The Easiest Research

In writing any genre research is key. If your scenes are unbelievable on a reality level it tends to make the reader not able to connect to your writing. The best advice I can give is for you to write about what you know.

If you are an avid cook at home maybe you could add a scene where your character plans to cook a lovely dinner for her romantic interest but it goes horribly wrong. Remember the "Blue Soup" in the Bridget Jones Diary? That was an excellent scene that everyone was able to connect to for several different reasons.

Everyone has screwed up on a recipe before. I know that when I was learning to cook growing up that I had ruined a lot of good food because I was attempting a recipe above my skill level. A second reason is because everyone at some point in their life has eaten something that was funky and tried to be polite about it. Here's a wonderful experenince I had a few weeks ago.

I thought it would be fun if I let my boys make their own lunches. How bad could they mess up a sandwich? My little one who is four made a rainbow sprinkle sandwich with mayo, whipped cream and American cheese on wheat. Yum! He ate his and declared it his new favorite sandwich. He was kind enough to make me one too. I did have to take a bite and act like it was the best thing that I had ever had the pleasure to eat. Now I have learned that "make your own sandwich" lunches is not a good idea and it will never be repeated. Ever.

If you are wanting to add a scene like a camping scene and you have never been camping before. The easiest research to do is to get a group of friends and go camping for a weekend. It will be fun, and you will get your much needed research. Or you could watch Man VS Wild. Bear is full of insightful info and tips on surviving in the extreme outdoors.

The best research is when you can do it yourself. If you can't ask around you may have a friend that has done it or maybe even be an expert on it. If your friends and family can't provide the needed info try watching a video on it. There are tons of how-to videos on-line. As always there are how-to books out there on every subject from gardening to rigging a sail. And of course when in doubt Google it.

For those that want to try the Blue Soup here's a link to the recipe. http://www.recipezaar.com/Bridget-Jones-Blue-Soup-96158