Research - when not to use what you learn

As I'm editing, I'm circling back on the research I did to make sure I'm presenting things as they are (or at least close enough that artistic license doesn't make it unbelievable). I'm also weighing what needs to be on the page versus what doesn't. 

Today's example lies in one of my venues. There is a crypt. An underground vault. It is very singular, and a fascinating place that was used in Game of Thrones. The main vault has vaults on either side that are presently closed to the public. I confirmed that knowledge, although I didn't know why they were closed until I went back to double check my research. The main vault holds a cistern that captures rainwater that was once used as the water source inside the palace. The vaults on the sides are known as galleries because they were lined with paintings. Interesting! The sides are closed off to visitors largely because the paintings have been moved for restoration. In the environment they were kept, they were deteriorating rapidly. Can I incorporate that into the story? Should I?

No.

First, my character is unfamiliar with her surroundings as it is. The paintings aren't there, so she wouldn't know they were supposed to be. Secondly, she doesn't know the history behind the locale. The setting in my book is a meeting place, one she didn't know existed until she was told to go there. She can see the galleries--the passages alongside the main vault--but access is closed off. She doesn't know why and she doesn't know what's missing (the paintings) so this little bit of research, while interesting, has no place in the story. What DOES have a place in the story was the research I couldn't find. The cistern is the central focus inside the crypt. I was doing verification to find out how deep this cistern was, which at one time was rumored to be a bath for a king's mistress. Yeah, that story doesn't belong in my story, either, but that was something I learned. How deep was her bathtub? Swimming pool size? Or bathtub size? I couldn't find that information online, so I went to my local source for help. Someone who lives there, someone who knows (thank you, Stephanie!). A pivotal scene in my book takes place there, so I really kinda need to know that information, as does the reader. An additional bit of information Stephanie shared with me, she could see coins in the cistern (tossed in to make a wish? Or for luck?). Should I include that in the story? Hmmmm. Need to muddle that for a bit. My brain is racing to Three Coins in a Fountain, or other movies that include fountains with coins. Unless the story revolves around the coin(s), not sure they're worth mentioning.

Or are they?

That's the fun of researching. You learn interesting tidbits. What's interesting to the author, however, doesn't always move the story forward. 

One of my critique partners wrote a couple of western books set on ranches. She added dead cows in all the books because there are dead cows on ranches. True fact. But as a reader, I don't need to see those dead cows unless they have a reason to be there. Her rationale is that it shows the rancher doing his job. Agreed. But to me, it's like saying the main character has to pee. I don't need to know that/need to see that unless it creates conflict or tension. There are plenty of other things a rancher does rather than notice dead livestock. Keep in mind I read about her cows in the development process, first drafts. Some of those dead cows did relate to the plot, so they DID have a reason to be there.

And then there's Anne Rice. When I read The Witching Hour, there were chapters and chapters filled with backstory/research. Long, tedious chapters which, when I'd finished the novel, I reflected on as interesting. 🤷 What can I say?

I have included unnecessary research in some of my stories, sure. In the early drafts. Only later, while reviewing what I've written, have I looked at it and realized the information is superfluous. It doesn't need to be there. Or maybe only a sentence instead of two paragraphs. Yes, the information adds authenticity, but if it doesn't move the story along, it turns into "blah blah blah." 

Have you read a book that had fascinating research to share that had nothing to do with the story?

Street Teams

I have to tell you -- while writing books is what I love to do, there is SO MUCH MORE that goes into getting those book into peoples' hands. 

While I've been editing the next Elle Barclay book, I've also tried to juggle marketing the first one. And the production of the audiobook for Horned Owl Hollow. While the audiobook was a fairly seamless process overall, distribution ran into some snafus. It passed through the QA process pretty quickly, and started distributing. They tell you it can take up to 30 days, but the audiobook was available at Barnes & Noble and Amazon within two weeks. I was very excited things were going well. Until they weren't. At the 29-day mark, I was notified that the audio files were corrupted. Wait. Didn't they pass QA? So I reuploaded all my files and waited. Two more weeks and they told me, again, that the files were corrupted. After they passed QA AGAIN. I ran the files through a validator, and they were fine. So THEN I downloaded the files from the distributor and found some that were corrupt on the site. How does that happen? I replaced the corrupted files, downloaded them again after I'd uploaded them again and validated them. Again. This time all was good. I'm happy to say the audio is now available everywhere it's supposed to be. But all of this takes time away from writing. 

I'd planned more marketing, because people can't find your books unless you market them - I mean, there's only like a bazillion authors out there competing for your attention. But I was holding off on marketing until the audio was ready. Which it is now. So marketing restarted. 

