Dipping Into The Water Butt

Because I write for my living, I have a file on my computer that’s very valuable to me and that I add to whenever somebody useful pops up. It isn’t only useful to me on a professional level though, it’s also useful as a would-be novelist. Because of that, I thought I’d share the idea behind the file with those of you who also write.

My file is a collection of people. I list everybody I know who has done or still does something that could be useful for research purposes. To give you an idea of what I mean, here are dozen that I came up with, off the top of my head, about people I know:

• Spent several years as a patient in a psychiatric hospital
• Sailed across the Atlantic with no previous experience
• Is a mobile hairdresser
• Was raped and had a baby as a result
• Was a self-harmer
• Is a midwife
• Had a baby in a doctor’s surgery without previous knowledge of her pregnancy
• Is head teacher at a primary school
• Is bi-polar
• Produces a local magazine
• Cleared 1.80 in high jump
• Is a goldsmith

As you can see, they’re quite a mixed bunch. Some of them have done things that would probably be represented within any reasonably large group of people while others would be more difficult to come by. I mean, I’m sure I could find plenty of bi-polar people or self-harmers but how many have sailed across the Atlantic or spent several years in a psychiatric hospital?

My file is quite long now. Every time I think of somebody who has done something that I might need at some point, they’re written in. And that means most people I know (and I don’t necessarily have to know them well to add them - just well enough to be able to contact them). I can add “works in an office” because I might need to know about the latest gadgetry one’s likely to find in a modern office, or “is a single mum” because I might need to know how a woman with young children would go about making ends meet these days, what with nursery fees and everything. In other words, no matter how trivial something may seem, it could well be useful. In fact, it’s the trivialities that are more likely to be useful because how often am I really going to need to know what it was like to sail across the Atlantic?

Obviously, we all work differently and what’s useful to one isn’t necessarily of any use to another, and perhaps this isn’t quite as useful to novelists as it is to article writers. It’s worth thinking about, though.

Sharon xx

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