Time and time again, I get the advice to "write what you know." It's good advice. I find that when I follow that golden rule, I enjoy writing more and overall am happier with the end results. That being said, it's hard to to if you don't "know," first hand, what you are trying to write. When that happens, I try to get that experience first hand when at all possible. Point in case: A very crucial part of my story takes place in New Orleans. So I took my first trip there last summer--a trip which I will be repeating in a few short weeks. What I was imagining and planning to write was no where near the experiences I actually had. It was so much easier to incorporate what I actually
knew, places I actually
saw, people I actually
encountered. While there, I made my first trip to a casino, which also plays a crucial part of not only the current book I'm working on, but those to follow as well. I recently made another trip to a casino in Mississippi--strictly for research purposes, not at all to feed my addiction to Texas Hold 'Em (cough, cough). What I found when comparing the two, is I made some pretty serious errors in writing that portion of the story that I'm pretty sure anyone who has ever set foot in a casino would pick up on pretty quickly. While I am sticking to my vow NOT to go back and rewrite anything else until I finish the entire story, I know that there are definitely some things I'm going to go back later and correct.
And the last important lesson that I learned while "researching" is that although I can think of few things I would enjoy more, I probably do NOT have a promising career as a professional poker player, so I better stick to writing! But hey, who says you can't have a little fun in the process, right?
