Participatory Research

As I become more involved in my own writing and as I read about other writers and their processes, one thing I hear again and again is how writers research many aspects of their book by doing them and trying them.

So, if a writer's book includes the main character riding a dune buggy, the writer makes sure he or she has ridden a dune buggy so the experience can be described accurately. I believe this is one of the reasons so many writers write about what they know. The research is already built into their lives.

But at some point ever writer is going to have to write about something unfamiliar. Sometimes book and/or Internet research is enough. In some cases finding an expert to talk to is sufficient. But other times, the writer really does need to get out there and experience whatever it is firsthand.

With that in mind, when I was offered the opportunity to take a gun class -- during which I would get to see guns, touch them, shoot them! -- I decided it was too important to pass up. While my main character is not a cop and for the most part will not be dealing on a daily basis with gun toting people, I am writing a murder mystery series and chances are at some point a gun will appear in the books.

In fact, a gun appears in the book I'm writing now. And quite frankly, I was just going to write the scene(s) with the gun based on what I've seen on TV. And I'd probably get away with it. I don't know how many people are going to read my book who are very familiar with guns. But once the opportunity was in front of me, I would have been remiss as an author if I didn't take it.

And I'm glad I did. I learned a lot. I learned what they really look like, what they really feel like, what it smells like when a gun is shot, what the actual shot looks like, what it feels like to shoot a gun -- all things I can use in my writing.

Of course, those were the things I expected to learn, but I learned more than that. I learned what a bullet wound does (thankfully not first hand!). I learned what gun oil smells like and what tools are needed to clean a gun. These were not things I had thought about before, but both will appear in the book I'm writing.

I found the class both interesting and disturbing. I didn't particular like shooting the guns, though I had my favorites. A few were too powerful for me. Just shooting them at a paper target got my heart pounding in a way I didn't enjoy.

All anecdotal stories aside, I did not find shooting guns to be empowering. I think I realized I have absolutely no desire to have that kind of power over someone -- especially the power that comes from the higher caliber guns.

But I am so glad I took the class, because I believe it was an important experience to have and I believe it will make my writing that much more realistic.