My writing space is filled with the detritus of a mind spent in other worlds. My desk, shelves, and nightstand house the collected paraphernalia of either a lunatic or a writer...the line is painfully thin. I belive that it's all perfectly justified though. I mean you need tools, people...you need tools to construct worlds!I have a plethora of books on special skills: The Official C.I.A. Manual of Trickery and Deception, Worst Case Scenario Handbook, The Daredevil's Manual, How To Survive in Hostile Conditions, and Secret Techniques of the Elite Forces. I used to write Action/Thriller novels if you're wondering...the ones with links were the most helpful. I actually learned how to hotwire a car and that I can use the inside of my potato chip bag as a reflective surface for signaling for help. Who woulda thunk it?
I must be on some agency's watchlist by now given my book purchases and internet searches. I better get published soon to prove I'm not building a survivalist bunker somewhere in Montana...I'm just a writer who researches.
Of course, if the "Agency" in question paid a visit to my writing space I'd be totally cooked. You should see the shelves by my desk. They're crammed with stuff I use for inspiration and research. Replicas of Spanish Doubloons sit next to a Sake serving set, Mayan death masks, you name it.
Recently, due to my Romantic/Suspense turn, I have detective manuals, lock-picking schematics, even a .pdf manual on Airboat Safety and Operation from the Louisiana Biological Society. It was totally integral that I know how to drive one, okay?
Recently, due to my Romantic/Suspense turn, I have detective manuals, lock-picking schematics, even a .pdf manual on Airboat Safety and Operation from the Louisiana Biological Society. It was totally integral that I know how to drive one, okay?
I subscribe to state and country travel sites for the sole purpose of ripping out the photographs in the magazines they send me and using them to describe locations I'll most likely never see. (I totally HATE flying.) Travel blogs are the best for research. I described the inside of a Sudanese boutique hotel complete with menu because a compulsive, detail-oriented college dude posted pics and descriptions of his trip. Thank you, SamsonKnight...whoever you really are.
The Entymology guys over at UC Riverside totally rock. Five years ago, when I was working on a book, they returned my calls even after they realized that I was - A: Crazy and B: Unpublished. I never would have learned so much about swarm theory and harmones from a book.
All this to say, that research can come in many different shapes. From classes to books, interviews to objects, its all valuable if it helps you deliver the best story possible. I may joke about my "equipment" for writing, but I believe it does make a difference. My question to you is this...what do you surround yourself with in your writing life and why?
Until next time...Go Write!
Photograph by Ashley R. Good. Photograph by uscglantarea.