As writers, we all have to do research, at least on some level. Mostly, I turn to books and the Internet for my research. There are however, certain topics that I haven’t been able to research with books. I have a partial draft of a story I’m working on, and right now, I’m adding it to yWriter. (Which I’m still really liking!) As I’m adding it, I’m doing little tweaks here and there and I’m jotting down questions I have. These questions will have to be asked so I can add more realism to my story. And for better or worse, I’ll have to consult a strange source to get my answers…people who clean up crime scenes, such as murders, natural deaths and even meth lab explosions. This particular story centers around people who do this for a living, so I want it to be as realistic as possible.
I have found a few places that provide this service locally and when I have all my questions compiled, I’ll see if somebody is willing to answer a few of my questions. I think it’ll be fascinating, but strange. Yes, I’m researching a story, but who says they won’t think I’m just some kind of weirdo? Not that that’s an entirely wrong assumption either. 
In the course of your research, what’s the strangest thing you’ve ever had to look up? Were you able to find it in books or did you consult “experts?” How do people seem to act when you tell them the research you’re doing is for a book?
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How folks respond to book research is dependent on a couple of things. One is how much they believe you. I asked a library director under what circumstances they’d close the library for a day to add a touch of realism to a story. He seemed flattered, asked me to let him know when the book was out and to speak at the library when it was released.
I worked with a deputy sheriff’s officer who was a friend a long time ago on research for a story, but he was a friend, so it came easily with him.
If I had to interview strangers who are crime scene techs and ask them how they do what they do, I’m not sure how’d they react. I’m pretty sure if I was in their place, I’d rather not share too much just in case. But who knows? Maybe this happens a lot.
Police, FBI, CIA — how can you approach them for information without calling yourself into the spotlight as a potential weirdo? Hm.
Great stuff, V. R. Good luck!
this isnt strange, but just foreign to me. i use the internet but also my neighbor to find out more details about indian culture because my story pops there for a chapter =)
carolyn arnold is a great source for crime scene questions, she’s at sassy3421.blogspot.com
Haha. I always love researching in person more than on the internet, though that’s not always possible. People get very interested when I tell them I’m researching for a book. I once stayed in a small (very small) town for a week and the whole town knew me by name and what I was doing before the week was out!
Strangest research, though, had to be when I talked to some pub workers about their resident ghost. That was a lot of fun.
come visit me, i have something for you =)
My strangest research had to be having our local limo service bring a limo to my house so I could sit inside, envision a scene and ask the driver if what I had in mind was possible. The story is an erotic suspense. It helped that our local limo service was also owned by the county coroner/ mortician LOL And a very dear friend since high school. Nothing I do surprises him.
There is an excellent yahoogroup for crimescenewriters and I have 2 excellent research book titles if you need them, just drop me a note. One of the authors is on the aforementioned loop.
When doing the background research for “Ripped From My Cold Young Fingers” I had to interview a lobsterman and several Maine policemen regarding “Downeast Justice” (fishermen staking out their livelihood in violent ways) on 1940s Maine shores. At least a couple of them suspected I might have violence of my own in mind
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