tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post7936651153878062842..comments2024-01-12T11:26:35.176-05:00Comments on Working Stiffs: Gambling On ResearchWorking Stiffshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03270595837074553752noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-21105134451309991522008-09-22T09:18:00.000-04:002008-09-22T09:18:00.000-04:00Dana, I'm glad the blog was of some help. I'm alw...Dana, I'm glad the blog was of some help. I'm always available by e-mail, by the way.<BR/><BR/>Nancy, If I were writing a cozy about cooking, I'd be stuffing my face. I'm glad I write thrillers. Shooting guns isn't as fattening.<BR/><BR/>Kathy, I'm already registered for Bouchercon.Wilfred Bereswillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03019217952304685255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-3168302026450705432008-09-21T08:39:00.000-04:002008-09-21T08:39:00.000-04:00Hey Sisters and Misters, I can't go to Bouchercon ...Hey Sisters and Misters, <BR/>I can't go to Bouchercon this year. Does anybody want to buy my registration? I don't know how this is done, but Nancy knows these things and says it is done. If anybody is interested I'll find out.<BR/><BR/>Kathy George<BR/>georgeke@pitt.eduAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-88897003402269465572008-09-20T08:37:00.000-04:002008-09-20T08:37:00.000-04:00My last book was about chocolate. The research wa...My last book was about chocolate. The research was fattenin---er, fascinating.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-35497323971718892912008-09-19T13:39:00.000-04:002008-09-19T13:39:00.000-04:00Will,Thank you. I learned three things here today,...Will,<BR/>Thank you. I learned three things here today, all potentially useful.Dana Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01350344882342624735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-84221353748367662322008-09-19T11:53:00.000-04:002008-09-19T11:53:00.000-04:00Dana, if you want to be escorted away from a table...Dana, if you want to be escorted away from a table game, just fish out your cell phone and start fiddling with it. However, you can act like your counting cards as much as you want and nothing will happen as long as you're not winning beyond the statisical averages. If you start winning for an extended streak, they will have a look-see at your visual clues.<BR/><BR/>A few years ago I spent a weekend in Reno. I have a blackjack method that includes a common method of card counting (counting 10 value cards to see how many 10s and picture cards remain in the deck) and a betting scheme that limits your loses.<BR/><BR/>I was up about $400 after an hour of play. I asked the dealer to hold my spot while I took a break to go to the bathroom. I came back about 10 minutes later. While I was gone, the pitboss ordered a re-shuffle. I lost 10 hands in a row and my $400 was gone.<BR/><BR/>As I got up with my tail between my legs, the dealer told me NEVER leave the table when the deck is rich in tens. He knew exactly what I was doing. And they knew exactly how to counter it.Wilfred Bereswillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03019217952304685255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-12226010333965383492008-09-19T11:01:00.000-04:002008-09-19T11:01:00.000-04:00Outstanding post. I hve made trips to Chicago to w...Outstanding post. I hve made trips to Chicago to wander neighborhoods and restaurants, looking for a key description.<BR/><BR/>WIll's post reminded me of a writing research fantasy my Spousal Equivalent keeps talking me out of. I want to go to a casino and pretend to count cards a blackjack, just to see what happens. If I do it and the book never gets written, you'll know what happens.Dana Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01350344882342624735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-70512687584803073152008-09-19T08:55:00.000-04:002008-09-19T08:55:00.000-04:00Gina, that's what I'm talking about. One of the f...Gina, that's what I'm talking about. One of the first things I did was join an indoor shooting range and fired a Sig Saur P229 .40 caliber becasue that was the gun I used in the book. I waqnted to be able to describe the feel, the texture, the smell, the heft, the sound.<BR/><BR/>Annette, I'd love to do that vet research. Sometimes it not fun, but I love working with animals.<BR/><BR/>Tory, I've had access to a doctor and nurses to bounce ideas off of. I've also had my manuscript error checked for the medical research. I didn't want things to fall apart before I wrote them.<BR/><BR/>Joyce, I wish I had your access to police procedure. I need to get an in with the FBI.Wilfred Bereswillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03019217952304685255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-47360084567815639012008-09-19T07:36:00.000-04:002008-09-19T07:36:00.000-04:00Tory, I have a couple of those never-to-see-the-li...Tory, I have a couple of those never-to-see-the-light-of-day manuscripts.Joyce Tremelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00498392016497131719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-10932026846926989732008-09-19T07:35:00.000-04:002008-09-19T07:35:00.000-04:00Great blog, Will!I'm a great believer in hands-on ...Great blog, Will!<BR/><BR/>I'm a great believer in hands-on research, too, although working for a PD for ten years might have been a bit much! It was really convenient, though, when I had a question, especially when a federal agent or someone from a task force stopped in. No one ever minded answering questions and some asked if they could "be in my book." They were disappointed when I said I wrote fiction, but perked up when I mentioned the acknowledgments.Joyce Tremelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00498392016497131719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-50430089107287326702008-09-19T06:56:00.000-04:002008-09-19T06:56:00.000-04:00LOL! No, Tory, you are in good company.LOL! No, Tory, you are in good company.Annettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02755947919433555176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-16629158468090686062008-09-19T06:42:00.000-04:002008-09-19T06:42:00.000-04:00What a story!I have one lack-of-research story. I...What a story!<BR/><BR/>I have one lack-of-research story. I wrote a whole novel (my first, and rightfully relegated to a box in the attic) about a teenager recovering from a ski accident, then talked to a nurse and discovered it was based on an orthopedic falacy. I had assumed immobilization was the appropriate technique for dealing with broken bones. Turns out, that went the way of the dinosaur 20-30 years ago, when it was discovered that the muscles around broken bones need to be used in order for them to recalcify. Now, they get patients up an moving as quickly as possible.<BR/><BR/>Wish I'd done that research BEFORE I wrote the book. Or maybe not. Given the "bad dialogue alerts" I encountered when re-reading it, maybe it was best I had an air-tight excuse to let the manuscript rest in peace.<BR/><BR/>After I started making writer friends, I learned that I'm not the only one with a first manuscript that will never see the light of day.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-67354191304804376292008-09-19T06:40:00.000-04:002008-09-19T06:40:00.000-04:00Of course the ride along and CPA was terrific rese...Of course the ride along and CPA was terrific research for my current WIP. My favorite hands-on research was for my veterinary mysteries. I spent two years as a regular on the backside (barn area) of Mountaineer Racetrack with a groom's license, totally immersed in experiencing that world. In fact, one of my biggest disappointments with the manuscripts not selling was not having an excuse to continue that line of research. <BR/><BR/>The worst part of that research was the day one of the horses in "our" stable broke down in a race and had to be euthanized. The equine ambulance AKA "the meat wagon" was one thing I'd rather have left to my imagination.<BR/><BR/>Great post, Will.Annettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02755947919433555176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33226151.post-25244665105514096872008-09-19T06:17:00.000-04:002008-09-19T06:17:00.000-04:00Well, one of my unsold manuscripts starts with a b...Well, one of my unsold manuscripts starts with a body floating in the Monongahela River during a flood, so I decided that I had to see the source of the Mon. I persuaded a friend to drive down to Fairmont West Virginia with me and hike through the woods to see the confluence of the East Fork and West Fork. Is that the kind of research you're talking about?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com