Conference 2008, Part 3

Diane Fanning gave a great talk about researching information for a book. Yes, I talked about her before from the Book Festival when her first mystery novel came out. Now she has another mystery out and more True Crime. This woman stays busy.

I am sitting down late to write this because I was sidetracked by her site, in particular, Donna Weaver’s story of tracking down her missing husband, which I found from Fanning’s “Women in Crime Ink” page. By the way, Weaver is a PI now.

 

But, back to the conference.

I left Kahn’s talk early after hearing all he had to say. ( I was confirmed on this later). I went from his large, but sparsely-filled room up the stairs, down the carpeted hall to Fanning’s small but full room. Fanning was on her feet talking and gesticulating. The people laughed.

 

On finding experts, people as sources

She was talking about using newspapers to find experts on your topic. Even if these people can’t help you, they can lead you to other experts.

 

Never slam doors, even on jerks because those jerks may know the person who can help you.

Be tactful and courteous.

Read a lot, read news stories, and Google your brain’s out to find a person to talk to. Ask that person, “Who else can I talk to?”

 

Research in general

Keep your eyes open for reference books, text books at garage sales, etc.

 

In Interviews

Respect.

At end ask, “Who else can I talk to?”, “What should I have asked that I didn’t?”

Always say, Thank you.

During interviews, get the sensations. “When you walked in the room, what did it smell like?” Ask specific questions, especially about the senses, to add reality. These details also add reality in your fiction.

 

Fanning said, “You want the essence, the flavor. It’s more important than the facts.”