When I decided to write a book, I wanted to be
the kind that I liked to read. Suspense, law enforcement, military, mystery,
some romance, and definitely, a happily ever after. The problem was, my
background wasn’t in any of that—except maybe the romance since I was married
when I started on this writing adventure. Although, to be truthful, my husband
tends to be more of a romantic than I do.
Anyway, I decided that I was intelligent
enough to do the research so I started writing the story that had been swirling
inside my head for about six months. The thing about research is that you can
only get so much off of the internet. The best thing to do is to find someone who
actually does the job you have your character doing and interview that
professional. The great thing is, most people are really excited to help. They
WANT the author to get it right. So, how did I find these people?
Simple. I put myself in places where I’d run
into them. And yes, that’s mostly at writer’s conferences. I know a writer’s
conference can be an expensive venture, but I was looking at it as an
investment—not to mention the tax write off.
Just recently, I’ve started a new series
involving military vets. These heroes and heroines have all been in the
military, but are now out for one reason or another. In order to portray these
characters accurately, I need to talk to people in the military. And I tried. I
talked to someone who is currently serving in Afghanistan, I talked to someone
who’d been in the Army and was now retired. I talked to about six different
people. And the funny thing is, none of them could really answer the questions
I had, but I wrote the scenes based on the information I had. About two weeks
before my book was due to my editor, I was at a weekend conference on
marketing. A young man was there teaching and in passing mentioned he was in
the Army. You can bet I jumped on that. “What do you do?” I asked him. “I was
in Special Ops.” I nearly fell over. My hero, who I was trying to write as
accurately as possible, was in Special Ops. That guy at the conference read my
scenes, gave me feedback and a lot “inside” lingo –stuff that I never found on
the web, and I’m now one hundred percent confident that if a military person
reads those scene, he or she will go, “Man, she knows her stuff—or at least
took the time to do her research.”
That’s important. Why? Because I don’t want
that reader to throw the book aside because he or she thinks I didn’t do my
research. I want them coming back for more stories. I’m an author. I need
repeat customers!
Some great resources for me have been:
American Christian Fiction Writers
Killer Nashville
Thrillerfest
The Writers Police Academy
The Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers
Conference
And more.
My point? Take the time to do your research.
Get it right. Will you make mistakes? Of course! But the more you learn, the
more you investigate, the more people you talk to, the more likely you’ll find
exactly the kind of information you need to get it right. Your agent, editors
and readers will thank you.
____________________________________________________________
Lynette Eason is the bestselling author of Oath of Honor, Called to Protect, and Code
of Valor, as well as the Women of Justice, Deadly Reunions, Hidden Identity,
and Elite Guardians series. She is the winner of three ACFW Carol Awards, the
Selah Award, and the Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award, among others. She is
a graduate of the University of South Carolina and has a master’s degree in
education from Converse College. Eason lives in South Carolina with her husband
and two children. Learn more at www.lynetteeason.com
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