Book writing – how far does author research need to go? - CrimeSpace2024-03-29T15:33:49Zhttps://crimespace.ning.com/forum/topics/book-writing-how-far-does-author-research-need-to-go?commentId=537324%3AComment%3A349421&feed=yes&xn_auth=noReaders may get it wrong too,…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2012-07-17:537324:Comment:3495722012-07-17T21:17:46.405ZJonathan Francescohttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JonathanFrancesco
<p>Readers may get it wrong too, although sometimes they DO get it right. Like, sometimes when watching a show/reading a book/etc., I notice mistakes in things that I do have knowledge of. (ie Church protocal or something) </p>
<p>So basically, it seems even a lot of the pros don't do research as thoroughly as you might think. That doesn't mean it's not good to research. I just think that research needs to be done as needed.</p>
<p>Readers may get it wrong too, although sometimes they DO get it right. Like, sometimes when watching a show/reading a book/etc., I notice mistakes in things that I do have knowledge of. (ie Church protocal or something) </p>
<p>So basically, it seems even a lot of the pros don't do research as thoroughly as you might think. That doesn't mean it's not good to research. I just think that research needs to be done as needed.</p> That's Lee Lofland's book. B…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2012-07-17:537324:Comment:3495122012-07-17T19:19:38.898ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
<p>That's Lee Lofland's book. Bound to be excellent. He's ex-police and a super nice guy. He always answers authors' questions. (Used to come here quite a bit).</p>
<p>That's Lee Lofland's book. Bound to be excellent. He's ex-police and a super nice guy. He always answers authors' questions. (Used to come here quite a bit).</p> I agree with Tom. My overall…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2012-07-17:537324:Comment:3495112012-07-17T18:09:36.166ZBrian Hoffmanhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianHoffman
<p>I agree with Tom. My overall point was that I don't have to go to Mars to write about it. I must know how people think and respond. By the way, on Police Procedures, the HOWDUNIT series has a good one. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Police-Procedure-Investigation-Writers-Howdunit/dp/1582974551/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1342547888&sr=1-1&keywords=police+procedure" target="_blank">CHECK HERE!</a> </p>
<p>I agree with Tom. My overall point was that I don't have to go to Mars to write about it. I must know how people think and respond. By the way, on Police Procedures, the HOWDUNIT series has a good one. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Police-Procedure-Investigation-Writers-Howdunit/dp/1582974551/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1342547888&sr=1-1&keywords=police+procedure" target="_blank">CHECK HERE!</a> </p> Classic! Research has its lim…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2012-07-17:537324:Comment:3494232012-07-17T17:26:38.770ZTom Vaterhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/TomVater
<p>Classic! Research has its limits, evidently.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Classic! Research has its limits, evidently.</p>
<p></p> I have had a number of reader…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2012-07-17:537324:Comment:3495102012-07-17T17:19:13.340ZJohn McFetridgehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JohnMcF
<p>I have had a number of readers email me to say the characters in my books pay either too much or too little for marijuana ;).</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I have had a number of readers email me to say the characters in my books pay either too much or too little for marijuana ;).</p>
<p> </p> Readers frequently get it wro…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2012-07-17:537324:Comment:3494222012-07-17T17:09:40.211ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
<p>Readers frequently get it wrong, too, when they think they've found a mistake.</p>
<p>Readers frequently get it wrong, too, when they think they've found a mistake.</p> As important as research is,…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2012-07-17:537324:Comment:3496642012-07-17T16:56:05.542ZJonathan Francescohttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JonathanFrancesco
<p>As important as research is, I do think that eventually, people will ALWAYS find something "wrong" that it's really impossible to research it all. Not to mention I've seen many official books/shows get many things wrong. For all the time published authors supposedly spend with career pros, I also see comments that their stories are unrealistic as far as procedure goes. Research is important, but I also don't think that every little detail need be too smothering. Maybe I sidestep this…</p>
<p>As important as research is, I do think that eventually, people will ALWAYS find something "wrong" that it's really impossible to research it all. Not to mention I've seen many official books/shows get many things wrong. For all the time published authors supposedly spend with career pros, I also see comments that their stories are unrealistic as far as procedure goes. Research is important, but I also don't think that every little detail need be too smothering. Maybe I sidestep this frequently by always using fictional settings relatively close to home. I dunno. I think it's just important to research without getting too consumed with it.</p> Totally agree with Brian Hoff…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2012-07-17:537324:Comment:3494212012-07-17T16:43:10.148ZTom Vaterhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/TomVater
<p>Totally agree with Brian Hoffman. Research is essential. But research does not need to be limited to googling how guns work - though of course it is essential to get that right. recently a kind reader of one of my manuscripts pointed out that I shot an old man in the arm with a revolver. I checked subsequently how much damage a revolver will do to a 70 year old. I needed the character to continue to function for another couple of chapters, so I scrapped the scene before publication. But…</p>
