Writing is as much about research as it is about getting the words on the page. 

For instance, let’s say that in your writing you want to discuss a scene that takes place in a particular building or type of building.  It’s one thing to say a character went inside a building, but is it another thing entirely if you can take the reader inside the building with the character.

How does one do this?

Research of course.

The same is true when it comes to things like dialogue.

How do you make the most out of a little when it comes to dialogue? 

Simple. Know your character.  A police officer is going to talk differently than a police detective.  A defense lawyer is going to talk differently than a prosecutor.  A physician will talk differently than a faith healer. A good cop differently than a bad cop.

How do you sort out all of the differences to make your dialogue genuine and convincing?

Go talk to people in the fields who will be having the dialogue in your book.  It’s a really simple process.  Pick up the phone, call and tell them you’d like to interview them for background on their profession.

You’d be surprised how flattered and helpful people in most any profession will be if you simply ask.  Look at the acknowledgement page of the current work of fiction you may be reading.  Chances are there are “thank you’s” going to people that helped the author in their work.

The reality is, fiction, much as non-fiction, has to be researched. If not the dialogue just won’t sound real.

If you have a character doing something and you’re writing about it, make sure what they are doing is correct.  If it isn’t, the character, and you as the author simply aren’t believable.  Don’t have your character cock his pistol if he has a Glock.  Don’t have a character taking photographs in low-light unless they have the correct equipment.

Basically a great rule of thumb is if you’re not an expert on what you’re writing about, go ask someone who is and get it right the first time.  If you do this both you and your character will be more believable and when you do need the reader to take a leap of faith they’ll be more willing to do so.

Capitalize in your writing on what you know.  Build your writing skills by taking your research skills to a higher point by making your writing accurate. 

Doing your research also makes for a great networking opportunity for you.  As you talk to more and more experts, you’ll build up a group of sources you can return to for more background in the future.  As well, these people likely direct you to more experts.  They will also tell the tales of their life and professional experiences.  These stories can be great fodder for plots, subplots or just for ideas to kick start things from conceptualization to your next novel.

That and you’ll probably sell a few books along the way.

So while you’re here why not read a chapter from my book or even buy a copy of your own.   A portion of all proceeds from the sale of The Trust will be donated to canine related charities.  Support K9 rescues!

I’ve always loved getting a new cell phone.  Trouble is as soon as I have a one I’m ready for a new one.  At least until I purchased my first iPhone.  Sure there were things to get used to – virtual keyboards, small ear speaker and the “slide to unlock”; however, none of these outweigh the universe of available apps.  I even decided to develop one of my own (not a writer’s app but to determine child support in South Carolina).

Below are some of the apps I enjoy.  They are from a variety of categories -  all of which I have found helpful to my writing process.

1 –Voice Memos.  I mention this first because it is included with the iPhone.  It’s a plain and simple voice recorder with great recording quality and ease of file transfer.  If I need to quickly remember a thought, I use Voice Memo.

2 – eReaders. Both Nook and Kindle are free and with a B&N or Amazon account you can read your library on your iPhone.  Megareader is an inexpensive eReader that provides access to nearly 2 million books for your reading pleasure. 

3 – TweetDeck and Hootsuite.  So there is this website called Twitter….  TweekDeck and Hootsuite are just two of the many Twitter interfaces letting you interact on Twitter directly from your iPhone.  The two apps offer different features, but between them some of the attributes allow for grouping of tweets to make sure you don’t miss anything important – great for those of you who have lots of followers – or you can even bank tweets in advance and schedule when they are sent out on Twitter. 

4 – Evernote. This is a memo app on steroids.  You can do voice memos, take photos, do notes, grab a screen shot or even remember a web page.  If you have your iPhone and see something – literally anywhere, Evernote will remember it for you. It also has a great interface for organization and retrieval. 

5 – Jotnot.  This app turns your iPhone into a scanner using the camera feature.  Start up the app, point it at the document you want to scan and it is off to the races. 

6 – Writeroom and Writechain.  Writeroom is a straightforward clear screen writing app. Text can be exported to a variety of word processing programs.  Writechain is a program that gives you on the fly writing statistics and provides a breakdown on how frequently you write which is great for motivation.

7 – iLava and Angry Birds.  Sure they aren’t actually writing apps per se, but sometimes you just need a break from writing.  iLava is a virtual lava lamp and Angry Birds is just a fun game, but terribly addictive I should warn.

There are a ton of other apps available.  With the iPhone I’ve found with rare exception the phrase, “Yeah, there’s an app for that,” is completely true.  So if you look at the apps above and don’t like them, not to worry, there is most likely another one you will like.  As well, these apps are also generally available for the iPad and the iTouch. So get an iPhone (or iPad or iTouch) and get to writing.

Research is always a tricky thing.  I've heard different, if not competing views, from almost every writer with whom I discuss this subject.  Some advocate for only internet using the Google approach.  I'm not the head cheerleader of this movement, but I will say that you can find a lot of info on virtually every subject.  Also with Google's satellites and imaging, Google also makes it easy to visit about anywhere without leaving the comfort, or the shackles, of your writing sanctuary.  I certainly see the merit of this, but I believe it is a rather sterile approach to the process.  It's like looking at a photo of a Costa Rican beach and then attempting to describe the feel of the sand beneath your feet.  From a purely visual exposure through a separate media, I just don't think you can do justice to the cool feel of the sand beneath your feet - even though the air is so humid and heavy it could only be described as "wet."  The pure visual exposure can never let you fully understand what it is like to be suddenly attacked by an iguana who wants to fight you over a piece of fruit. 
Other folks advocate traveling to the area or region you are going to be writing about to get a taste of the local flavor and to interact with the locals.  I'm not really the cheerleader for this movement either.  Charleston, South Carolina is perhaps my favorite city and I would hate to have a weekend visitor attempt to a paint an accurate image of the city scape.  I just don't think a weekend in a locale gives you much beyond what the tourist brochures provide.
I have found a method that works for me.  First, I write about geographical areas I know.  I want to make sure that I'm 100% accurate when I am talking about a place.  I want to make even the locals find something new to them.  Fortunately I've traveled a good deal otherwise I would be limited as to where I had available to me as settings.  I believe that if you write about an area you know then it will show.
Now when I need to know facts, the nuances of a profession or things such as techniques, procedural matters or otherwise, I just ask.  I have found that most people with a particular skill set or specific knowledge are more than happy to have an eager audience who is willing to listen.  In the off case where a person will not talk to you, I have two techniques that generally will get them to speak to you.  One, do a little research in advance and learn who is recognized as another "expert" in the area.  If they don't want to speak to you simply say something like, "Thank you so much for your time.  I had one final question, as a back up I am going to call Mr. or Ms. So and So.  Is it okay that I tell them I have spoken to you?"  Or, secondly, try this.  "Thank you so much for your time.  You're the first person I called and wanted to see if you could suggest someone I could speak to who would be as knowledgable as you on this subject."  Generally one of those two will either get the person talking or they will give you a promising lead.  Just keep in mind, it is a rarity that people won't talk about themselves and what they do.
One additional point, if you know someone who has a personal relationship the individual you need to speak to, by all means take advantage.
Remember, don't be worried about rejection.  If you're rejected, try again.  The simplest thing you can do is just ask.  However, a word of caution, don't get bogged down in the research.  After all, the goal is to write and if you are researching, you're not writing.