It's easy to overdo research as a way to avoid writing. But a certain amount of research is necessary. As I'm working on the next story, Amy is hired by a lawyer to investigate a warehouse fire. Not that anyone thinks it's arson, but the insurance company that contacted the lawyer is hoping damages can be subrogated for someone else to pay. The warehouse is in an isolated, swampy area on the west bank (actually south of New Orleans).
What do I know about fires, you ask? Well, once we get beyond toasting marshmallows...not a thing! When I was about ten years old I joined a jillion of my neighbors to watch the local bakery burn up/down. I remember how hot it was even from across the street; sparks and cinders floating up and away; and the tongues of flame that looked like what my father made in a fireplace, only about a hundred times larger. It was fascinating.
So Bing lets me search for photos of a burned out warehouse. Many pictures are in an inappropriate urban setting (a bunch in Brunswick, New Jersey--is that recent?), some are of buildings bigger than what I have in mind, some don't show the kind of damage I'm imagining. Nice thing about Bing--you get lots and lots of pictures to choose from. Originally I had thought of a more modern building, but the damage and setting of this example are too good to pass up. When Amy and Paul drive to the site, this is what they find:
"The remains were a blackened exoskeleton of brick, with burned out openings that once had been windows, and jagged, broken walls. Charred timbers were strewn about the parking area, and more were visible through the former windows, hanging inside from what little remained of the roof."
An hour of research to come up with one paragraph. I suppose if I had seen a big fire as an adult, or if I had a better imagination, I'd have invented that paragraph without outside help. But if help is what you need, made use of it.
In case you care, the photo was taken in Detroit in 2008 by a Robert Terrell. I borrowed it from a website by John Powell, where it illustrates an essay about poverty and segregation. It's not like I'm going to include this or any research picture in the next Amy & Paul saga book; I'm just posting it here to demonstrate one of an author's research tools.
Progress is slow on Amy VI, what with social activities, and things going on at church, and preparing to go out of town with friends, and buying a new used car to replace the old used car that is coughing up blood and power steering fluid. But progress is being made. If you write, you know what I mean when I say that any progress on a manuscript makes you feel good.
What do I know about fires, you ask? Well, once we get beyond toasting marshmallows...not a thing! When I was about ten years old I joined a jillion of my neighbors to watch the local bakery burn up/down. I remember how hot it was even from across the street; sparks and cinders floating up and away; and the tongues of flame that looked like what my father made in a fireplace, only about a hundred times larger. It was fascinating.
So Bing lets me search for photos of a burned out warehouse. Many pictures are in an inappropriate urban setting (a bunch in Brunswick, New Jersey--is that recent?), some are of buildings bigger than what I have in mind, some don't show the kind of damage I'm imagining. Nice thing about Bing--you get lots and lots of pictures to choose from. Originally I had thought of a more modern building, but the damage and setting of this example are too good to pass up. When Amy and Paul drive to the site, this is what they find:
"The remains were a blackened exoskeleton of brick, with burned out openings that once had been windows, and jagged, broken walls. Charred timbers were strewn about the parking area, and more were visible through the former windows, hanging inside from what little remained of the roof."
An hour of research to come up with one paragraph. I suppose if I had seen a big fire as an adult, or if I had a better imagination, I'd have invented that paragraph without outside help. But if help is what you need, made use of it.
In case you care, the photo was taken in Detroit in 2008 by a Robert Terrell. I borrowed it from a website by John Powell, where it illustrates an essay about poverty and segregation. It's not like I'm going to include this or any research picture in the next Amy & Paul saga book; I'm just posting it here to demonstrate one of an author's research tools.
Progress is slow on Amy VI, what with social activities, and things going on at church, and preparing to go out of town with friends, and buying a new used car to replace the old used car that is coughing up blood and power steering fluid. But progress is being made. If you write, you know what I mean when I say that any progress on a manuscript makes you feel good.