NovelTalkBlog: Susan Vaughan: The Glamorous Life of a Writer

I was revising the first chapter of a new project. The opening scene needed to be more dynamic, to show not just tell the danger facing the characters. So I decided to take them out of an office and put them in a vehicle where the bad guys could go after them. Yes, I decided to do a chase scene.

Setting the scene in an office meant I could describe the setting any way I wanted. Not true for the chase scene. A car chase through Bethesda, MD, and onto the Washington Beltway meant research. A map helped but didn't give me a visual. I used to live in the area but long enough ago that I knew things have changed.

I asked on my various email listservs if anyone lived in that area who could help me. A few takers, but only people who used to live there. I needed fresh eyes, not memories. I needed Google Earth. So, since I have a very sloooww dial-up Internet connection, I took my trusty laptop to the local library, where I can connect with wireless. Should be a cinch, right?

Wrong. The library was closed. The staff was setting up outside for the big BookFair the next day. However the librarian said I could connect at the picnic table. Hooray, all was not lost.

Wrong again. The sun on the laptop screen faded out the images. But there was shade on the library's back steps. My spirits climbed a little but I was beginning to have doubts.

I settled myself on the steps with the computer on my lap. Voila, I connected with the wireless and was even able to access and download Google Earth. Then drops of rain fell on the laptop. Yup, the skies opened.

Closing the laptop lid, I fled to the backseat of my SUV. Hooray, the wireless connection still worked! I played with Google Earth a bit, and typed in Bethesda, MD. The screen flew to my target. I moved the mouse, and whoosh, the screen flew up and around the globe to Brazil. What was up with that, I asked myself. No clue. So I tried again. Same result. Brazil. Cursing technology and my limited knowledge, I went home.

I told my husband my ills but he just shrugged. "Honey," he said, "all you can see on that stretch of the Beltway is the sound barrier walls." Walls? I squeaked. "Yeah, the fences or cement walls they put up to shield the neighborhoods from traffic noise."

Why didn't I think to ask my husband before?

Anyway, the scene is done and I'm forging ahead. Oh, and Google Earth? Forget that. I'll go to a primary source, a human being.