Hi, Everyone! Now that it’s “National Get Caught Reading
Month,” can anyone recommend a good
mystery to read beneath a full Flower Moon next week? I’m guessing there are a lot of A to Z Challenge Survivors out
there – Congratulations! If you find your muse has left you without a word or
ransom note, you can always sharpen your writing skills with any of the many
great resources offered by the Insecure
Writers Support Group, founded by Alex
Cavanaugh, right here and right now on this first Wednesday of the
month, when IWSG
members convene through blogging, Facebook, and Twitter to
talk about whatever is on our writing minds and agendas. See what we’re all talking about here.
I’m taking full advantage of the (optional) uplifting question of the month, “What is the
weirdest/coolest thing you ever had to research for a story?”
because who wants to dwell on rejections, right? Besides, this question calls to mind all
the fun of the writing journey!
Since I’m one to wander off the beaten path, it’s no
surprise I tend to do that in research as well. So once upon a quest for
knowledge of how to handle being lost at sea (terrifying, isn’t it?) I came
across the true story of a family on a
dream vacation voyage in the Bahamas during which the Captain, having been
caught in the act of murdering his wife (for the insurance policy he’d recently
purchased), then proceeded to end the lives of all but one of the family who'd
been alerted to the scene of the first crime by the screams of the Captain’s
wife. It was nearly fifty years before (then eleven years old) Terry Jo, the only surviving family member, was able to
tell her harrowing story in a book entitled “Alone:
Orphaned on the Ocean.”
For another story I was writing – and researching, I was
checking out hypnosis. Since there are quite a number of characters (in my
story) under the influence, I wanted to know if there could be adverse
reactions. And sure enough, there could. It’s called “Inadvertent suggestion
acceptance”; sometimes concretely, sometimes
literally. For example, You can dance your feet off, or You can eat anything that moves…oh,
the possibilities!
Not that I’m a fan, but one story led me to a most
disgusting insect called a Tumblebug. Not even my cat would go near it. Out
here we call it a Turd Roller because that’s what, and all, it does.
Scientists, on the other hand, are quite interested in the only non-human ‘animal’
known to be in existence that uses the Milky Way for nocturnal orientation.
So, what’s in your notebook? On your agenda? Have you ever been
lost at sea, hypnotized, or seen a Tumblebug?
