Lesson Nine

April 2008 ACFW On-line Class Lesson Nine
Research Your Way to a Book Readers Can’t Put Down
Suspense Research – Characters and Interviews


Today we’re going to talk about developing our characters and that all important interview to get the details right. I don’t know about you, but I felt REALLY strange the first few times I’d call or email someone asking for information about their job or area of expertise. Especially until I had that first contract it felt strange holding myself out as an author. But with each call it got easier. My theory is the worst they can say is no. And so often, people are delighted to share their knowledge with someone who is truly interested.

But to get tips, I went to the experts. Let’s start with their tips on characterization. Not surprisingly, Brandilyn Collins uses the techniques outlined in her book Getting Into Character.

I follow the personalizing techniques I lay out in Getting Into Character. At this point those techniques are so familiar to me that the process comes quickly enough to show me the basis for the character. That character will continue to grow in depth as I write the story. – Brandilyn Collins

Susan Warren uses tools like personality tests to discover details about her characters.

First, I figure out what kind of person they are (often I use a personality test). Then, I interview them to discover their background, their values, their fears and dreams. From there, I can usually find a connection point that helps me understand the kind of person they are and how they would react and grow in this plot. For example I’ve never been a SAR K-9 handler, but I have helped look for a lost child, so I was able to tap into those emotions to write Dannette’s pov (in Escape to Morning)
-- Susan May Warren

Brandt finds it helpful to travel to the area his books are set in. And that helps him pick up the nuances:

Culture can vary widely, but people are essentially the same. If I can visit a location and listen to people, then I will do that. I’ve traveled widely, but I’ve found that we all want a better life for our children, we all know there must be something after this life (believers and non-believers), we all worry about putting food on the table, and we all struggle to provide for our families needs. – Brandt Dodson

And Colleen finds research crucial:

Reading newspapers helps. And a visit to the area is crucial as well as all the other things I mentioned about getting the setting right. – Colleen Coble

Great tips! Now let’s look at suspense particularly. Suspense usually involves killing people, police and support personnel, the legal arena, weapons of some sort, etc. Getting those details right is critical and challenging. So what can you do?

Brandilyn suggests a lifestyle of research:
My life is a constant research. First, in my spare time I watch true court/law enforcement cases that I’ve recorded on TV—Forensic Files, American Justice, Investigators, Cold Case Files, etc. I never watch TV crime dramas, as their forensic work is not accurate and will skew my own thinking as to what’s true and what isn’t. This constant background of information provides me a wealth of information on how crime investigation is done.

Second, for a particular book and situation, I’ll find someone to interview. For the Kanner Lake series, I found a gold mine in a Chief of Police of a northern Idaho town the same size as my fictional town. He interviewed with me for all four manuscripts, plus read the manuscripts to catch errors. Going way back to my first suspense, Eyes of Elisha, that was a huge research project because it involved not only crime investigation, but courtroom scenes. I interviewed more than one homicide detective, a profiler, the head of a forensics lab, policemen, a prosecuting attorney and a defense attorney. I had to do all this even after having written a true crime that involved crime investigation and many courtroom scenes. That true crime gave me a lot of basic information so I wasn’t starting from scratch, but I still needed much more info that fit with my fictional situation.
-- Brandilyn Collins

But to get all these details, we have to interview people. How to do that? And how to do it in a way that will open doors for us. Here are some tips from the pros.

Brandilyn suggests the following steps:
1. Find someone you know who knows someone you need to know. For instance, someone in your church or neighborhood probably is friends with or a relative to a cop. Once you get to the police officer, he/she can lead you to professionals higher up the chain of command.

2. Once you interview the first person, ask for a recommendation for the next professional. I did this for the huge research mentioned above for Eyes of Elisha. And I always asked for the BEST. The homicide detective, for example, had worked for years, including on numerous nationally covered cases. These people all work together. One person’s recommendation to the next top professional got me in that new door. (“Oh, you interviewed with so-and so? He’s the best there is. If you talked to him, I’ll sure talk to you…”)

Colleen Coble focuses on details during interviews:

I ask quick questions about certain details. For Anathema I needed to know where autopsies were conducted so I called the hospital in Rockville and the receptionist told me. I have an author friend who is a police officer and he’s been a great source of help for certain questions like how long does DNA take to get back. I sometimes get on online boards like search dogs or navy sites and get in contact with people then ask my questions. Most of my questions are asked via email.

I say, “I’m Colleen Coble and I’m a novelist. I write suspense and I have a quick question about …” And then I ask the question. I try to find out information by myself first. I don’t like to bother anyone unless I can’t figure it out.

