Shouts From Down Under

Inner Tube

A tricky thing I read in Dean Koontz's Non Fiction book called; Writing Bestselling Fiction or maybe it was somewhere else.

Something along the lines of, readers enjoy a novel / story more if, in the backstory, there is a subject matter that is demystified, a complex field analysed, the behind the scenes facts that are stranger than fiction, the "in-the-know" trade secrets of it, the gizzards / guts of something.

Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

When you write a novel, research some of the whosywhatsit you are writing about. Get the low down on stuff that people don't normally know. For example, if its about a plane highjack, then research all the nitty gritty details on airports, go talk to a lowly amenities technician, an aircraft framey, an airline pilot, a disgruntled stranded passenger, a baggage handler.
They will either tell you where to go, in no uncertain terms, or tell you stuff you never dreamed of, about their job, the grubby crib room, staff lunch room gossip, the stupid things that happen, the mistakes, the jargon, the swearing that gets shouted about clients, customers behind their backs, the jokes told at the publics expense, the cheating, the thieving, the harassment, the squabbling, the good days, the airline going broke, the day she / he spilt coffee all over their boss.

It's all this stuff you dig up, it has to be INTERESTING ok? But it will put the accelerator pedal of your story flat to the floor.

Trust me. I know what it's like to read a story like this.

The Bourne Series...
John Grishams books about courtrooms and lawyers.
Stephen King's disturbing horror stories.

See, as a reader, you like to feel you are one up on the next bloke who HASNT read this book and doesnt know these odd facts, bits of weirdness, doesn't have that information that only special people have access.
You feel superior because "you are in the know". Yes, you are IN! Part of the Inner Sanctum.

Personally I'd rather be in an Inner Tube floating on the dam on the farm on a hot summer's day, splashing muddy dam water over a couple of cousins heads to really annoy them.

Sparky.