Research and Perception

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I had an intriguing conversation yesterday with an artist friend, after she found out I was writing a murder mystery. At least, that’s where it started. I had read her a section of the book, and she asked about my knowledge of crime scenes, etc.

Part of that is simple research. Writers, especially fiction writers, read a lot of odd stuff. Currently, I’m reading Death in Paradise, which is about the history and operation of the coroner’s department for the County of Los Angeles. Not what I’d recommend for an afternoon at the beach, but important for a couple of scenes in my book. (I’m also reading other, friendlier, books, but that’s for a different conversation.)

From there, she asked about how a writer gets inside a character’s head. “How do you do that?” Gave me pause. I don’t know how I do it. I just always have been able to, and have since I was a kid. I imagine it’s similar to how an actor works (or, at least, I did it the same way when I was acting). But the exact process is not something I’ve deconstructed.

For me, it’s similar to how I perceive people in crowds. I look at someone, watch the way they act, talk, dress, etc., and in my head start giving them a backstory based on that. Where they’re from, what they do, are they married, do they have kids, etc.

I only recently found out that other people don’t do this. It was something of a surprise. I thought everyone did it!

Of course, my artist friend thought everyone looked at the world around them, absorbing the variations of light, shadow, color, details.

Well, um, no…. I lived in my current residence for almost five years before someone pointed out that the fronts of the apartments in another building were different than the fronts of the ones in my building. I’d never noticed, and I walk around the complex about three times a week.

Apparently, I’m too busy making up backstories to notice architectural features.

I think the best of us — the best writers, actors, artists — somehow integrate it all. After all, more people know if you screw up a description of a begonia than the tables in a coroner’s office.

More on this later, I’m sure. Time to write the stuff I get paid for.

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