ASK AN EXPERT: A Few Good Resources for Writers

I've recently discovered two professionals who offer their expertise specifically for the writer's use. I'm totally intrigued and want to introduce them to you!

1. THE CHARACTER THERAPIST:  An Online Therapy Service for Fictional Characters  is provided by Jeannie Campbell,  Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.

If you're struggling with your protagonist's (or other character's) behavior, you can make an appointment for him/her to spend time on Jeannie's couch.  There's an intake form which is by no means easy to fill out. But that's a good thing since it forces you to have a decent understanding of the character before wasting the therapist's time!  Based on the info you give, Ms. Campbell addresses your character's emotional makeup in a blog post. She'll also provide more intensive feedback for a fee. I love this concept and have thoroughly enjoyed eavesdropping on Jeannie's counseling sessions! Perhaps I'll even schedule one. If only I could decide which of my characters needs it most!

Ms. Campbell provides lots of other useful info as well, such as insights into mental disorders, Skype consultations, and Therapeutic Editing.  And since laughter is the best medicine she throws in a helping of that as in the NaNoWriMo Stress Reduction Kit which will either make you laugh or give you a headache.

2.  REDWOOD'S MEDICAL EDGE: Medical Fact for Your Fiction provides medical information related to your story line.  

Jordyn Redwood is a novelist and a registered nurse with years of Emergency Room and Intensive Care experience. She accepts your medical questions via email and after spending an hour researching your topic, she blogs the answer.  More intensive input is available for a fee. Redwood provides info on specific diseases and on medical history. She hosts guest bloggers who write on health topics outside her expertise.  

As an author with 3 disease related novels, I have no trouble imagining the need for Redwood's Medical Edge.. In fact, a google search on polio brought me to this 3 Part Guest Post by author Sarah Sundin. I'm eager to explore other topics on Jordyn's site.

BTW - both of these ladies have gorgeous websites.

I'm curious - if you were to offer an online service to help writers with authenticity, what would that service be?

RESEARCH ON THE CHEAP

Months ago, Yolanda asked me to address the subject of research and money.

There are many answers to the question of funding research. I do most of mine on the cheap.

As in last weekend. After stopping in at my sister’s house in VA overnight, hubby and I drove to PA for a family wedding. The ceremony took place in NJ but Chuck’s brother lives nearby in PA and there were empty beds at his house. Voila!

We didn't go straight to the in-laws' house however. Chuck dropped me off at Swarthmore College so that I could spend the afternoon in their library and peace collection archive.

Can you say, adrenalin pumping!? I found some amazing personal letters written in 1942 and 43.  Photos, old newspaper articles.  Details I needed to make my story authentic.

When the library closed we headed to Bucks County, PA where one of my characters lives. I wanted to get the lay of the land.  Familiarize myself with names of rivers, townships, and businesses. 

We picked up calzone at Pizza Bella and proceeded to Ringing Rocks, a mysterious field of boulders that my father took our family to decades ago. I'm not sure, yet, whether it figures into my story but it was a memorable experience to balance myself on a rock and eat calzone (and to dodge the mouse who  wanted my meal). I could say much more about Ringing Rocks but follow the link above because it's been done so well already.

After Ringing Rocks we headed to Owowcow Creamery, a spot I discovered via google.  I was looking for the perfect place for my character to stop often to have ice cream with her BFF. And o wow cow!  This is it.

See how much fun research can be! Saturday, on the way to the wedding I even got to make another trip back to Owowcow.  More crrrrreamy ice-cream.  Yeeesh - the cost of research was adding up!

The wedding was a fun and perfectly beautiful affair at scenic Prawlsville Mill in Stockton, NJ.  I suspect something from this family day will find its way into a story sometime but probably not my work-in-progress. Although it was right on the Delaware River.  Hmmm, my character may want to go tubing.

On Sunday morning we drove to New Jersey where I attended a Quaker meeting.  This was a new experience for me and I liked it.  Maybe I wouldn't have loved it so much if I weren't writing about the Quaker experience, and if there hadn't been a Quaker teen to observe during the meeting, and if I weren't listening for what one hears in a Quaker meeting. But I did like it. I am liking silence more and more - there might be a little bit of Quaker in me.

Yas, also a writer, is one of my brand new experts.

The Quaker teen has agreed to answer questions for me and to read my manuscript and give feedback. He has so much in common with my character that I am feeling a little bowled over by my good fortune. (I actually met two young people who are available for Q & A!)

After Quaker meeting we enjoyed a delightful lunch with an expert (someone who knows more about the subject of my novel than I do). In this case he was a WWII era Conscientious Objector who worked in a mental hospital in place of military service.

Warren has been where my character has been and he remembers details!

I'd spoken with him on the phone several times but he knew I had more questions.  "Fire away," he said. Warren is no teenager but this does not stop him from getting things done.  And oh, he has a great big heart and a lifetime of experiences to share. After lunch he took us to his home where we sat with 4 other CO's and listened to their incredible stories of compassion during dark days of mental hospital work.

After our visit we headed south - which brings us back to the subject of financing research. There were some expenses.  Gifts for the experts who helped me. Ice Cream. Gas. Tolls. A few meals along the way. But hey, we were going to the wedding anyway!

Honestly, this is how a lot of research happens for me. I attach it to trips I’d be taking otherwise. Sometimes that doesn't feel like enough.  It’s hard to spend only 4 hours in an archive when I want to camp out there and stuff myself with research. But I think the little bites I take when I’m in the area anyway, allow for time to digest my findings in between. This was my second trip to Swarthmore. The first time I was on the way to a writer’s workshop.

I expect to stop in again, someday. On my way to somewhere else.