Advice from an expert can make an unbelievable scene in a novel believable. #writetip Find a person in the industry you need expertise on and ask direct and focussed questions.

For me, reading the criminal code of Canada is helpful in creating a knowledge base, but when is comes to understanding what an RCMP constable would do in a certain situation, there is nothing more accurate than asking an RCMP constable. I’m often surprised by the answer and sometimes get delightful tidbits that give life to a scene.

For my novels, I interact with the RCMP, firefighters, doctors, EMTs, ski technicians, mountain operations experts, and ski racing experts.

Finding the expert you need: If you don’t know an expert in the field you need, find someone who can introduce you to one. Talk it up with friends. Be vocal about what you need. Social networking is invaluable for this (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.). If you get lucky, a friend of a friend will be the person you need. When choosing an expert, make sure they have the right experience. I get my advice from an RCMP constable in BC because I write about BC.

Research: Internet, library, books, videos are all good places to start your research.

Write the scene: Complete a draft scene before speaking with an expert.

Focus your questions: Look for areas of uncertainty or vagueness within the scene. This is where the questions come from.

Ask the expert: Now you’re ready to speak to an expert. Your questions are focussed, so you won’t waste the experts time. This way, they might be willing to help in the future. The experts that take time out their busy lives to a help are special people.

Follow-up questions: Revise the scene based on any new information you collected. You may find you need to ask the expert follow-up questions. You may also find the direction of your story has changed.

As usual, please feel free to let know if you have something to add to this.