Days 60 and 61

Research to make your writing authentic

Whenever I’m writing about a place or about something I’m not familiar with, Google steps in as my aid of choice.

Google to search for the vague stuff.

Google Maps to check out the locations.

Google Street View to get a close look at the locations.

Via Michelin to calculate travel times between cities and what there is to be seen along the way.

Any number of airline sites for travel between cities and countries.

That’s what I can do after visiting the actual places. Yes, my vacations often are to places overseas where I keep a journal noting everything I see, and take lots of photos so that I am across any location I use in my stories.

These typically live in either London and surrounds, or New York and surrounds, because I have been to both many times. Just as frequent are the cities of Paris, Rome, Florence, Venice, and a large part of Tuscany.

That includes riding on trains, the London Underground, the New York Subway, and the Chicago ELL and familiarising myself with buses, cabs, and other modes of transport.

Then there’s the subject matter, and several I’m working on currently,

An interest in space, the planets, and what it’s like to travel into outer space.

Kings and Queens, medieval times, and the people that lived during that time. Ordinary people, feasting and banquets, dancing, and social structures.

Amateur Astronomy, and just plain stargazing.

The various stages of schooling in England and America. I have an interest in their proms, and reunions.

The police and detective rank in the police forces in England and America, including the sheriffs.

I always wanted to fly a plane – and can, in my story.

I’m sure you will have a million other things you would like to know about, and the internet is always on hand.

More about my story

…

Now that we’ve established where we are, it’s time to get out and about.

When you arrive in a new city and are supposed to be a tourist, the first thing you do is go out and take a look. Aside from spending a little time reading up on the main sightseeing tours/sites, it’s the time when you find out whether the hype is correct.

The places to eat, the places to get coffee, the places where there might be problems near and by the convention centre where the conference is going to be held.

Of course, whilst our protagonist is not a tourist, he needs an adequate cover story to tell the authorities if, no, when they ask why he’s there.  Of course, it is such a country that the chief of police will already know he’s there, where he’s staying, and why.

His cover?  Journalist.  Covering the conference.  A legitimate reason to be wandering around checking out the sights, and the conference centre.  The point here is that a good agent always has a rock-solid cover story, and our protagonist does.  He is actually a journalist, and well enough known by a number of others who are attending the conference. It’s possible they will all have a get-together, most likely in the hotel he’s staying.

It’s the sort of three-and-a-half-star hotel their papers will book for them

So, just to get the ball rolling, he is going to meet the chief of police, and we’re not going to make him a monster, just a dedicated policeman in a place where police are known to be less polite when handling the public, and even less so handling suspects.

Best to tread lightly.

More about my story

…

Now that we’ve established where we are, it’s time to get out and about.

When you arrive in a new city and are supposed to be a tourist, the first thing you do is go out and take a look. Aside from spending a little time reading up on the main sightseeing tours/sites, it’s the time when you find out whether the hype is correct.

The places to eat, the places to get coffee, the places where there might be problems near and by the convention centre where the conference is going to be held.

Of course, whilst our protagonist is not a tourist, he needs an adequate cover story to tell the authorities if, no, when they ask why he’s there.  Of course, it is such a country that the chief of police will already know he’s there, where he’s staying, and why.

His cover?  Journalist.  Covering the conference.  A legitimate reason to be wandering around checking out the sights, and the conference centre.  The point here is that a good agent always has a rock-solid cover story, and our protagonist does.  He is actually a journalist, and well enough known by a number of others who are attending the conference. It’s possible they will all have a get-together, most likely in the hotel he’s staying.

It’s the sort of three-and-a-half-star hotel their papers will book for them

So, just to get the ball rolling, he is going to meet the chief of police, and we’re not going to make him a monster, just a dedicated policeman in a place where police are known to be less polite when handling the public, and even less so handling suspects.

Best to tread lightly.

Day 59

Check your work

By any and all means possible, because if you are using the English language then you’re going to be tripped up.

For instance, just the use of simple words like then, and than, there, and their, and many others. Just the very simplest of words have many meanings some of them obscure, some of them, well, you get my drift.

ESL students often tear what little hair they have left out over the words. We English users, we are different again, being American English, English English, and a dozen other variations.

There’s center and centre, just to name one when it comes to American and English.

It depends on what spell checker you use to check the spelling, and what grammar checker you use, and generally not 100 per cent effective.

