Living is getting in the way of my writing. I have a desk job and work four ten-hour days. I don’t see it as a high-stress job, but the pace is maddening. The mental fatigue drains my physical energy. I worked nearly six hours of overtime on Friday, which prevented me from working on my manuscript as normal. I continue to work on it, but spending almost fourteen hours in front of a computer screen can really wear you out. At least it does me. It is a great job for me, and I do enjoy the work I do. My boss is supportive and is working diligently at getting more help. I just have to preserve until that help arrives. Any good thoughts you can spare, I would appreciate them.
I want to return to research in this blog post. My story takes place, primarily at a brothel in the swamps of Louisiana. It’s been over two years since I visited Pierre Part, and that’s probably the closest I’ve come to experiencing a swamp. My critique group says I describe the swamp just fine. The point I want to make is this: just because my story takes place in the Louisiana swamp, I can go to another swamp and get almost the same experience needed for my story. A swamp is a swamp is a swamp. If your story takes place in a forest in Maine and you live in Oregon, you don’t necessarily have to travel to Maine to get the full effect of the forest. Wind blowing through trees, sounds of leaves crumpling under your foot sound pretty much the same in any forest. Go to a forest in Oregon, get the sights, sounds and smells that you need and write on.
The only drawback I see to this type of research is if there is something that you can only experience in one location, and you’re trying to replicate the uniqueness elsewhere. That won’t work. Maybe a good example would be trying to do research in the man-made caves under Louisville, Kentucky and passing it off as what happens in Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. That won’t work.
I hope you see the point I’m trying to make. If your story takes place in Sherwood Forest in jolly ole England, but you can’t afford the trip, go to a nearby forest to get the sounds and feel necessary to describe the woods in your story. Be creative with your research, but above all be accurate. There is always an economical way to get the information you need. You just have to be creative sometimes. You’re a writer, after all, it’s what you do. And remember, history doesn’t write itself.
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What I’m Reading – Many readers I know like to inquire what their favorite author is reading. At the end of each blog post, I’ll let you know what I’m reading. I may not be a published author yet, but I hope my choice of reading material inspires you to read. I’m continuing to read Karol Wojtyla’s Love and Responsibility. The book lays the groundwork for his Theology of the Body. I encourage you to read a variety of topics.