Going down the rabbit hole

Part of the writing process is research. As an author, you need authenticity so people don't say "that would never happen." The funny part is that sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, and "that absolutely WOULD happen." But I digress. Today is about going down the rabbit hole.

In the quest for authenticity, I've learned many things. Like how to fight fires. How and when to file a missing person report. I've also had my sources tell me to "make stuff up. Isn't that what fiction is?" Oh yeah, there's that authenticity factor.

Sometimes, what I'm researching never makes it into the story but it's good background information that I, as the author, need to know. This week, as I was editing the upcoming book, I found a break in the storyline. The characters agreed they were going to do "this" next, and in the next paragraph, they were somewhere else altogether. After verbally telling them "Nooooo!" (husband is still recovering from my unscheduled outburst), I made myself a note. Pay attention to what my characters are telling me they're doing. They do need to go to Thunder Hole in Acadia National Park, where waves crash into an inlet like a clap of thunder, just not yet. Which sent me down the rabbit hole.

The sign from my visit to Thunder Hole

To achieve the maximum "thunder" effect at Thunder Hole, you should visit it an hour or two before high tide. So off I go to check the tidal schedules. But wait. This is February. My characters are there at the end of summer, so another rabbit hole looking for high tide history. When was high tide in August, for instance? Interestingly, the time of the tide changes rapidly from day to day. Not like, say sunset or sunrise, which moves only incrementally every day. The tidal map I found changed by an hour at a time from day to day. Is that right? Then what day are they there, and when would the tide be? Okay. Now for the fun part of "it's fiction, you get to make it up." 

Oh, and before I tell you how I resolved this, I want to tell you about one other piece of information I had to hunt up. Several states have what we call in Illinois the Safe Haven Act, which allows you to give up a child to the police or the fire department without repercussions if you can't care for it. I went in search of the details and found answers. I went to a message board of people who have experience with this sort of thing (firemen and policemen, etc.) and they sent me a brochure (which I'd already found online, in addition to the actual law verbiage). Helpful/ not helpful. Meanwhile, I interviewed a police officer friend and asked him about the Safe Haven Law. INTERVIEWING PEOPLE IS ALWAYS BETTER THAN GOOGLING, and this is why. He has practical experience rather than "this is how it's supposed to work" experience. Things rarely happen the way they're supposed to. The brochure says "this is what happens," but in the real world, "this is what REALLY happens." That interview, by the way, saved the day for me, because I was able to resolve one of the plot points that I was struggling with. I had three scenarios, and based on what he told me, I was able to pick one. During an interview, you always get more than you bargained for. In addition to the answers to your questions--which return "flat" answers on Google--you get digression. People expound on the information they're giving you, providing examples and telling you about their real-world experiences, which can be writers' gold. 

Okay, back to my tides. When I visited Thunder Hole, we were not there at high tide. We were, however, there right after a hurricane (which never happens in Maine, but how lucky were we?). Theoretically, the storm should have enhanced the "thunder" experience (it didn't). The thunder effect was still impressive, but reportedly not as impressive as it could have been. We looked up high tide for when we were there and went back the next day. Have to say, it was probably less impressive the second day, when we should have been closer to the high tide window. Based on where the water was compared to the previous day, I'd say it was closer to low tide. Or the hurricane effect was washing out. Again, I digress. So writing the scene at Thunder Hole in the book? Okay, I know WHEN high tide is/was. I know that's the best chance to hear the "thunder." But is it necessary? Personal experience says no. I spent how much time going down the rabbit hole to get information that I didn't need? Bottom line. Thunder Hole is impressive whether you're there at high tide or not. The waves will still crash into the inlet. You'll still get sea spray and the loud "crash." For my characters it wasn't about the thunder anyway. Their experience there is something completely different, so the "thunder" is irrelevant (or at least mostly so). It's a reason to visit, but the maximum thunder experience is not critical to the plot.

Do you know how many times this happens over the course of a book? I "need to know" something only to figure out, after I learn the answer, that I don't "really" need it?

Now that I've taken a step back, I can fix the scene at Thunder Hole without worrying about when high tide is/was. Thank you very much.

Back to editing.