Helpers and Squashers
I have many, many people in my writing life who help me out. My friends Paul and Debbie, for example, met with me while I was writing Murder in the Boonies and answered lots of questions about reindeer. My friend Connie reads my stuff when it's still half-baked and gives constructive criticism. My sister loves everything I write and provides encouragement. Yay for them! On the other hand are the people who don't help and even get in the way at times. When I was writing one mystery series, I needed information about a park in another state. I wasn't able to go there and look at it, so I wrote to the park management and asked if they'd answer some questions. I stressed that they'd be specific, like "Is the park well-lit at night?" and I offered them a free copy of the book when it came out. At first I got an enthusiastic "We'd be pleased to help." However, when I sent five questions requiring only short answers, I got no reply. I waited tw...