I hope you all are enjoying this month about what goes into writing, and some of my writing in particular. One thing that’s always a part of a fiction (or any) writer’s routine is research. As I said last week, I’ve researched the size of entrance and exit wounds for various bullets, the various stages of decomposition of a human body (gross, by the way), and looked into what exactly a detective does to solve a case. All of this has informed my writing to make it the best, most believable it can be. Part of that is due to my dad, a former police officer, who sits and scoffs at TVs, movies, and books that add a little sparkle and flair when it comes to keeping an audience’s attention and keeping them entertained.
My goal, of course, is to entertain you, but also not distract you from that entertainment by being patently false in how factual, real events are carried out in every day life. Without knowing who everyone in my audience is, there will likely be former police officers or detectives, former military, and average fans of the genre who know a thing or two about a thing or two when it comes to how other authors have handled these factual aspects of fiction.
Two of my most recent works in progress have revolved around a U.S. Air Force veteran. So I made contact with one online. We chat about his experiences, I ask questions on specific facts or details I’d like to cover, and he answers if he can. The interesting part about this dynamic is that I can send a message whenever I have a question I need answered. I’m not boxed in to a single interview, or scheduling multiple and taking up his time as well as taking away my own from writing, editing, business, and family time.
I leave a question, he leaves an answer, and when we’re both available, we chat or I take the opportunity to conduct a real-time interview that’s not set up and stuffy as it would be if it were scheduled for a specific date and time. I get more honest, off-the-cuff answers and shades of his personality rather than stilted, scripted interviews.
These ‘real-time’ interviews have colored my writing in a way no other research or interviewing style has. The depth and detail of knowledge I’ve gained from the more informal nature of this communication has done wonders for my writing. I hope you’ll get to see it soon!
Has there ever been a time when you’ve used online tools in this way? How did it change the dynamic? Did you respond differently? Did the person you were interacting with respond differently? Let’s talk on Facebook!