Beware the Pitfalls of Internet Research

My son once wrote an earnest elementary-school paper about alien visitors based completely on Internet research. (I hasten to add that I was out of town when this happened.) Before shrugging off his childish online trust, note that even adult readers and authors have been misled by online sources. Internet research is convenient -- with seemingly every publisher, research outfit and news organization offering digital access today -- but information-highway riders must be wary. Yes, you can type in a search phrase and scroll through a trove of information sources, but those search findings are a Pandora's Box. Consider Wikipedia, which often tops the list of online search results. Wikipedia is a great starting point, but it is not an online research bible; it is an "open source"encyclopedia where non-experts may edit articles and even insert inaccurate information. Also be aware that when popular community information sites (ask.com or WebMD, for example) collect articles from outside sources, they may unintentionally include unreliable data or data interpretations. And, hopefully, even a neophyte web surfer knows that a blog or social media post can be opinion without any basis in fact. So how do you find reliable online information? First of all, beware single-source, dated, excerpted and/or unattributed information. Remain skeptical of "scientific" findings based on unexplained methodology, culled from tiny or non-random samples, contradicted by many other reputable sources, or provided by clearly biased, self-serving entities. For suggestions on reliable online sources, including government, academic and publisher sites, start with the ehow article at http://www.ehow.com/how_6326469_do-good-internet-research-wikipedia.html. But I would add the following advice (despite the imagined groans of digital-agers): Try also visiting a brick-and-mortar building called a "library" that is full of original source material and reference works. Instead of just sniffing digital footprints, consider interviewing a recognized expert in person! 

Arf or Meow: What Author Pet Choice Tells You

Many author promotional photos include pets, as I noticed when researching my prior post about author portraits. I suppose it is partly a ploy to make the writer more appealing; you can't be a selfish, irresponsible brute if you love a pet, right? And pet-owning is a common social connector -- to the point that I see more sharing of photos of pets than human partners. But assuming authors also picture pets because they are important in their lives, I wondered if the choice of pet (meaning cat versus dog) has any psychological significance. Yes, studies have shown that dog lovers, reflecting their social pets, are generally more extroverted and confident, as well as more conventional, while cat lovers are generally more introverted but also more open, meaning more likely to embrace unusual ideas, artistic creativity and a variety of experiences. Since I'm a cat person, I was naturally curious about writers who have been inspired by felines. A very partial list includes Mark Twain, Jean Cocteau, Stephen King, Jean Paul Sartre, Jack Kerouac, Ernest Hemingway, Edgar Allan Poe, Colette, Samuel Johnson, Raymond Chandler, Tennessee Williams and Joyce Carol Oates. Of course, creative writing has a canine contingent. Famous dog-owning authors include Virginia Woolf, John Steinbeck and William Faulkner. I'm not sure what it says about the personalities of authors fond of unusual pets -- such as Charles Dickens with his raven or Beatrix Potter with her rabbit. But for some aah-inspiring photos of famous writers and their pets, go to http://flavorwire.com/350238/adorable-pictures-of-famous-writers-and-their-pets/

Author Photos: Good, Bad, But Mostly Cliché

When I first prepared to publish a book, I was surprised by how many people stressed the importance of a professional and appealing author photograph. They told me that they always check the author's bio photo and that it is a factor in deciding to read a new author. After only a little thought, I realized that the author's promotional portrait on a physical cover or online can affect my first impression of a book. Blurred, amateurish photos make me worry about a lack of professionalism that could extend to writing and editing. A clearly out-of-date picture of a living author makes me wonder if the content might need updating as well, or if the writer's current appearance would repel readers. Intentionally or unintentionally bizarre photos draw a second look, and sometimes a giggle, but not necessarily a purchase (a prime example for me was aging romance queen Barbara Cartland bejeweled in a hot-pink gown with a fluffy white lapdog). But the main problem with promotional author pictures is that they are usually so formal or cliché they leave no impression at best or a sense of marketing manipulation at worst. A clever flavorwire post by Paul Hiebert highlighted five of the most common author portrait clichés: 1. The Sophisticated Photograph (aka “The My-head-is-so-weighted-down-by-great-thoughts-it-requires-additional-support”); 2. The Office Photograph (aka “The Oh-I-didn’t-hear-you-enter-please-come-in-it’s-really-no-problem”); 3. The Comfortable Photograph (aka “The Torso-twist-with-arm-resting-on-back-of-couch”); 4. The Smoker Photograph (aka “The You-can’t-be-bad-ass-by-doing-what’s-good-for-you-and-your-children”); 5. The Hand-To-Face Photograph (aka “The Face-alone-is-boring-and-therefore-not-enough”). So I asked a professional photographer to create my author photo, and if it tends toward the Comfortable Photograph formula, I kept my hands away from my face at least! To see Hiebert's photo examples, including portraits of many famous authors, go to http://flavorwire.com/117566/against-promotional-author-photographs