It depends on what you’re writing. I mostly write Women in Jeopardy type stories so I don’t need tons of technical advice. If I were writing about FBI agents, I’d talk to some. But that’s not what I write. I normally write about ordinary people who are caught up in extraordinary circumstances. It was very helpful to actually talk to some Search and Rescue people though so it depends on the story. And my family is a great resource for guns. My son collects them and my dad and brothers are big into hunting. And for questions about the law, I have an attorney friend or two to ask.

Susan May Warren calls or emails people, but only after she’s already conducted research. Once she calls, here’s what she does:

I tell them I’m an author, and that I’m doing research – most of the time police departments have a person who will direct you. Also, it helps to add, “And I want to get it right.” (most people would agree with you!) I never contact someone first – it’s always the last resort, and mostly to confirm. If possible, ask them to read your scene and correct your mistakes. People love to correct authors! One thing you’ll get that way is the proper lingo. Also, ask around in your church or friends. Most likely, someone will know someone who will know someone. That’s how I found my bull-riders, my firemen, my SAR personnel, my bush pilots, etc. -- Susan May Warren

Because Brandt has a background in police and FBI, he finds the interview easy though he still conducts his own research before calling.

I have it better than most since I have written “crime” novels and have background in that area. So it’s easy for me to pick up a phone and call someone I know. [Find people to interview by] networking. It’s much better than a cold call although that can work too. Take time to “earn” the privilege of taking someone’s time.

[When I call] I tell them my name, that I’m a novelist (I mention Amazon so they can fact-check me for themselves if necessary) and offer to thank them in the book (if they’re okay with that. Some people aren’t, especially if they gave you confidential information) and ask if I can send them a copy of the book when it’s published.

[Talking to people in the field] helps. It will give you a clear-eyed view of the reality of the situation. Talking to someone who is a cop, or a surgeon, will always give your writing the edge you want.

Jill Elizabeth Nelson also finds interviews helpful.
I interview people as much as possible to get the details right. In writing the To Catch a Thief series, I spoke to an FBI agent, several police officers, a former Naval Intelligence operative, medical doctors, a dietician, and the list goes on. As you can probably tell, I’ve had some intriguing encounters. My experiences in Albuquerque interviewing the FBI agent are recorded in the archives of my web site blog from entries in May of 2006.

Credibility is important, as is professionalism. You can say something like, “Hello, I’m So-and-So. I’m a writer working on a novel about Whatever for Name of Publishing House. I would be grateful for a few minutes of your time to ask you about your area of expertise. I can’t promise compensation, but I’d be happy to name you in the acknowledgements and give you a signed copy of the book when it comes out.” If you’re pre-published, you can still use that speech, except for naming the publishing house. Don’t apologize for not having a contract yet. Behave like a serious write who expects to have his/her book published.

I want to be sure that I’m contacting the right person for the questions I want to ask. Also, it’s a good “in” with your interview prospect if you display a degree of knowledge about their field.

I find that I need both in order to gather the most complete picture. For instance, I found out some things about the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza in Mexico that my friend who’d been there didn’t even know.

In some cases, they were right in my home town—people I knew, people who knew me. I had a chat with my town’s police chief one day, plus a local MD and the dietician at the health care facility where I work offered excellent information. In contacting the FBI, all the field offices are listed on-line. I simple looked up the address and phone number of the Albuquerque office for when I was going to be there. Funny thing, though, even the hometown man who drove me to the building hadn’t realized it was there. The fortress-like structure wasn’t exactly on the beaten path. He had to look up how to get there. In addition, I belong to some specialized groups that offer expert answers for suspense writers. I get great feedback from law enforcement and military personnel from Crimescenewriter and Weapons_Info. These are Yahoo groups open to membership.

Brandilyn recommends Dr. Lyle’s books for medical and forensics stuff: (Murder and Mayhem, etc.). He also runs a website: http://www.dplylemd.com/. Susan recommends Writer’s digest material – and, I’ll pick up autobiographies from people in that profession. Brandt is cautious about print resources: “None of them are reliable in themselves. I trust no ones’ fact checking. I go to several sources and see what shakes out from there. I’ve found stark differences in facts and interpretation of facts.” I like to use books like the Dummies Guide to Forensics (by Dr. Lyle).

Here’s your assignment. Think about your current work in progress. What area of research do you know really needs the information you can get only from an expert? What’s keeping you from contacting them? Who do you know who might open the door for you? Great. Now I want you to make a plan to contact them. And then do it. J