I’m always reading, researching, and learning new things. Some may be implemented in a future story. Sometimes I take a deep dive, while sometimes I only look up enough to have a character talk about it or do something related to it and not make it sound like I’m relying on memories or what others have told me.
I did a lot of researching about various locations around the U.S. when I worked for a blog writing company that wrote blogs and website content for businesses all over the country. I can write about these activities and places like I’ve been there before, or even as if I live there and do the activities all the time.
I know more about LED lighting than I care to admit. I know just as much about architecture and construction as my husband who has been in the business for coming up on 30 years now. So when you read a character who’s a construction site foreman or an architect, know that I know everything, and exactly, what that person’s job entails, even if all you read on the page is the architect meeting with a client to go over plans. If there’s dialogue? That dialogue is backed by actual vocabulary and discussions had in the architecture and construction industry.
Since my upcoming debut is a murder mystery, which utilizes a gun sometimes, I briefly looked into things like types of guns, ammo, and the technical forensics like entrance and exit wound sizes and typical blood spatter patterns. Interesting stuff. None of which you can tell I’ve used. I hold back from giving a lesson on the mechanics of the type of gun used, and skip the scenes where the detective fires the gun to check if, indeed, the weapon found is the same weapon used in a crime.
Now, I’m diving a bit deeper into the world. When my husband’s company held their holiday gathering at a local indoor shooting range, I was unsure at first. It has been years since I’ve held, let alone fired, a gun. In fact, I’d decided before we got there that I wouldn’t. There was too much stacked against me. My excuse: I’m left-handed and everyone else, including the instructor, will likely be right-handed. There won’t be anyone to show me how to do things properly ‘backwards.’
But.
The instructor at the range wouldn’t let anyone not shoot at least a few rounds. When I tried to excuse myself this way, he wasn’t having it and encouraged me to come up, then showed me exactly how to do everything without once faltering in a way that would suggest he hasn’t worked with a lefty before.
Everything went well. I enjoyed it. It encouraged me to look into classes and learning the right way. As I looked into that, I’ve looked into the right firearm for myself. And the differences are interesting.
No, I’m not going to tell you what I’ve chosen, how much I’ve practiced and where, or anything like that.