I sometimes wish I wrote historical westerns with
resources like Pioneer Hearts on Facebook -https://www.facebook.com/groups/pioneerhearts
or Hearts Through History - http://www.heartsthroughhistory.com/. Or maybe romance in England in the 18th century with resources
like the Beaumonde Chapter http://thebeaumonde.com/ or again Hearts
Through History - http://www.heartsthroughhistory.com/
I think the research would be half the fun of writing the story.
I write contemporary romantic suspense and yes, I do
research but it doesn’t seem as interesting. (Maybe it’s that grass is greener
thing). Most of my research is done on line. I research the location usually
with https://www.google.com/earth/
or I post to a group and ask people who live there. I belong to Kiss of Death
Chapter http://www.rwamysterysuspense.org/
and they have a lot of resources for guns, police, lawyers, fire inspectors,
etc.
You can take courses through them or post questions to the members on
the loop. I also take other courses advertised online about things I’m writing
about. I also write to local police departments, FBI, or ATF and ask questions
specific to their work and area – nothing that might be confidential. And I
belong to several other Yahoo writing loops like the Screenwriters; Crime Scene
and Forensic Science.
Do you do research? Contemporary or historical? What
resources do you use?
I write contemporary but find the research so interesting... just imagine being able to learn about CSI procedures and do a gun training. :)
ReplyDeleteI have to admit I've done some training with guns and it was interesting. I guess I think learning about a different century or culture sounds like more fun.
DeleteI research for contemporary romantic suspense and find it very interesting. My books have been spy stories or mysteries, and there's a lot to learn. Did you know you can buy a tazer that looks like a lipstick? If my computer is ever seized, I might be in trouble for researching how to build a bomb or off someone with a insulin overdoes.
ReplyDeleteNo I didn't know about the lipstick tazer. Where did you research that? Okay, planning to kill someone (and not get caught) can be fun.
DeleteI write romantic comedy short stories and romantic comedy mysteries. I LOVE reading historicals, but the idea of learning all the stuff and research--Yikes! I've researched some interesting things like commercially baked cookies, handbags, and plumbing.
ReplyDeletePlumbing - now that's not something I'd ever thought about. Okay, I'm convinced - contemporary research, especially guns and killing people is fun. :)
DeleteI've actually had to do some research on very far flung topics in writing my "Immortal Relations" series. From the female body to a planetary body (the asteroid Ceres). (-:
ReplyDeleteNow that sounds interesting. How do you go about researching something like that?
ReplyDelete