<p>Totally agree with Brian Hoffman. Research is essential. But research does not need to be limited to googling how guns work - though of course it is essential to get that right. recently a kind reader of one of my manuscripts pointed out that I shot an old man in the arm with a revolver. I checked subsequently how much damage a revolver will do to a 70 year old. I needed the character to continue to function for another couple of chapters, so I scrapped the scene before publication. But beyond these nuts and bolts issues, there is a wider context to consider.</p>
<p>To make a story work, it does help if the writer has some knowledge about his subject. A crime writer who has never had any contact with police work will be hard pressed to come up with a decent, believable story featuring police procedures. Check out bestselling crime writers and they will, for the most part and depending on their particular field, thankfully acknowledge spending time with cops, coroners, forensics guys or in courts. There are exceptions of course. The formerly hugely popular German adventure writer Karl May wrote countless Westerns and had never been to America. But I think writers like May are something of an exception. I contend that first hand observation - staying close to the coast so to speak - is unbeatable.</p>
<p>Sci-Fi writers are no exception - they base their ideas on stuff that floats around them - from dystopians like George Orwell who reflected on very real totalitarian systems in his fiction (after experiencing British colonialsm first hand AND reading about the Soviet Union to writers like Larry Niven who utilizes very common ideas about human relationships, mixed with researched and well established adventure cliches and hard science to create futuristic visions.</p>
<p>I don't mean to start an argument here. My bottom line: Fashion your plot towards something you have lived, spent time with, experienced, or arrange time with the kind of people you write about. It will make for a better book.</p> All crime fictions needs rese…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2012-07-17:537324:Comment:3494182012-07-17T16:05:45.551ZBrian Hoffmanhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianHoffman
<p>All crime fictions needs research. Why, well that's my first rule of writing: Readers are smarter than we are! They will find logical and factual errors in a flash.</p>
<p>Once I had a scene set in a cafe at Alki Beach in Seattle. I had my main character looking at the Seattle skyline and waxing philosophical about something. My wife read the scene and said that he can't see the skyline from there. I said, of course you can. Then I drove over there and she was right. I changed the…</p>
<p>All crime fictions needs research. Why, well that's my first rule of writing: Readers are smarter than we are! They will find logical and factual errors in a flash.</p>
<p>Once I had a scene set in a cafe at Alki Beach in Seattle. I had my main character looking at the Seattle skyline and waxing philosophical about something. My wife read the scene and said that he can't see the skyline from there. I said, of course you can. Then I drove over there and she was right. I changed the scene. This is what I call little research. It's getting the little points right.</p>
<p>I had a guy tell me that he owned a 1983 Corvette. He didn't because Chevrolet didn't make a 1983 model. I read a review of a mystery that tore the writer up because the main character flipped the safety on a Glock. <a rel="nofollow" href="http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080905171522AAnKnM3" target="_blank">Check Here!</a> Glocks don't have an on/off manual safety. There is probably hundreds of other examples of this kind of factual error. And these errors can destroy the joy of reading and sales as well.</p>
<p>Fortunately, research is getting easier. In a recent short story, I needed to set a scene in Key West. Google maps let me walk right down Duval Street. Saved me a lot in air fair and still get my details right.</p>
<p>I do like to include bits and pieces of Seattle lore in my novels, but only bits and pieces because I don't want to destroy the narrative. By the way, Dana is right in his comments.</p>
<p>I do want to disagree with the write what you know rule. Few crime writers are experienced in law enforcement, but we can find out about procedure, etc. And Science Fiction wouldn't exist at all. Use your own emotions and knowledge of people, then project them into a situation you can research. (Note: The Hunt for Red October) <a rel="nofollow" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunt_for_Red_October" target="_blank">Check Here!</a></p>
<p>Oh my. I researched my response to this thread. I guess I'm more anal about this than I thought.</p> I' ve just published The Camb…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2012-07-17:537324:Comment:3494122012-07-17T10:17:23.490ZTom Vaterhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/TomVater
<p>I' ve just published The Cambodian Book of the Dead, the first in series of detective novels set in different Asian countries. I know Cambodia well and have worked there as a journalist for the past decade. I totally agree with some of the postings here that it is essential to know your subject inside out, but not to convey all this information to the reader.</p>
<p>It's like an iceberg, the tip is for the reader, the rest in for the writer to build his story on. I plan to set each of the…</p>
<p>I' ve just published The Cambodian Book of the Dead, the first in series of detective novels set in different Asian countries. I know Cambodia well and have worked there as a journalist for the past decade. I totally agree with some of the postings here that it is essential to know your subject inside out, but not to convey all this information to the reader.</p>
<p>It's like an iceberg, the tip is for the reader, the rest in for the writer to build his story on. I plan to set each of the next books in my series of so called Maier mysteries in different Asian countries and will pick only the ones I know intimately well. Even so, I will do some significant historical research into each country as I write the next installment and if possible revisit the country while writing the book, although my Maier novels are set more than a decade ago.</p>
<p><br/>I think William Burroughs once said that writing fiction is like sailing a ship. It pays to keep the coast in view for less experienced writers. The bottom line is: Write what you know about. With more experience, some research can be replaced by general know how but of course the factual nuts and bolts still have to be found and digested.</p>