The strangest thing I’ve ever Googled for a story?
Recently, that would have to be rip currents in the ocean. I sold a story to
Cricket Magazine about a rip current. Rip currents are different from rip
tides. Rip currents happen suddenly, which I needed for my story.
You know how I like to place my
teen-aged protagonists in danger; a danger they have skills to overcome. I
researched rip currents and how to escape them at National Geographic. In my research, the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) defines rip current as:
“A strong, narrow jet of water
that moves away from the beach and into the ocean as a result of local wave
action. They can flow quickly, are unpredictable and are a result of the shape
of the coastline. A rip tide is caused by the Moon's gravitational pull and is
a predictable rise and fall of the water level.”
I love Google to answer a question I
might have and for initial research, but people—especially writers—need to
remember that not everything on the internet is true. Allow Google to be the
start of your research, but not the only resource. I still believe in books and
experts—real people—to nail down any understanding of situations in life or in the
life of my stories.
Always be sure that you begin
researching on a website you trust. I know! That’s getting harder and harder
these days. So I go to names I trust. Since my stories mostly deal with nature,
I start with the National Park Service and National Geographic. I talk to park
rangers; I talk to police departments. It depends on what my question is at the
time.
As for my memoir about attending
college as a mother of five, I’m crawling through what I hope will be my last major
revision of the manuscript. At the same time, I’m considering titles for it.
Educating Mother: A Journey from Community
College to the Ivy League was my first consideration. It speaks of who the
protagonist is and where she is going and where she ends up—at the Ivy League. Okay.
Should it be An Educated Mother? But the
main story is about Victoria actually going through college.
How about:
Educating Mom: The Power to Believe in
Oneself. No journey. No mention of going from community college to the Ivy
League. This memoir is about the power to believe in yourself over what others
tell you. This title speaks of the internal struggle Victoria deals with in
addition to struggling with college classes and family obligations.
*Please offer any insight you
may have about these titles for my college memoir. I realize you have not read
the manuscript, but if you’ve been reading my blog [thank you so much!] you
know the main struggles of the protagonist. In that regard, do you suggest different
wording or to focus more on the internal or the external struggle? I truly
appreciate all your comments. They help me to move forward with my work.*
I’ll be interested to see how
you’ve tackled this month’s question. It’s great having a topic to share our
thoughts on each month.
Thanks so much for visiting!
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This post was written for the
Insecure Writer’s Support Group. We post on the first Wednesday of every month.
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