On-site research

I was in Philadelphia for a hot second over the weekend but was able to do some on-site research that directly affects two of my current unpublished works -- THE DEATH OF ART and AN UNTIDY AFFAIR, particularly the latter.

The last time I was in Philadelphia was last August and I wrote AFFAIR in November. There were several important things that I remembered incorrectly about the city where I lived for 20 years. Some places and locations were different and the differences are important to the story. Or at least they are important to me.

As a working journalist, I have lived with the knowledge that a reporter's credibility is the only thing he or she really has. So getting the facts right is of utmost importance to me as a journalist -- and as a fiction writer. I know as a novelist there are things I can -- and do -- just make up. But it is still best to get the verifiable facts correct.

I had a couple of locations wrong in AFFAIR and in other ways I could have written better descriptions.

So I am going to make some changes which I hope will also improve the quality. On-site research is not necessarily necessary or at times even possible. But where it is, I think it can only serve to improve the credibility of a work.
Thanks for reading and keep writing.