Fact Checking Fiction

I spend most of my day fact checking. That's what you do when you write editorial content for a living. You look at statistics and social patterns and legislation to see how it all fits together to support what you're saying. Like today, I researched Idaho labor statistics and regulations on flexible spending accounts and media outlets in the Seattle area, all for different assignments. Media writing is non-fiction after all, and if you're facts aren't correct, you might as well be writing fiction.

Right?

Not really.

In my Batman Life (what I do outside of normal working hours), I'm working on a contemporary novel loosely based on my home-town high school. You'd think I'd never have to do any research for it. But I've spent hours researching the Russian Revolution, vintage band t-shirts, school library funding and anatomy—and that was just in the past 24 hours.

This week for my writers' group, I've researched a verity of topics such as British parliamentary procedure, ukulele music and Scottish slang. For a recent beta reading, I refreshed my knowledge of maritime history, music theory and disease treatment. And that doesn't even touch on the wear and tear my dictionary has been through to learn word origin and alternate definitions. Good thing I know my way around internet search engines, indexes and glossaries, and library databases.

The point is, a lot of facts go into fiction. People often ask me how I can "sit down and write a story," and the truth is, I can't. Without a background of research classes, essay writing, interview experience and a backlog of useless facts, my fiction wouldn't be readable, it would never even be more than an idea. In fact, I probably would never have story ideas as everything is based on a fact I read or saw or experienced.

So you want to be a writer? Make sure you get your facts right.

Classical Greek Meets Modern YA

I've been working on my critical essay for my grad school applications this week. While I'm really excited about the topic I've chosen, the research for the essay is turning into a lot more work than I originally planned.

Without giving away too much, I wanted to do something that combined my love for contemporary young adult fiction with my academic background in the development of Western literature. (Yes, that was my self-written minor as I wanted to take philosophy, religious history, ancient literature and modern literature classes.) So I've been combing old philosophy papers and reading forgotten textbooks for tidbits of information I can use.

Now that I have the philosophy section outlined, I need to choose a modern young adult novel that has been banned in several schools and libraries across the country to tie it all together. The problem is, there are so many banned books that I love that will fit my purpose and that I'd be excited to read again. At least I've narrowed it down to three novels that made the ALA's Top Ten Frequently Challenged Books in 2009 and 2010:

• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
• What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones
• The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things by Carolyn Mackler

My question for you is, which of these novels do you love best? I own all three books and have read them multiple times and often recommend them to other people. I really can't decide which to choose, and I need to have the book read, quotations chosen and outline completed by Thanksgiving weekend.

Come on, internet, don't fail me now.

Write what you (don't) know

One of the best things about writing is that you get to research some facinating topics you never expected to learn about.

While working for the PR department of a university, I was writing a lot of press releases about plays and dance team performances and vocal recitals. Through that, I got to know the costume mistress pretty well. I even ended up doing a feature on her because I loved sitting in her room watching her sew. Though the room was quite large to accommodate all of the items she needed to produce costumes, it was probably the coziest spot on campus. All the sewing machines, manikins, clothing racks, fabric bolts made the room so intimate and colorful I could have watched her work for hours.

That was so long ago I had almost forgotten all about the costume mistress. But then I found myself revisiting those long ago chats and wishing I still had my notes from those interviews for my current WIP. Instead I'm having to satisfy myself reading about Colleen Atwood. She is my new hero. She did the costume designs for my favorite album

(The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance)

as well as some of the best movie eye-candy of all time.

(Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd)

I might have a hard time getting an interview with Colleen Atwood, but I'm going to find contact information for that costume mistress who's name I long ago forgot. She's a part of my story now, and I hope I'll be able to give her credit for it some day.

An Unexpected Hero

I love research. No, really. I love it. And last night I got to spend a few hours in the library pouring through books. Kind of old books. That no one has looked at for a lot of years.

Casimir Pulaski. There aren't a lot of books or even articles written about this Polish nobleman. And even though kids in Illinois get a day off school in his honor, probably the only thing they really remember about him is that he bled to death after being shot in the genitals during the American Revolution.

Long before he met Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, he was a war hero in Poland. He started his military career when he was only 18 because one day his father got sick of the Russians and decided he and his three sons would create an army. They had no idea what they were doing. The were rich land owners who didn't know the first thing about military life, and they were far outnumbered by their enemies. In fact, they lost their land, their country, and their family. One brother died in battle, another died in exile and the father died in a Turkish prison. Pulaski ended up in a French prison with no hope for his future. The Russians had falsely convicted him a regicide and confiscated all his land and holdings. If he ever tried to go back to Poland, he would be exactitude.

But Pulaski wasn't done fighting. If his homeland couldn't be free, at least he could fight to give other men the freedom he was denied. So he volunteered to fight for America. He would teach them how to use horses on the battlefield. He would inspire men to do great things. He would also be a reckless young man who didn't believe he had anything left to live for.

Research is like a treasure hunt. You start with a few clues, and before you know it, you're digging around, discovering riches beyond your wildest dreams. None of the things I just wrote about will be in the article I'm working on, but they are all a part of what made Pulaski who he was. Because of his background, he went on to revolutionize how the Americans engaged in battle. Because of his ideas and the training program he created, America gained her independence.