I remember times, writing in the middle of the night, when I needed information that was available only in a library or a bookstore. I remember when I could call telephone operators (and get REAL PEOPLE!) in another state and ask them questions about where they lived and they would answer me and be glad I gave them a break from their 3 a.m. boredom.
But even now with the Internet, research can be a painful process. While everything you could ever want to know and all its inaccurate versions may be available, finding it is challenging. First you plow through the million things that have nothing to do with what you want. Then you begin to weed out the unreliable information. And there’s a delicate balance between giving a search engine too many parameters and not enough. Then…you are constantly diverted to other places where you never intended to go.
Shannon asked why I was up so early in the morning. Actually, I was up so late at night. I just wanted some simple answers to a few questions, and I ended up spending all night reading about the NYPD, finding a fascinating blogger who got a book deal for his blog, checking out his links to other bloggers who got book deals for their blogs…. Is it possible that there’s much of anyone left who DOESN’T have a blog and ISN’T being offered tons of money from Big Publishers to write a freaking book?
I’m not saying some of those who are writing memoirs at 22 haven’t led fascinating albeit brief lives and aren’t good writers. But on behalf of those who’ve spent decades polishing their fiction-writing skills and don’t get six-figure advances for writing disparaging things about their families, coworkers, professions, and certain ethnic groups, may I just say….
Aw, never mind. I’ll save it for my memoirs.