And now I'm back to trying to get the next book ready for market (September release date, for those of you anticipating it!). The working title is The Demon from the Crypt. This is where I always consider if it wouldn't be easier to have a traditional publishing house do the heavy lifting for me, but then I remember. Traditional publishing houses expect their authors to do the heavy lifting, too. So what would I gain? And I'd have to share my royalties with them. Which brings me to the subject of this blog post.

The one BIG marketing option all authors DEPEND ON is word of mouth advertising. Did you like the book? Would you recommend it to a friend? There are a bunch of gimmicky ways to get folks interested, like building street teams, or fan pages, and the like. I'm an introvert by nature, so reaching out is a challenge for me. I try to do my part, to wear all the hats publishers expect me to wear, but I always wonder if it's enough. So this is my call to action today. 

Do you like my books? Tell your friends! I see authors like Jill Shalvis telling people to buy her books so she can keep writing and doesn't have to get a job at Taco Bell. I doubt she'll ever have to go to that extreme. So this is me. Asking you to share the love so that I can keep doing what I love. Mount up, people. Hit the streets. I would be ever so grateful!

Recharging - Field Trip

As I prepared for the next editing pass, I took a field trip to get out of the house and clear my head. The best way to go back to the work in process is to forget about it so I can come back to it "fresh." 

I met up with a long-time friend to walk around the arboretum, which is displaying new sustainable art. The weather was perfect, the company was great. We walked through the hedge maze, climbed the treehouse in the middle, and I found several of my favorite beech trees. I think this is the first time I've been back since I wrote The Garden, and I saw Bryan and Gwen everywhere I looked. 

We found four of the five sculptures on our scavenger hunt around the arboretum. 

Ear to the Ground

Strata 

Stillness in motion

Oculus

Ona (we didn't get to this one, but isn't she beautiful?)
(a reason to go back, eh Janet?)
Photo courtesy of mortonarb.org

A successful diversion! 

In other news, the audio for Horned Owl Hollow seems to be having issues at the distributor end, but I think we've ironed all that out. Now it's just a matter of finding its way to the proper channels again. For my newsletter subscribers, I expect to send your codes by the end of the month. Thank you for your patience. 

The truth is out there

I'm going to be honest. Every time I finish writing "the next book," I take a long hard look at whether I should continue. The market is down. Artificial intelligence is threatening the future of human creativity (Yes, I know, AI has no depth of emotion.) Angry people are writing nasty reviews for authors whose books haven't even been published yet based on subject matter alone. Let's face it, the world is coming to an end.

I'm in the editing phase with the next Elspeth Barclay book, which means I'm also thinking about what comes next. Do I want to go through all the writers' angst again? Do I have the fortitude to write another book? 

And then something taps me on the shoulder, a little something called imagination. Did you see that? Did you hear that? Remember that story so-and-so told you? Wouldn't that make a great start to your next story?

The news headlines no longer hold "topical ideas." They are filled with vitriol and people doing unthinkable things in a world where people believe empathy is a bad thing. Finding a human interest story that sparks the imagination is difficult among all the finger pointing and verifiable lies that people insist on perpetuating in hopes of making them truths. There are more storytellers out there than I'd ever imagined. The difference is I only hope to entertain you with my stories, not to convince you that my fiction is actually fact. 

I just read an interesting book. It's several years old, written in a different century, even. It's a fictional historical account of a city that I've visited and am familiar with, written by a lawyer. While it was slow getting out of the starting blocks, it grew more interesting as the story went on, and for most of the book, I was able to suspend disbelief, enough verifiable historical facts turning up that some of the not verifiable ones went right over my head. It wasn't until I was done that I realized the author had thrown in a president from before my time as a child in the story's city--a president who grew up in New York. He had no place in this book other than as a marker of the time period. I forgive the author, because the book is fiction. Some of the things happened, but because the characters came from his imagination, I'm willing to give him a pass on the historical hiccup. 

Which brings me back to "what next?" 

I had a thought to interview someone who had a ghostly encounter. Maybe incorporate that into the next book. And then I started thinking about fairy gardens and if there was a way to incorporate that into a ghostly story. I'm also planning a trip to New England with one of my first critique partners, a place where ghost stories abound. The possibilities are expanding. Will I write another book? Most likely. It's part of my original programming, after all. I see something, I see a story behind it. My imagination is going to make up that story whether I want it to or not. And it takes my mind off the next news cycle, which consists of people fighting reality. Me? I'd rather escape reality in a more constructive way. Even when I don't like the news cycle, "the truth is out there," and there comes a point when you have to see it as it is, and not through the lens of imagination.