From ME to You, With Love, by Louise Harding, Reviewed.

A recovering ME/CFS sufferer, I read this book as research for a book I intend to write myself. It proved very illuminating in so many ways. There are differing degrees of this pernicious and horribly life-limiting condition and most of them are represented within the pages of this book.

Consisting of letters written by sufferers, carers, friends, family members, medical professionals and recoverers, it spans the wide panorama of experiences well. There is bitterness, hope, wonder, anguish, love, misery, pain, humour, anger, frustration and joy within these pages. There are examples of frustration with the ignorance of both the medical profession and the general public expressed effectively by both sufferers and carers.

Some of these accounts will make you cry, others will have you smiling, yet others will make you feel like shouting out loud, swearing with the frustration of it all. It’s an emotional roller-coaster, and I make no apology for that cliché, as this condition is one of difficult slow climbs followed by devastating drops.

If you’re s sufferer, carer, friend or family of someone with the condition, but, most of all, if you’re a medical professional, you should read this. It will educate, and hopefully squash those damaging and ignorant prejudices that blight the lives of so many who battle daily with this condition.

Well written and thoughtfully compiled, it contains the words of people who know what it’s like, who have lived with or are living with this devastating complaint and its multiple consequences. And, if you’re just an interested member of the public, wishing to expand your awareness, this is definitely for you. You’ll see that I’ve used the word ‘frustration’ repeatedly in this review: it’s a word that sums up one of the most commonly experienced emotions of sufferers and their carers. Consider: this is a condition that is generally experienced by those who are most active in society. Imagine, for a moment, the consequences of having such activity suddenly removed, and you might start to appreciate why frustration is such a universal experience.

I’d like to see everyone read this book. I know that won’t happen, but I hope that many will make the effort. You’ll find it worth your while.

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In Search of the Wild Asparagus, by Roy Lancaster, Reviewed

Based on the original Granada TV series, which I never watched, this charming book details the natures, habitats and properties of many of the wild plants growing in the UK. Perhaps this seems an odd book for a writer. But it’s a wonderful source of local detail for stories. Sometimes, the very mention of a specific plant can inject extra atmosphere into a story. Think of the plant poisons that have been used during the ages and the wonderfully evocative descriptive role of plants like waving marram grass on windblown seaside sand dunes, pricking thistles or stinging nettles in the path of fleeing, scantily clad beauties, reeds softening the edges of broads and rivers where poachers or smugglers hide.

Clearly not a book from which every detail can be taken and used at once. But a volume to return to for the many interesting facts that Lancaster places before the reader. The local names bring character and humour. The properties, both medicinal and nutritional, could be effective in many science fiction settings or in historical novels. Merely knowing that certain plants are likely to inhabit specific habitats is sufficient to make those imagined locations more real.

English: Sand Dunes by East Beach Some areas are more densely covered in marram grass than others, and are thus better able to resist erosion by the wind. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Written in a casual, friendly style that reflects the author’s enthusiasm, not to say passion, for the subject, the book is an easy read in spite of the vast amount of detailed information that’s given. It had me recalling early walks with my father, an expert on butterflies and birds but without any knowledge of plants. It also created nostalgia for a holiday spent in Germany, where my wife’s old landlady provided the German names of common plants and I was able to compare them with those I knew from home. An entertaining walk that highlighted the similarities to be found between nations.

I’ll keep the volume on hand, along with my other ‘research’ books, on the shelves beside my desk. Easy access to such knowledge is vital for the writer. For those who don’t write and for whom reading is the most essential aspect of a book, I can say that this one will entertain, educate and amuse. Split into different sections to explain the flora of various locations, it brings life and light to a subject that might otherwise be seen as dry or essentially academic.

I enjoyed the read. For anyone with any interest in the countryside and with that sort of curiosity that seeks to know more about the world about them, this is a valuable aid. It’s now over 30 years old, but still relevant, and still available. I happily recommend it.

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Research? What's That, Then?

The three biggest web search engines (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

For many people, research is a task fraught with difficulty. For others, it can become their raison d'être. I'm talking about writers here, of course. Are you someone who enjoys research, do you fear it, is it a mystery, or is it your prime reason for setting yourself a writing project?

