Most of my research is done in print form, from all the books I have managed to accumulate on the oddest topics, and which currently reside in dozens of boxes, making it nearly impossible to find the right book at the right time. Of course, I could probably use them to build a really cool fort, or a vacation home.
Lately, though, more of my research is done via the Internet, which is about the best resource a research nerd like me could have ever hoped for.
But there is a scene in my current WIP, I Do. . .or Die, which I knew required hands-on research. My main character, Shelby, needed to go to a shooting range, to learn how to shoot a gun.
I know next to nothing about guns, since I have not had any occasion to be in their vicinity. I was pretty sure this was something that I wasn't going to be able to describe without experiencing it myself.
So I turned to the Internet. But only to find out if there was a possibility of going to a shooting range, so I could experience what Shelby would be going through.
To my utter amazement, there was a "Learn to Shoot" class at a shooting range about a half hour away. I didn't rush right out to sign up for the class, even though it was very reasonably priced. It still felt a little weird to do something so positively "writerly".
Okay, I was worried about looking like a complete dork.
I took my best friend with me, as moral support, and as potential photographer, because I thought it would be cool to actually document the event, and post pics here as evidence. Unfortunately no picture-taking was allowed. But at least she can testify to all non-believers that I did actually load and shoot a gun, many times.
She also got to watch the other shooters, which was great info that I had to miss. Especially the guy who was doing his darnedest to do some fancy un-holstering of his gun (and made my best friend very happy she was safely behind bulletproof glass).
The course started out with about 30 minutes of safety instruction. It actually spread to about 40 minutes because our instructor (Mr. Marshall, a sixth grade teacher during the rest of the week) was so generous in answering questions we had. He also seemed to love demonstrating the answers for us. I asked about details for my book (like which gun a cop would most likely use in a small town). We both asked questions about things we've read in books or seen in movies (for instance, isn't it scary to carry a gun in the back of your pants? Yikes!)
After all the instruction, I felt pretty calm about the whole situation, and then it was time to actually go shoot.
But first, there were the headphones, which seem to block out almost all noise EXCEPT the sound of gunfire. And there's the clear plastic glasses which protect your eyes AND fog up so you can't see as clearly as you'd like.
Apparently most injuries in a shooting range occur when people staple (or un-staple) the paper target to the board. Mr. Marshall took care of that for me while I loaded five tiny .22 bullets into the magazine. Thank goodness there wasn't a time limit, because it took a lot more strength to pull the lever back so the bullets could go in. Clearly if a lot of shooting is going to be involved, I'll remember to have my characters carry a lot of pre-loaded clips.
I was wearing my jean jacket, to keep myself covered up, because the other potential injury is from spent bullet casings (which are HOT) flying back and landing on the shooter. A couple of bullets headed towards my boot, but I did a quick step and got out of the way. I surprised myself at how quickly I could move.
I ended up taking my jacket off, because it didn't allow me to move my arms into position very well. And holding your arms out in front of you is HARD WORK. I was trying to focus the gun sights, but my arms kept wavering, very slowly. (Let me tell you my arms were a wee bit sore the next couple of days. It's not a completely natural position, standing there with both arms extended like that. Or if it is, I apparently don't do it enough on a daily basis to keep the muscles from protesting.)
There are a LOT of things to remember before you actually squeeze the trigger. (Which is why I know I will not be a pistol-packing mama – it takes forever to get READY to shoot, and I just don't have that kind of time. Heck, I can forget what I was doing in just a few short minutes.)
First thing to keep in mind: you don't have your finger anywhere near the trigger until you're Ready – and by Ready, I mean, done with all the other zillion steps. Naturally, your finger goes straight for the trigger as soon as you pick up the gun, so you have to forcibly remind yourself "finger away from the trigger", over and over.
Another important mantra is "don't point the gun until you're ready to shoot", which is obvious, and yet as much as I knew that and repeated it – yep, I still accidentally pointed it slightly towards Mr. Marshall when he said something to me. It was VERY slightly, and I realized it immediately. Especially when he pushed it aside. He was very good natured about it, since it happens ALL THE TIME. But it still makes you feel horrible for forgetting. Especially since my finger was probably near the trigger too.
It's important to have a solid stance, but that requires you to stick your butt out in a way that is SO unsexy. It's probably the moment I felt the dorkiest. Seriously. It counteracted my whole black outfit and black knee-high boot regalia.
And aiming is one of the hardest parts of all. I found out I'm left-eye dominant (and I'm right-handed), so I had to close my right eye to focus on the gun sights. It really made me appreciate how difficult it is to be a sharpshooter. Don't ever look for that job title on my resume.
After all that, it was almost a relief to pull the trigger. Which you don't really want to do. Instead you want to squeeze it, slow and steady.
I was actually excited when I saw a small hole appear on the target. Granted, it was not on the big black circle in the middle. It was in the white space at the EDGE of the paper. But it was a hit!
I did the whole sequence four more times, and then Mr. Marshall and I brought the target in so I could see how I did. Surprisingly I did pretty well. I reloaded the magazine, and shot at the poor unsuspecting target again.
The best part of the whole thing was learning, in person, what my character would be experiencing. There were several things I was able to incorporate into my written scene because of it. For example, the smell from the spent shells was distinctive, and I flinched each time at the muffled sound of the larger caliber ammo being shot. Both of these were things that my main character, Shelby, responded to.
Some things in my manuscript were extrapolated from the experience. Obviously my instructor did not get behind me to help me focus the gun sights, but it was a perfectly natural thing to have my hero and heroine do so. Also, while talking to my instructor, it was difficult to hear, due to the headphones doing their job, so it made me realize how much my characters would rely on eye contact and lip reading, which I think increased their already heightened sense of each other.
All in all, it was an exhilarating experience. I told Mr. Marshall what fun it had been, and that I truthfully didn't expect to spend time at target practice in the future. But it was a rush, and okay, I thought I was a pretty good shot. I saved both of my paper targets, showing them off to anyone who would give me five seconds.
Even more exciting, though, was knowing how much more flavor my scene would have as a result of me experiencing it before my character did. It's given me a lot of ideas, and I'm making a list of what else I need to research.
Although I'm pretty sure I won't actually research the scene where Shelby is almost run down by a speeding car. She's going to have to figure that one out on her own.
