There are a lot of things I didn't learn about writing as a career in my highly-ranked MFA program. One of them is how enjoyable and even exciting researching a book can be. And I don't just mean tracking things down online or spending time in an archive.
Yes, interviewing experts is important for many types of writing. I used to do opera, drama, dance, and music reviews for the Kalamazoo Gazette. I enjoyed interviewing the directors of these productions before I wrote my review. I learned a lot, and many appreciated my questions. When I told one opera conductor that I had studied piano for eleven years and taken courses about music and opera in college, he was very happy. He told me that a newspaper once sent a sports columnist to review one of his operas!
I love research, and I don't know if it's because of all of the work I did in grad school or because I love learning or because I FINALLY figured out how to teach high schoolers how to write research papers without pulling my hair out, but I can't get enough.
Everything I read and listen to is fair game for information that might eventually get placed in something I'm writing. I frequently read or hear something and then start a new post just so that I can save that little piece of wisdom. Writers HAVE to be open to research. We shouldn't just write what we know, but write about what we want to know more about. The best writers are curious.
Well, what we know is enormous because it's not just immediate experience or knowledge but the entire world around us, everything that's happened to our family and friends, everything we've ever read about or seen on the news, the whole of human history and knowledge if we care.
I think I was in love with research as far back as elementary school. I'd watch a Jacques Cousteau documentary and want to read *everything* about dolphins, and so it went. I can't quite say that "nothing human is alien to me," but I come close. :-)
Great advice. Some years go I called the police department to find someone to talk to our writers group. Everyone was writing crime fiction and came prepared with questions. We peppered the officer with specific questions on where a body is discovered, etc. It was eye-opening for us and also for him. He said he'd never faced such a barrage of specifics before. I never leave an interview feeling I haven't learned something extremely useful or unexpected.
Thanks, and I feel the same way: doors open that I never expected to walk through. And it's just so much fun. For my suspense novel, assault With a Deadly Lie, I consulted gun experts, official and informal, did a gun safety course, went to two firing ranges and learned a ton. Including the surprising fact that I'm a good shot. of course I had to write about it! https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/community/articles/first-time-i-shot-a-gun
"Especially, "Even if you're shy...". If this is a first novel a new author might feel they have no credibility yet and either won't approach a needed expert or won't think to ask the right questions. They need this permission.
I worked for years on a novel that required a lot of research. I got a grant for it but I never finished it. I never felt like the right storyteller, possibly because much of it came from my own family's stories and the responsibility to get it right weighed heavy, but I I absolutely loved being immersed in the research. It meant talking not just to experts but to the people who had lived through the days that were the catalyst for the book.
I said at one point that you could come to love the research so much you might never get around to telling the story.
But, Lev, here's a question: If I wanted to read one of your 27 books in order to get to know you better, which one would it be?
It's why my answer came so quickly. Ditto when someone asks me which is my favorite book, I pick my memoir because it put so many miles on me here and abroad and I read from it in more than one language, and met so many great people.
You're right about experts willing to talk to perfect strangers! Last year, I sent an email out of the blue, to a crime scene analyst because I had questions on DNA that I couldn't find answers for online. Her answer made me change a major plot point, for the best! She was gracious and we exchanged emails for a week... great people out there!
Yes, interviewing experts is important for many types of writing. I used to do opera, drama, dance, and music reviews for the Kalamazoo Gazette. I enjoyed interviewing the directors of these productions before I wrote my review. I learned a lot, and many appreciated my questions. When I told one opera conductor that I had studied piano for eleven years and taken courses about music and opera in college, he was very happy. He told me that a newspaper once sent a sports columnist to review one of his operas!
Janet Ruth Heller
website is https://www.janetruthheller.com
You can contact me via my website: levraphael.com.
I love research, and I don't know if it's because of all of the work I did in grad school or because I love learning or because I FINALLY figured out how to teach high schoolers how to write research papers without pulling my hair out, but I can't get enough.
Everything I read and listen to is fair game for information that might eventually get placed in something I'm writing. I frequently read or hear something and then start a new post just so that I can save that little piece of wisdom. Writers HAVE to be open to research. We shouldn't just write what we know, but write about what we want to know more about. The best writers are curious.
Well, what we know is enormous because it's not just immediate experience or knowledge but the entire world around us, everything that's happened to our family and friends, everything we've ever read about or seen on the news, the whole of human history and knowledge if we care.
I think I was in love with research as far back as elementary school. I'd watch a Jacques Cousteau documentary and want to read *everything* about dolphins, and so it went. I can't quite say that "nothing human is alien to me," but I come close. :-)
Great advice. Some years go I called the police department to find someone to talk to our writers group. Everyone was writing crime fiction and came prepared with questions. We peppered the officer with specific questions on where a body is discovered, etc. It was eye-opening for us and also for him. He said he'd never faced such a barrage of specifics before. I never leave an interview feeling I haven't learned something extremely useful or unexpected.
Thanks, and I feel the same way: doors open that I never expected to walk through. And it's just so much fun. For my suspense novel, assault With a Deadly Lie, I consulted gun experts, official and informal, did a gun safety course, went to two firing ranges and learned a ton. Including the surprising fact that I'm a good shot. of course I had to write about it! https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/community/articles/first-time-i-shot-a-gun
Such good advice, as always.
"Especially, "Even if you're shy...". If this is a first novel a new author might feel they have no credibility yet and either won't approach a needed expert or won't think to ask the right questions. They need this permission.
I worked for years on a novel that required a lot of research. I got a grant for it but I never finished it. I never felt like the right storyteller, possibly because much of it came from my own family's stories and the responsibility to get it right weighed heavy, but I I absolutely loved being immersed in the research. It meant talking not just to experts but to the people who had lived through the days that were the catalyst for the book.
I said at one point that you could come to love the research so much you might never get around to telling the story.
But, Lev, here's a question: If I wanted to read one of your 27 books in order to get to know you better, which one would it be?
Take your time...
The German Money for a contemporary novel, Rosedale in Love for historical.
You didn't have to take your time. I should have known. 😏
On it. Thanks.
It's a question I've been asked before.... :-)
And here I thought I was being so clever.
Slinking out now...
Jeez...
It's why my answer came so quickly. Ditto when someone asks me which is my favorite book, I pick my memoir because it put so many miles on me here and abroad and I read from it in more than one language, and met so many great people.
Which is your memoir? The two you gave me are fiction.
You're right about experts willing to talk to perfect strangers! Last year, I sent an email out of the blue, to a crime scene analyst because I had questions on DNA that I couldn't find answers for online. Her answer made me change a major plot point, for the best! She was gracious and we exchanged emails for a week... great people out there!
It's wonderful isn't it? I especially enjoy when an expert gives me an idea that makes the book better, in response to a question.