A Post on Research

Today I'm talking about "Research for the Non-Researcher". Visit Hen and Inkblots here for some tips on what to do when a ghost shows up in your manuscript and won't go away.

Road Trip Research

I took another trip down the Natchez Trace Parkway this week with my research assistant/photographer (my daughter). There were a few stops on the 444-mile trek that I needed to revisit to clear up some setting details for my book.
One of the highest points in the state of Mississippi is at the Jeff Busby site. I thought we would have to take the hiking trail up to the overlook summit, but the park service has made it easy for everyone to see the beautiful view. You can drive right up to the area and park your car. For the more adventurous, there is a hiking trail down from the summit to the campground area. We hiked part of the way down the trail. I think my daughter would have happily hiked the whole way, but my failure to pack bug spray and knowing that the hike down was the easy part, made us turn back about halfway down the trail.

This is a photo of another hiker we saw at the top of the trail.

I am glad that I made it to the Jeff Busby site again. The convenience store and gas station previously located there is now closed. The pay telephone that was of great interest to my character in the first draft of my story has been removed from the site. There is good cell phone reception at the overlook point, something I would not have known without a visit.

For readers: Do you enjoy reading books set in real locations more than stories set in fictional towns?

For writers: Do you find it easier to write about real places or made-up locales?

Reality TV in Music City

Tuesday night, DH and I attended the taping of Season Two’s first episode of Country Music Television’s show, Can You Duet? Think American Idol, but with duos. We were free for the evening in Nashville. We had to go out and hear some live music, so why not take the opportunity to be part of a TV audience? You never know when this experience might be called on for research purposes.

Can You Duet? is being taped at the famous Wildhorse Saloon, a three-story warehouse turned restaurant/club/TV studio. The venue has been the host to over 4,000 TV shows. If you are writing a story about reality TV, the music business, Nashville, or anything remotely related, get down to the Wildhorse any Tuesday this month. You might be inspired, but you’ll definitely enjoy the show.

(Lance Smith, host & house band, Sixwire, warming up the crowd.)

Research and the First Draft

I started writing a new middle grade mystery this week. There are few things in my life that match the excitement of opening a document and starting a brand new manuscript.

Many writers love research and say they must make themselves stop the research to start writing. I am the opposite. I must force myself to do enough research so that I don’t leave glaring errors needing a major rewrite. This happened in my last mystery. I was so ready to start the new manuscript, that I relied on my memory of historical facts to write Clue #1 for the story. Lesson learned: Always check your facts, especially when Clues 2, 3, etc. are tied to Clue #1 in the story.

Where I went wrong: I could not remember which order the buildings were constructed that surround Jackson Square in the French Quarter of New Orleans, one of my favorite neighborhoods. Just in case any blog readers might find this information helpful, here are the facts:

In 1788, a great fire broke out in the French Quarter on Good Friday, destroying eighty percent of the city’s buildings, including St. Louis Church. The building that would become known as St. Louis Cathedral was rebuilt on the same spot.

In 1849 and 1850, the Pontalba buildings that border Jackson Square (believed to be the first apartment buildings in the United States) were built. They did not exist in 1788 and could not have been damaged by the great fire.

This is the type of thing research can help with! What about you? Are you a research junkie or does the keyboard sing a siren song to you?