The first thing I'd like to point out about research as a writer is that it should be a means to an end, not an end in itself. If you fall into the trap of doing research simply for the love of the knowledge, the fun of the chase, the thrill of discovery, that's fine for a researcher but it's not good for a writer. If this is your experience, that research is more fun than writing, then perhaps you should consider taking up an occupation where research is the aim and end rather than the tool it should be for a writer.

If you're frightened by the very idea of research, or if it's simply a mystery to you, I hope to allay some of those fears and demystify the process for you here. I'm not writing a book about research for writers; there are plenty of those on the market. This is intended as a taster, a short guide, a finger pointing in the right direction, no more.

Fear is generally the result of ignorance, of not knowing what might be involved. So, let's determine what research means for a writer. Do you watch people, listen to them, observe their interactions?  Yes? You're doing research. Watching people and all that entails, is a way of learning how people work, how they appear, how they sound, what they say. And all this is vital information to enable you to draw believable fictional characters. So, you're already doing it.

Do you read fiction? (If you don't, then you're making your job as a writer infinitely more difficult than you need. Reading the work of other novelists, short story writers, et al, is a vital part of the learning process in becoming, and improving as, a writer). As you read, you're picking up pieces of information on how language is used effectively, how plot works, how characters drive story and all those other factors that determine the quality of the fiction you'll eventually write. This is research on the writing process.

Do you visit potential locations to get a feel for place? Failing that, do you use Google maps and Google Earth to discover as much as you can about places you wish to set your story? Of course, this is fairly basic research, but it can lead you to other areas of knowledge gathering. Google the name of your town, country, island or whatever and read up on the place, look at the pictures others have provided, absorb the mood and atmosphere generated by those who have been there and reported on their experience.

I hesitate to mention books in the context of research, since the vast majority of people seem to think that the internet is the place to search. Books are old technology but they're well-tested and can often provide more in-depth information than a search on the web can give you. Your local library is a mine of information and a good librarian will be only too willing to help you with the topic, setting you off in the right direction and even guiding your choice of suitable books for study.

You watch TV and films? It's amazing what you can glean from such sources, even when you're not actually pursuing a specific topic at the time. I have a love of documentaries on many different subjects and, although I haven't written on many of the subjects covered by such films, I've often found bits and pieces of information that have been useful as background material or as nuggets of gold to place in the minds of characters to make them appear clever, informed or intuitive.

You talk to people? I hope you do. It's amazing what you can learn from those with specialist knowledge. I once wrote to a Coroner for information about aspects of law and procedure relating to corpses found in suspicious circumstances. He invited me for an interview and I learned far more than I even knew I needed to know. Useful for that story and for subsequent tales.

So, you see, research doesn't have to be that dry, dusty task you might've thought it. It doesn't have to be intimidating. It doesn't have to be formal. As a writer, most of your non-writing life can be considered as research, especially if you're writing fiction. Every experience, every encounter, every trip is more grist to your mill. Use it, gather it, harvest it, store it; but, most of all, enjoy collecting and using it.

A final point about using the internet, search engines, for research. First, always use more than a single source if you want to be sure of accuracy. The internet is notorious for inaccuracies by people who purport to be experts. Second, find a search engine that you're comfortable with; it'll save you a lot of time. And, third, learn how to use the search tools. Experiment.

You'd be amazed at the difference you will find if you use the advanced features of search engines to narrow your searches. For example, searching for models on Google produces 1,300,000,000 results. That's an impossible number of sites to trawl through. Model of the solar system reduces that number to 23,900,000, still huge. Placing the same words in quotes, "model of the solar system" reduces the results further to 2,280,000. Better, but by no means efficient. Include the word scale and use a minus sign to exclude the words -scales, -weigh, -energy to remove more extraneous information and you reduce the results to 258,000. Now, I'm not suggesting you can trawl through all these, but a search of the first dozen is likely to give you what you need. You'll only learn how to make use of these tools by using them. Try it. Experiment. You're not going to break anything. And you may learn a great deal along the journey.

Good luck with your research and have fun. It's great to learn something new and even better when you can employ that new knowledge in your writing to bring it to life.

Reading Fiction Stimulates Brain Activity

Image via Wikipedia

It's probably too early in the research to reach too many conclusions, but it looks as though reading fiction may do serious good to your brain. Have a read of this article - http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/13325.aspx from the Washington University website and see what you think.