The Experience of Experiences

For the better part of two decades, I spent my life as a military journalist. I worked in locations around the globe during war and peacetime writing stories and talking to hundreds, probably thousands, of people. Jet fighter and super secret reconnaissance pilots, generals, admirals, astronauts, kings, rangers, SEALs, cops, firefighters and almost everyone else in between. I loved it.

Above all else, the experience of meeting and having a conversation with these people opened the door to new ideas and new directions. For example, on a trip to Edwards Air Force Base, California, I interviewed the lead engineers for the F-22 fighter program. They would talk like surfers attacking the biggest wave in the ocean about the fighter’s capabilities – excited and motivated to make it work.

In discovering my career writing news and feature stories for the Air Force (something I still do in my day job), I found out that the experiences and conversations with people were what made the stories rich, vibrant and worth reading. From military sniper school to medical trauma in Baghdad, the best way to write those stories was to learn and feel them. It was also the best part of my job.

Believe it or not, for fiction writers, there are plenty of people willing to speak with writers about their craft. You just have to know how to reach them. Some you can call or email directly. Others require you to go through an intermediary, like a public affairs or human resource office, to set up an appointment. Admittedly, there’s no one who can tell you about walking on Mars or traveling through a black hole. But there are astronauts and scienitists who know an awful lot on the topic.

Say you’re looking for a forensics expert. Your police station probably has one. Find the number to the police station’s public relations office and call it. Be professional and specific. Have your questions prepared in advance. Let the intermediary know how long you need on the phone or in person. Don’t go any longer than that. Always ask to follow-up.

In my first attempt at a novel, one I wrote simply to pass the time as I went through cancer recovery, I needed to know how a particle beam worked. I found the AOL email address for the lead scientist for President Reagan era “Star Wars” space program (using a Yahoo! Search no less). I contemplated emailing him for three days, but, no guts no glory. I dropped him a note. He responded the next day “Send me the questions. I’d love to help.” He answered each question and some follow up questions. He also wished me good luck on my book, which will never see the light of day. I still thanked him profusely.

All of this dovetails on a Facebook discussion some writer friends and I had that said this: get out and experience life. Ask questions. Do homework. Instead of a creative writing class, take an anthropology or macroeconomics class. Go out and experience things that will push your work to new levels. Ask questions and commiserate with people who are engineers, sculptors, pilots, truck drivers and prostitutes. Then synthesize them and write them well.

So, who are you going to call today? :)

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