Why do fiction authors strain
to be authentic? Seems paradoxical,
doesn’t it…but true. Made up stories
laced with accuracy? You bet. My brother writes non-fiction books, built
brick by brick with carefully researched facts, but I’ll bet I do as much
research to authenticate my fiction novels as he does. We both yearn to have our readers believe that
what we say is the truth.
Archives are our bread and
butter, but serendipity makes our research
exciting, especially to this writer, who composes from the seat of her pants. Heck, I never know what I’m going to write
until I sit down at my computer!
Here’s an example. I’m surprised to be writing about people
caught in a forest fire, an experience I’ve gladly never suffered. I learn from Google sources that caught in a
forest fire, my characters must stay low and head downhill to water. The thing is, I’d sent my characters to a
specific local area that may or may not be a place where a forest fire might
happen. Have I written myself into a
corner? Will I have to change the
setting of the whole book, requiring hours of rewriting?
So I check the local fire
department records for past fires. Two
years ago, a brushfire swept the exact area I’d chosen for my nail-biting scene
to take place-two years ago. The conflagration burnt
more than a thousand acres, with hundreds of firefighters, fire trucks, a
helicopter and a fixed wing plane helping to put it out. Camping grounds had to be evacuated and roads
closed as the forest service controlled the fire.
Can you believe my luck? I’d
already inserted a helicopter in my scene, but newspaper articles about the
event gave me names of roads (I didn’t have to make up), numbers of acres
burned, and other details I could use verbatim!
How I love being an author
when serendipity sits with me in my desk chair.
Have you got a lucky story to tell about when your made-up facts and
reality aligned in such a magical way?
Speaking of magic, my third book in the boutique funeral planner series, will come out early in 2015. Catch up on the suspense by reading FADEOUT, the first book in the series:
FADEOUT http://amzn.com/1612173616
More on my website: http://www.rolynnanderson.com
5 comments:
Enjoyed the post. As writers, it's a sight-to-behold when circumstance conforms to our need, reality lends a helping hand, and serendipity becomes a house guest for a few precious days. Best of success with your series.
Thank you Lynda. Thank goodness no one was hurt in my lucky forest fire. Disturbed me, though to find out no one knew how the fire started. More and more, I realize how what I make up is often true!
That is definitely serendipity working for you. Amazing story. So cool when research helps to further your story. Often, when I'm stuck, I return to my research for inspiration. Great blog!
Thanks, Hebby. I agree that research helps spark the flames when we're in a simmering mode. I'm always stunned by how events have a way of repeating...is there nothing new on the horizon?
Thanks, Hebby. I agree that research helps spark the flames when we're in a simmering mode. I'm always stunned by how events have a way of repeating...is there nothing new on the horizon?
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