I let Microsoft Editor have fun with my writing, and then tend to ignore a lot of the suggestions. They just sound weird.

I have a basic Grammarly, but it doesn’t do a whole lot and it costs a lot of money to get the so-called good one.

You have to decide the way you want to go, but you will have to have your work checked for grammar and spelling and facts.

And probably read a dozen grammar texts to get the best way to write your sentences. Mine often start out somewhat strange, but we get there in the end.

…

As a case in point: the word Line

The English language has some marvellous words that can be used so as to have any number of meanings

For instance,

Draw a line in the sand

We would all like to do this with our children, job, and relationships, but for some reason, the idea sounds really good in our heads, but it never quite works out. What does it mean, whatever it is, this I’d where it ends or changes because it can’t keep going the way it is.

Inevitably it leads to,

You’ve crossed the line

Which at some point in our lives, and particularly when children, we all do a few times until, if we’re lucky we learn where that line is. It’s usually considered 8n tandem with pushing boundaries.

Of course, there is

A line you should never cross

And I like to think we all know where that is. Unfortunately, some do not and often find their seemingly idyllic life totally shattered beyond repair. An affair from either side of a marriage or relationship can do that.

You couldn’t walk a straight line if you tried

While we might debate what straight might mean in this context, for this adaptation it means staying on the right side of legality. Some people find a life of crime more appealing than doing honest days work.

This goes hand in hand with,

You’re spinning me a line

This means you are being somewhat loose with the truth, perhaps in explaining where you’ve been and what you’ve been doing. I think sometimes liars forget they need to have good memories.

Then there are the more practical uses of the word, such as

I have a new line of products

Is that a new fishing line?

Those I think most of us get, but it’s the more ambiguous that we have trouble with. Still, ambiguity is a writer’s best friend and we can make up a lot of stuff from just using one word.

Day 59

Check your work

By any and all means possible, because if you are using the English language then you’re going to be tripped up.

For instance, just the use of simple words like then, and than, there, and their, and many others. Just the very simplest of words have many meanings some of them obscure, some of them, well, you get my drift.

ESL students often tear what little hair they have left out over the words. We English users, we are different again, being American English, English English, and a dozen other variations.

There’s center and centre, just to name one when it comes to American and English.

It depends on what spell checker you use to check the spelling, and what grammar checker you use, and generally not 100 per cent effective.

I let Microsoft Editor have fun with my writing, and then tend to ignore a lot of the suggestions. They just sound weird.

I have a basic Grammarly, but it doesn’t do a whole lot and it costs a lot of money to get the so-called good one.

You have to decide the way you want to go, but you will have to have your work checked for grammar and spelling and facts.

And probably read a dozen grammar texts to get the best way to write your sentences. Mine often start out somewhat strange, but we get there in the end.

…

As a case in point: the word Line

The English language has some marvellous words that can be used so as to have any number of meanings

For instance,

Draw a line in the sand

We would all like to do this with our children, job, and relationships, but for some reason, the idea sounds really good in our heads, but it never quite works out. What does it mean, whatever it is, this I’d where it ends or changes because it can’t keep going the way it is.

Inevitably it leads to,

You’ve crossed the line

Which at some point in our lives, and particularly when children, we all do a few times until, if we’re lucky we learn where that line is. It’s usually considered 8n tandem with pushing boundaries.

Of course, there is

A line you should never cross

And I like to think we all know where that is. Unfortunately, some do not and often find their seemingly idyllic life totally shattered beyond repair. An affair from either side of a marriage or relationship can do that.

You couldn’t walk a straight line if you tried

While we might debate what straight might mean in this context, for this adaptation it means staying on the right side of legality. Some people find a life of crime more appealing than doing honest days work.

This goes hand in hand with,

You’re spinning me a line

This means you are being somewhat loose with the truth, perhaps in explaining where you’ve been and what you’ve been doing. I think sometimes liars forget they need to have good memories.

Then there are the more practical uses of the word, such as

I have a new line of products

Is that a new fishing line?

Those I think most of us get, but it’s the more ambiguous that we have trouble with. Still, ambiguity is a writer’s best friend and we can make up a lot of stuff from just using one word.

Day 58

What will you do to finish that book?

Me? Well, I’m not that dedicated but…

An organised writer will set aside time for all the processes he or she needs to do in a day, in order to get the job done.

We’re talking time management or a scale I couldn’t even begin to imagine. But, if you want to write a book in a reasonable timeframe, then you have to plan.

