RESEARCH: A CRITICAL PART OF WRITING. BUT NO ONE SAYS IT HAS TO BE BORING! By Michael Rigg

Harriet Robin 
New Orleans School of Cooking 

Any fiction writer worth their salt will acknowledge that research is a key component of our craft. We write stories that, in the long run, are not entirely true. That’s why it’s called fiction. We ask our readers to suspend belief, at least while they read what we write, and pray they will accept our premise: “what if…” But to engage the reader, to keep them turning pages, our fiction must be plausible.

In sum, fiction—the ultimate untruth—must, of necessity, be based in truth, and supported by facts. Our written untruth must be believable. Thorough research is how we attain this believable untruth. Research is the lifeblood of good fiction. If it doesn’t ring true, the reader will soon be bored and more likely to put our novel down and, worse, add us to their “do not read” list.

But, while research is critical, the sine qua non of good fiction, no one says it has to be boring.

For those of you who follow my writing, you know that I generally tell stories set in two disparate locations, Tidewater Virginia and New Orleans. I live in the Tidewater region of Virginia, so research is more convenient. But New Orleans? For someone living in Virginia Beach, there are logistical challenges. Yet, a writer has to do what a writer has to do…

Whenever I travel to New Orleans, I walk the French Quarter. I ride the streetcars. I visit the cemeteries. And I deal with those denizens of NOLA who prognosticate (in return for a small emolument) that they can tell me where I got my shoes, along with the date, the time, and the place.  But this blog isn’t about that aspect of my research. Today, I want to describe a hands-on, tasty guide to learning about New Orleans cuisine.

On my NOLA expedition earlier this month—strictly in the name of research, of course—I signed up to participate in a class offered by the New Orleans School of Cooking—NOSOC (New Orleans School of Cooking | New Orleans School of Cooking). NOSOC had to cancel my hands-on experience due to unforeseen circumstances, but they kindly scheduled me into a demonstration class instead. What an unfortunate, but thoroughly wonderful, happenstance!

The cooking demonstration proceeded under the expert tutelage of Harriet Robin (Harriet Robin | New Orleans School of Cooking), a well-known local chef of extraordinary talent and personality. Our group of about forty-seven people watched in awe as Harriet orchestrated a five-course symphony of deliciousness. We had a homemade biscuit slathered in butter and blackstrap molasses, Crab and Corn Bisque, a delicious Praline, Shrimp Creole, and, for dessert, Bananas Foster - complete with flame and "voodoo dust" - served over ice cream. We delighted in a gastronomical parade of “Sweet, Savory, Sweet, Savory, Sweet.” Our collective taste buds, or at least mine, may never be the same!

So, when you read my New Orleans stories, “now hear this”: if I mention food, you can rest assured that I’ve “been there, done that.” It’s a sacrifice, I know. But readers must be confident that I go “once more unto the breach," willingly and without hesitation. For accuracy. For believability. For them.