How did I make this connection from watching late night television, one may ask? Well, two reasons. The first is obvious: the writers of CSI: Miami have to know what they are writing about. You cannot fake forensic medicine. There are enough people out there who have taken some college biology and/or chemistry to understand what's going on. The second is what goes on behind the scenes: the nefarious tabloids and paparazzi. Being a fan of the show, if I see an article about any of the starring characters, I will read it. Sadly, and I am embarrassed to admit this, this sometimes includes tabloid articles I "stumble" upon.
In one such tabloid article (which I never take as Bible due to the source), it said that Emily Proctor hated working with David Caruso and that they would no longer be filming scenes together because he made her sick. (Poor Red!) I thought that if that were true, that would be sad because they seemed to work off each other so well.
Today, I read another article which included an interview with Emily Proctor where she states how funny David Caruso is in real life. That certainly doesn't sound like hatred to me. And, in another television interview, she talked about his "brilliant" portrayal of Horatio Caine and how he made the show what it now is.
Research. You need to get your facts straight, whether its a column, story, screenplay, or book. It doesn't matter. If you have wrong information in there, someone will know and they will call you on it.
I learned this the hard way. Years ago I wrote a Letter to the Editor that ended up appearing in different papers nationwide commemorating my Great Uncle Steve Hamas, a former boxer. The letter received all kinds of attention from all over the United States and I was pleased to receive copies of articles, pictures, and even a film reel of Uncle Steve boxing from other boxing fans.
So, what was the problem? Well, Uncle Steve had passed away when I was little and I have bits and pieces of memories of him. When I wrote my article, I wrote that Uncle Steve spent the last years of his life in a wheelchair.
He did not.
I had confused him with another member of the family. I did not check my memories with my parents because I wanted to surprise them with the letter.
The boxing fans I spoke to afterward said, "I never knew Steve was in a wheelchair" and, luckily, when I explained the mistake, they didn't seem to care. They were just fascinated to be speaking to a surviving relative. My parents didn't bat an eye. They thought the letter was touching.
But then the responding Letter to the Editor from South Carolina came in the following week.
Apparently, I had a distant cousin out there who remembered Uncle Steve better than I did.
Boy, was he mad.
Let's just say he pointed out my error, called me anti-American, and I think he cut me out of his family tree.
I never forgot that mistake and since then, I've been overly anal about research.
I may not have first hand experience in everything I write, but I research, I interview, and I get people who do know the area I'm writing about to read for me.
Please check out my novel Luke Aloysius: Bloodline on Amazon:
Please check out my novel Luke Aloysius: Bloodline on Amazon:
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