To me, if I was going to go down that path, I would need to know the following:

Book genre, a working title, approximate length in words, break down the parts of the story into what will eventually become chapters, know most of the characters and their functions, and spoiler alert, what a possible ending might be.

For me, for instance, the book is a thriller, it is about 80,000 words, it will have between 80 and 100 chapters. From there if I plan to write 2,000 words a day, it would take 40 days, but more realistically, if I write 500 words a day, it would be 160 days or six months. Taking time out, the average time it would take to write would be about one year.

Then, there’s that little matter of what you are prepared to do to finish it.

Will you go at it, day after day, until the first draft is finished? Having a plan, setting out the plot lines and writing to them, perhaps.

If you write like I do, by the seat of my pants, then all that goes out the window.

I use the NANOWRIMO method, of writing 50,000 words in a month, with no breaks, and providing the ideas keep coming, which they generally do. My books often start as short stories, and then carry on. I have done this once a year for the last seven years.

The thing is, once you start, you have to finish. If you don’t that germ of an idea that starts turning into words will stagnate, then become impossible. And if those around you cannot support you, I;m sure you can find an attic somewhere on the internet when you can lock yourself away until it is done.

Day 58

What will you do to finish that book?

Me? Well, I’m not that dedicated but…

An organised writer will set aside time for all the processes he or she needs to do in a day, in order to get the job done.

We’re talking time management or a scale I couldn’t even begin to imagine. But, if you want to write a book in a reasonable timeframe, then you have to plan.

To me, if I was going to go down that path, I would need to know the following:

Book genre, a working title, approximate length in words, break down the parts of the story into what will eventually become chapters, know most of the characters and their functions, and spoiler alert, what a possible ending might be.

For me, for instance, the book is a thriller, it is about 80,000 words, it will have between 80 and 100 chapters. From there if I plan to write 2,000 words a day, it would take 40 days, but more realistically, if I write 500 words a day, it would be 160 days or six months. Taking time out, the average time it would take to write would be about one year.

Then, there’s that little matter of what you are prepared to do to finish it.

Will you go at it, day after day, until the first draft is finished? Having a plan, setting out the plot lines and writing to them, perhaps.

If you write like I do, by the seat of my pants, then all that goes out the window.

I use the NANOWRIMO method, of writing 50,000 words in a month, with no breaks, and providing the ideas keep coming, which they generally do. My books often start as short stories, and then carry on. I have done this once a year for the last seven years.

The thing is, once you start, you have to finish. If you don’t that germ of an idea that starts turning into words will stagnate, then become impossible. And if those around you cannot support you, I;m sure you can find an attic somewhere on the internet when you can lock yourself away until it is done.

Day 57

Why do we persist in writing?

It’s another reminder that we should never give up, despite the advice that’s sometimes given by our peers, not exactly saying it, but alluding to the fact some do, and some don’t and that the talented should not.

But … do we know we’re talented, and even if we are, after a myriad or plethora of rejections, the temptation to walk away might be there.

Except…

If you’re like me, you’re not in it for the wealth and fame. Yes, wealth and fame would be nice, just an adequate living would be better, but most of us, we’re not likely to give up our day jobs any time soon.

I write because I love writing. I like inventing characters and throwing everything but the kitchen sink at them. Maybe that’s where I’m going wrong. I should three the kitchen sink.

Kidding.

And I publish a lot of those stories on this blog, and people are reading them because I get a few comments every day, and most of them are positive, and, even if they are not, yes, you can’t please everyone, I take them as constructive criticism.

So the next time someone advises you that writing just might not be your vocation, write them a story and tell them they’re wrong.

Day 57

Why do we persist in writing?

It’s another reminder that we should never give up, despite the advice that’s sometimes given by our peers, not exactly saying it, but alluding to the fact some do, and some don’t and that the talented should not.

But … do we know we’re talented, and even if we are, after a myriad or plethora of rejections, the temptation to walk away might be there.

Except…

If you’re like me, you’re not in it for the wealth and fame. Yes, wealth and fame would be nice, just an adequate living would be better, but most of us, we’re not likely to give up our day jobs any time soon.

I write because I love writing. I like inventing characters and throwing everything but the kitchen sink at them. Maybe that’s where I’m going wrong. I should three the kitchen sink.

Kidding.

And I publish a lot of those stories on this blog, and people are reading them because I get a few comments every day, and most of them are positive, and, even if they are not, yes, you can’t please everyone, I take them as constructive criticism.

