Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Research - History vs Contemporary


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?

 

8 comments:

  1. I write contemporary but find the research so interesting... just imagine being able to learn about CSI procedures and do a gun training. :)

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    1. I 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.

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  2. I 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.

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    1. No 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.

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  3. I 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.

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    1. Plumbing - now that's not something I'd ever thought about. Okay, I'm convinced - contemporary research, especially guns and killing people is fun. :)

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  4. I'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). (-:

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  5. Now that sounds interesting. How do you go about researching something like that?

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