/late-July to early September. (Wilstar). Whenever the Dog Days fell, however, they were thought to be foul times, "when the seas boiled, wine turned sour, dogs grew mad, and all creatures became languid, causing to man burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies" (Clavis Calendarium, 1813, as quoted on Wiki). Up north in Sweden and Finland, they call this part of summer "the rotting time" because the food spoiled in the heat.

The term Dog Days has been used as a movie title, the name of a band, several song titles, and even a kid's book. Dicken's referenced them (as a single word, oddly enough) in describing Scrooge in A Christmas Carol,

He carried his own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office in the dogdays; and didn't thaw it one degree at Christmas.

Finally, while poking around, I found a little video called "Dog Days" by Florence and the Machine. Unfortunately, Flo disabled embedding, so you'll have to go look here.

So there you have an example of how I wander, finding odd bits and pieces here and there. And I never even got past the first page of Google search on this. Imagine if I'd really been serious (serious...snort) about the whole thing and you'll get a hint at why I turn out books so flippin' slowly.

So ultimately, this is about procrastination. Useful, intellectually stimulating procrastination, but procrastination nonetheless.

What's your favorite way to "work" without actually doing the work?

Research?

Heather Hiestand

Currently Working on: Holly's Pledge, the third story in my Anh Leod series at Ellora's Cave. First there was Claudia, then Cherokee, now Holly!

Mood: Frustrated and nervous about the lack of income entering my bank account. I hate this economy!

As we all know, I haven't been writing much lately. In fact, as I dusted off my files for Holly's Pledge this week, I discovered I hadn't done any writing since January. Some editing, yes, but no writing. I'm not sure I've gone this long without writing since the mid 1990s!

The series I'm working on right now, like all of my Anh Leod titles, has some Greek mythology in it. One book I use for ideas is Classical Mythology by Stephen Harris and Gloria Platzner. I also use the internet a lot. The hero of my current book is the son of King Minos, who I was making up until I realized there was a developed mythology around Minos to the extent of naming all of his myth-y children, so I had to look up enough info to have a starting point.

I also read a lot of fashion magazines because this series is set in Los Angeles. Because I haven't been there for a while, I look up real estate sites and other websites to get places and houses to use in the books.

That's it for now. Baby Andy woke up from his five minute nap and is crying loudly!

RESEARCH JUNKIE - WHEN IS ENOUGH, ENOUGH?

Posted by: Minnette Meador
Currently working on: Keenan's Dilemma, The Bell Stalker, Starsight III
Mood: Frenzied, Frustrated, and Fabulous… not necessarily in that order

Cave dwelling writers like myself get very few opportunities to stumble out into the world and have their own rollicking adventures. Most of my excitement happens between my ears. Though I loved doing research for general reasons, when I originally started writing historicals I dreaded the thought of slogging through ancient reference books, thousands upon thousands of Internet references, and dusty old museums. I wanted to just write. When one of those same old museums turned me onto a hunky martial artist who also happened to be a Roman scholar and specialized in choreographing battle scenes, I got hooked. This whole research thing started to satisfy a craving I didn’t know I had; I was an adrenalin… ehm, research junkie!

A couple of months ago, I was able to do an in-depth interview with a lieutenant from the Portland Police East Precinct and go for a ride along. It was an amazing experience and I filled pages of my novel with gusto. Then last week, to satisfy requirements for my newest project (or so I said), I interviewed one of the two lead detectives of the Homicide Division in Portland. OMG! I’m now scheduling another ride along… this time on a Friday or Saturday night. Like I said, research junkie.

All of that begs the question: When is enough, enough? How much research do you do? Do you feel you do too little or too much? What extent are you willing to go to “get the facts straight?”

For me personally, I always think truth is more bazaar than fiction. I won’t relate to you some of the stories the detective at Homicide told me. Suffice it to say that even in my wildest dreams… What these interviews do for me is give me a point of reference in reality, a flavor or voice I hadn’t even thought of before that lends credence to the story, even if I don’t use it all. After all, I do have a literary license to uphold. I could get kicked out of the bar if I don’t use it, right?

So my advice? Let yourself experience the world. Make a call. Send an email. Contact people in the world that do the things you write about. Reality, in my humble opinion, never ceases to amaze. From one research junkie to another. :o)

Minnette Meador
www.minnettemeador.com
http://minnettemeador.blogspot.com