Field Trips

One of the more active things about writing that I never anticipated is the need for research.

If you are going to put a story in a particular setting or era, you need to know something about it. . . unless you just thrive off of people showing up from time to time to inform you of how wrong you are on something. Not being one of those people, I kind of like to get things reasonably right. And since I feel that one of the core ideas of writing is to pass an experience to your audience, then it is important that I have some actual experience with the subject at hand instead of just having read about it on the internet.

Which brings up the necessity for field trips. I need to get out more anyways, and it would probably be good for the wife and kids too. Who am I kidding? It would definitely be good for the wife and kids too. Sometimes though, I realize the things I want to look at would probably bore the kids to tears. . .Karla too, but I'm sure she will claim her reluctance would be totally for the kids benefit. But where to go?

I hear they give weekend tours of the old Baker's Hotel in Mineral Wells, but that's several hours away and we would never find Rowan if she got loose in there. But what a setting! It might be just the ticket for the Final Twist landmark anthology. Sometime I will have to find the old historical marker and graveyard where Port Sullivan used to be. Another venture that would likely bore the kids to distraction, and I'm sure Karla just dreams of sitting out in the middle of nowhere in the Texas heat. Regardless, we need to start getting out. And it's time Sheridan starts getting a historical sense of his area anyways. It would be good to do as a family from time to time, and for others maybe I can recruit a different companion. . . because I sure ain't going into the Baker's Hotel alone.