Separating Forensic Facts From Fantasy

I admit I'm a sucker for forensic detection, especially mystery fiction where the medical examiner or expert is the key crime solver. I like Patricia Cornwell's Dr. Kay Scarpetta series, Kathy Reichs' Dr.Temperance Brennan mysteries, Tess Gerritsen's Dr. Maura Isles, and Aaron Elkins' "skeleton detective" Gideon Oliver, for example. Of course, I watch TV series such as "CSI," "Bones," "NCIS," etc., where forensic experts put trace evidence in fancy machines that pop out scientific proof of guilt in seconds. With all the incriminating circumstantial evidence from DNA, fingerprints, bite marks, ballistics, blood spatter, insect activity, hair and fiber matching, and so on, it's amazing that, in reality, direct evidence from witnesses still leads cases and that some crimes remain unsolved, murderers escape and innocents are convicted. In fact, popular fascination with forensics has actually created a crime prosecution problem known as the "CSI effect." Trial jurors now may hesitate to convict without the forensic evidence from supposedly infallible experts that they have come to expect based on fictional crime dramas. Alas, there is more fantasy than fact in many televised forensic feats. Contrary to TV dramatics, forensic investigators don't question suspects, process evidence in minutes, and then direct police to arrest the guilty party. The police, not CSI sleuths, take care of interrogations and arrests. Most forensic investigations stay removed from the action in autopsy rooms and labs. And those labs lack all the high-tech devices and expert staff seen on TV so specimens are routinely sent out for tests requiring days to months, not minutes, to complete. It can take four to six weeks just to get toxicology test results, for example. Plus, forensic tests -- even DNA and fingerprint matching-- are not foolproof. Forensic science is not immune to human error or varying opinions. That's not to say that forensic advances aren't playing a vital role in solving and prosecuting crimes today. The real forensic triumphs are as amazing as the myths. Check out some fascinating forensic facts at http://www.myforensicsciencedegree.com/25-surprising-facts-about-forensic-science/

How Universal Fears Power Mystery Writing

The "dark and stormy night" is a cliché illustration of how writers appeal to universal fears to heighten suspense. Just look at the National Institute of Mental Health's list of the 10 most common phobias: fear of public speaking, fear of death or dying, fear of spiders, fear of darkness, fear of heights, fear of socializing or being in a crowded place, fear of flying, fear of confined spaces, fear of being unable to escape an open place, and fear of thunder and lightning. So let's set the scene with our protagonist trapped in a dark closet crawling with spiders while thunder rumbles, lightning flashes, and a killer lurks on the other side of the door! That's the stuff of a B movie, but good writers do the same thing more subtly. Consider author Stephen King's cogent remarks about fear in the introduction to his short-story collection Night Shift: “Fear is the emotion that makes us blind. How many things are we afraid of? We’re afraid to turn off the lights when our hands are wet. We’re afraid to stick a knife into the toaster to get the stuck English muffin without unplugging it first. We’re afraid of what the doctor may tell us when the physical exam is over; when the airplane suddenly takes a great unearthly lurch in midair. We’re afraid that the oil may run out, that the good air will run out, the good water, the good life.... Fear makes us blind, and we touch each fear with all the avid curiosity of self-interest, trying to make a whole out of a hundred parts. We sense the shape. Children grasp it easily, forget, and relearn it as adults. The shape is there, and most of us come to realize what it is sooner or later: it is the shape of a body under a sheet." Horror writers and murder mystery writers approach that mortal fear from different angles, perhaps because of the nature of their readers. The murder mystery reader handles fear of "a body under a sheet" by turning it into an intellectual puzzle to solve; and while thrills along the way make the puzzle-solving exciting, the mystery reader's strong sense of justice and order demands a resolution of fear, that the evil threat is punished and removed. For mystery writers, fear's blinding quality is also a great way to distract readers from clues to the who, how and why. But I also would hope that by facing fears in fiction, readers can deal better with fears in real life. Cue Dr. Robert L. Leahy, psychiatrist and author of the lauded The Worry Cure and Anxiety Free: Unravel Your Fears Before They Unravel You. One of his suggested ways to cope with fear: "Turn your anxiety into a movie (or a book, I would add). You can let go of a worry by disconnecting yourself from it... sit in the audience, eating popcorn, a calm observer." For more of Leahy's advice, see http://www.realsimple.com/health/mind-mood/emotional-health/ten-ways-to-cope-with-anxiety-00000000021548/index.html