So the next time someone advises you that writing just might not be your vocation, write them a story and tell them they’re wrong.

Day 56

Writing Exercise

…

When things stopped making sense to me yet again, I started getting nervous.

And that was the problem of having an older brother who was an inveterate liar, master manipulator, and downright rogue.

It took me years to realise what sort of a person he was, and it was still a shock.

…

Growing up we didn’t have a lot, two hard-working parents who brought us up in a modest house, a normal education, one that didn’t extend to university, and when the time came, they provided a ticket to a reasonably good job.

Middle of the road, that was how Howie described it. He wanted more, but the problem was, he did;t have the brain smarts, or rather, he didn’t want to put in the effort. He became what my father called a disappointment.

I did have the brain smarts, but being lumped together with my brother as one of the Travers’ hooligans, I was never given a chance. Every time I tried to pull away and make my own path, somehow Howie would turn up and ruin it.

What I never understood was why? Surely he couldn’t hate me so much that he wanted to ruin my life?

That was when two things happened, randomly.

Beth Taylor told me that my brother was a monster whose only aim in life was to ruin any chance I had of being better than him.

That same morning, in his most earnest tone, Howie told me he was sorry for everything he had done, and was going to leave me alone from now on.

When I asked why, he said he had tried his worst and failed. It was time to give up.

That in itself was a red flag, and the more I thought about it, the more nervous I got.

Of course, the moment I turned up at the dinner where I was supposed to meet Beth and have dinner, I knew exactly what was going to happen.

Beth had always been out of my league but I allowed her to lull me into a false sense of security. She had pretended to like me, and when she was not there, I knew that she was one of Howie’s disciples.

She didn’t turn up, but her brother, Bull because of his physique, and three of his friends were there. As soon as I saw them I turned to leave, only to find another disciple standing in my way.

Something else had happened that morning after Beth spoke to me. Ritchie, another hapless soul who suffered the unwanted attention of Bull, happened to be lurking after Beth left. He asked me what we were talking about and when I told him, he snorted.

He told me I was wasting my time, but I was an optimist.

He said I was a fatalist and simply shrugged. It was, he said, my funeral.

Being herded towards Bull and his friends at the far booth, I had to reluctantly agree with him.

“Woebegone Travers.” Bull said it with a smirk and his friends all laughed.

I would have corrected him, but the broken bones were not worth it.

“Sit down.”

The two opposite Bull moved up to make space.

“I think I’ll stand.”

“That wasn’t a request.”

“I thought it was. Don’t you listen to this fool.”

It was like Bull’s head was on a swivel it turned around so fast, to see who was interrupting his playtime.

Griff, short for Griffin, and the last person who called him by that name spent a week in the hospital.

Quarterback, wrestler, hometown hero, a boy who was as gentle as he could be forceful. The girls loved him. But he did have an enemy.

Bull, wannabe quarterback, rubbish wrestler, despised by all, and simply just a thug.

“This has nothing to do with you, Griff. Walk away.”

“I come for the dinner. Roast turkey and all the trimmings. Dinner with my friend, Wally. He said that Beth would be here, but I guess that’s one of your little tricks, eh, Bull. Tricky little bull.”

He shook his head and tsk-tsked.

Bull’s uncle owned the diner, which is why Bull could get away with what he did. That family were all tarred with the same brush. I saw him come out from the kitchen to see what was happening.

He looked at Bull, then looked at Griff and he looked at me. He knew what was about to happen. “Take it outside.”

Griff looked at Bull, then his uncle, then me, then back to the uncle.

“Of course. Wally, come join me outside while we wait for the tricky little bull.”

I looked at Bull. “It’s not been a pleasure, Terence.”

No one called Bull Terance and lived, so it was only going to add to the excitement. But sadly, there would be no excitement. Bull would leave by the back door. He didn’t fare well when he had to front up to trouble.

“Who sent you,” I asked when we got outside.

“Beth. She had a long think about what she’d done, which you have to admit for her is a first, and then told me. Sensible girl.”

“My brother is just as bad.”

“Howie? He’s just having trouble picking the right side.” He shrugged.

Like me, he saw Bull and his friends leave through the kitchen. “I think we made our point,” he said. “I don’t think he’ll bother you again. I’m disappointed about the turkey dinner though.”

Until tomorrow. I was not as optimistic as Griff.

…

©  Charles Heath  2025