A Very Abridged Primer on Writing

The wonderful Tony Horwitz (if you haven't read Confederates in the Attic or A Voyage Long and Strange you're missing out) has written, for the Powell's Books blog, a short primer on writing.

From the piece...

6. Always Visit the Places and People You're Writing About

Again, this may seem painfully obvious, but in the era of Google Earth and texting and Skype and all the other tools that allow us to communicate and experience things instantly, it's easy to talk yourself out of first-hand contact. Why spend time and money going to interview someone in person, or to see a certain location, when you can get what you need without leaving your computer?

Because you always get more in the flesh. Most interviewees are more comfortable and open once they've seen the whites of your eyes. A natural sense of obligation and hospitality sets in. They'll give you more time, and better-quality time, than you'll get on the phone or email. The atmosphere of their home or office, and their body language, will tell you things you couldn't know otherwise. They may invite you to stay for a meal, or meet someone else, or show you a document they didn't mention on the phone. So just go, even if you think you don't need to.

The same applies to places, and not only because you'll be able to describe them more accurately and vividly after visiting. By going, you almost always stumble on scraps and sometimes gems that can't be gleaned from your reading or on-line research. I could give a thousand examples, but here's one. While researching Confederates in the Attic, I visited the Chancellorsville battlefield, where Stonewall Jackson was mortally wounded in 1863. I'd read many accounts of this famous event, and didn't think the sprawl-choked and heavily touristed Virginia battlefield would offer up fresh insights. But during my visit, I learned by accident from a ranger that Stonewall's amputated arm lay buried on a nearby farm, with its own grave and monument. during my visit, I learned by accident from a ranger that Stonewall's amputated arm lay buried on a nearby farm, with its own grave and monument. This wasn't advertised in park literature or anywhere else. So I ended up seeing a bizarre and little-known Confederate shrine and having great fun with it in my book.