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A Deeper Look At Outside In…Research

Research DetectiveThis is another installment in my “A Deeper Look” series peeling back the layers of Outside In to better understand the meaning of various aspects and characteristics of the novel.

One of the frequent questions all writers get is, Where do your ideas come from? The more realistic and visceral the writing is, the more that question becomes, Is the story autobiographical? I mean, writers write about what they know, right? Well, sort of.

Since my novel Outside In is told in first person present tense about a teacher becoming lost in a haze of alcohol, drugs and sexual experimentation after a student dies of a drug overdose in the teacher’s classroom, I get the latter question… A LOT. While I’ll never admit what actually happened and what is pure fiction, I would like to discuss how I research a novel.

Regardless of type or genre, all writing can be placed on a continuum between actual experience and imagination. Whether it’s a reporter relaying facts, a non-fiction writer describing a historical event, or a fiction writer creating a dystopian future, there will be interpretation of experience and use of imagination in assembling the narrative to relay the desired message.

Following are the four main types of research I perform in crafting a novel with an example for each from Outside In:

1) Empirical: Derived from direct or sensory experience, this is the method writer who lives the experiences and writes about them. The best way to capture the smells, light, sounds, people, and energy of an experience is to actually live it. While this technique leads to the most authentic writing, it also carries the greatest risk, time and financial investment.

Example: To capture the settings for both Outside In and the novel I am currently working on, The Investment Club, I lived at Put-in-Bay on South Bass Island in Lake Erie and in Las Vegas, respectively. Setting is like another character. It provides readers another way to identify and connect with the story and also serves as a natural platform from which to sell. While brief visits may provide insight to an environment, to get setting right one must walk the streets, breathe the air, and interact with the people over an extended time.

2) Repurposed: If direct experience is not a viable option, then perhaps a similar experience can be repurposed to put the mind in a similar space and capture the desired feelings. As a writer, I’m always recording. When I meet someone, travel to a place, or have any type of unique experience, regardless of context, I file it away to use later.

Example: Without revealing any spoilers, let me just say I didn’t experience all the sexual encounters first-hand. I might have had similar experiences there or elsewhere, and in reflecting on those experiences, I adapted and transferred the core feelings from one situation to the next to capture the details and emotion. In doing this, many of the repurposed sex scenes are actually more stimulating than those that I actually experienced because in writing the repurposed situations I was experiencing them for the first time rather than recalling from memory.

3) Academic: This is the traditional research in which the writer reads other works on the subject or interviews people who have experience on the desired topic to gain the required level of understanding to give the writing authenticity.

Example: For Outside In, to learn the history and impact of cocaine, I read Dominic Streatfeild’s Cocaine: An Unauthorized Biography. His research provided a comprehensive history from the jungles in Bolivia and Columbia to its past medicinal uses and over-the-counter availability to interviews in prisons to the inside of crackhouses. Ultimately I didn’t use a lot of this info, but it definitely contributed to the style and allowed me to develop a feel for the excess cocaine represents.

4) Inventive: This is research produced directly from the mind of the writer usually starting with, What if? It is often triggered by another event or a combination of actions that take the writer into open creative space.

Example: While I was a teacher for a brief time, I never had a student die in my classroom and was never forced out of a job. To capture the feelings of this experience in Outside In, I imagined a person who had done everything he was supposed to and dedicated his life to the pursuit of a career and thought, What if he started to have doubts about his choices and it was all taken away? What would he do? Where would he go? What would he be feeling? Once I was seeing things from this perspective, the bitterness, anger, and wanting to escape came naturally.

To decide the best method to use, I balance my desire to produce the most authentic writing with the practicality of the least time and financial investment and risk exposure required.

A Portion Of Each Outside In Sale To Be Donated To Mental Health & Recovery Board

Mental Health & Recovery Board

Excited to announce that a portion of each hardcover, ebook, and audio book sale of Outside In will be donated to the Mental Health & Recovery Board of Erie & Ottawa Counties in Ohio. One of the intentions in writing Outside In was to raise awareness for societal issues with addiction and self-medication unfortunately so prevalent in modern culture. This donation bridges the gap between fictional and real life by helping people actually affected by mental health and addiction issues move toward recovery.

The Mental Health & Recovery Board (MHRB) is the local government agency charged with planning, developing, funding, managing and evaluating a range of mental health and alcohol and drug abuse and addiction services and programs. The Board ensures local management and control over planning and administering alcohol, drug addiction and mental health prevention, treatment and support services to meet the unique needs of Erie & Ottawa County residents.

Responsibilities include:

  • Creating and maintaining a system that provides for alcohol, drug and/or mental health services at the community level
  • Determining the type of services, programs and facilities that are needed based on need assessments and community input
  • Designating treatment services for those involuntarily committed to the board’s care
  • Ensure involvement and input by consumers (persons who use the services)
  • Entering into contracts with public and private agencies for the provision of services
  • Reviewing, evaluating and auditing the delivery of services
  • Administering federal, state and local funds
  • Recruiting and promoting local financial support for services

To help contribute to this worthy cause, please share this announcement and the book trailer to spread the word about Outside In. Together we can make a difference.

You Can Read Me Anything Reviews Outside In

You Can Read Me Anything

Check out You Can Read Me Anything’s review of Outside In. “The depths to which Brad descends are chronicled well without being too heavily detailed. His time on the island is a sort of whirlwind of hedonism, and the narrative portrays this well.”

You Can Read Me Anything is run by Kelly, a former ballroom dance instructor who also has a Masters in Literature. Her preferred genres are Fiction — literary and other, YA, and Children’s. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Bloglovin.

Cooper Guest Blogs on Books à la Mode

Books a la Mode

Ever wonder from where writers get their ideas or how they research for their books? Check out the guest blog Cooper wrote on Books à la Mode about the types of research he uses in crafting a novel.

Books à la Mode is a book, beauty & fashion blog that brings you everything stylish, from the hottest books, to the latest makeup and clothing trends. It is a haven for books with a vogue flush—a blog for modish books and all else chic. To stay up on the latest and greatest cultural obsessions, follow them on Twitter, Goodreads, or Bloglovin’.

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