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It might have been a suitable question for Lauren Crow, yet as I couldn't find a forum on her site, I'm going to post it here...

How exactly do you research for a crime novel? I'm currently attempting my own and have gotten around 30, 000 words to date, the only problems is, some of the events I have planned to come may need a bucket load of research needed for it to be perfect. How do you research something like crime besides the internet and books? Did you get into contact with someone or... just gone blank, but I think you get the gist. I'm stuck in a rut and I so desperately want to get this published so I can save enough money to move to England I'll get there one day.

 

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Hi Clove Forgive me for being tardy on replying to this. I hear a real cry for help here! And lots going on in it - not the least of which is well into a new manuscript in a highly competitive genre. Let me see what I can offer you. Research is vital for crime because you have to keep it extremely authentic and credible. If you thought fantasy was hard, crime is far more closely scrutinised by its audience. At least with fantasy the readers are prepared to be in new worlds with all sorts of wonderful and strange events and so long as you remain consistent, then fantasy readers are extremely gracious and generous. Crime readers are not terribly forgiving but I do understand because if you're talking about a real location then you'd better be sure you're getting that absolutely right. And if you're going to use an accent or refer to a culture or whatever, then you have to nail it. Everything from setting to colloquialisms must be spot on. Where are you setting your crime? If it's in Australia then you've got an ideal opportunity to get things perfect with no excuse. If you're working on a Britcrime, as I do, then unless you are English and are using settings you know incredibly well, then I'd suggest you are putting yourself at a disadvantage. Memories are just not good enough unless they're being drawn from very recent events/visits. London, for instance, is constantly changing and evoling like any major city. And so to write my crime I have to go to London for each book....and then I go to each new location. For instance in Bye Bye Baby, I visited London, Lincoln and Brighton to get it right. In Beautiful Death, I made sure I walked the regions of London I name, took lots of photos, talked to people, got everything as accurate as possible.....and I'm sure there will still be items to criticise where a reader might think I've taken a liberty. The internet is brilliant and you should max its use but you can't rely on the internet entirely and you must cross reference everything you read. Presented facts are not always accurate because anyone can upload a site or post a comment, so you need to double check items that you are pulling from the Net and to some extent from books, although I suspect books are more reliable as the authors will already have been made very accountable for their information by the publisher. If this is based on Australia then get out and speak to people, find some experts in the fields you need, take lots of photos and tramp those streets so you know them. You really need to understand police procedure too and for most of us we're tapped into some professional help. I can't operate without my great source of help who is based within New Scotland Yard and can advise me on accuracy re police procedure in the British system. How do you find someone like this I can hear you screaming....well, this is where a bit of luck steps in. Every writer has a tale about where they get their help from. Mine was simply coincidence although I believe fate played a key role. you'll have to just keep asking around and widening your network of contacts if you want to someone on the inside to act as an advisor for you. Fantasy draws heavily on the imagination and history if you write the sort of fantasy I do but for my crime books I really do rely a huge amount on hands on research in the UK and overseas, the internet and my wonderful advisor in London. Good luck, Clove. Tell me more about your crime work - not the story but what you're trying to achieve. F