HEADIN’ DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE – WHAT A BUNCH OF CRAPE By Michael Rigg

Lagerstroemia indica 
a/k/a crape myrtle

Even though fiction is all about using your imagination and making stuff up, writers still have to be accurate. Next time you write a novel or short story, have your protagonist hesitate long enough to release the safety on her Glock before shooting. You’ll hear about it from your readers. Believe you me, you’ll hear about it.

So, unless you’re already a subject-matter expert, in-depth research is an absolute must. This is true for even relatively unimportant and mundane details. But, be careful. Once you start down the research path on a particular issue, you might find yourself mired in “find-the-facts quicksand,” struggling to get back to writing.

My current work in progress, Shadows of Frenchmen, is set in New Orleans. One of the characters receives a text message asking her to come to a meeting at the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA). Here’s part of the lead-in to the meeting:

She inhaled deeply, then let her breath out slowly as she crossed the street, entered the museum grounds, and traveled along the sidewalk adjacent to Lelong Drive. Ahead stood the museum’s massive, fortress-like main building. In season, crepe myrtles lining each side of the drive showcased a beautiful, yet eerie, combination of green leaves, magenta blossoms, and silvery-gray Spanish moss dangling from the branches. On a chilly midwinter afternoon, the trees seemed bland, uninviting. And under the circumstances, foreboding. 

Nothing particularly worrisome. I’d visited NOMA. I rode the streetcar, exited at the end of the line near Bayou St. John, sauntered down Lelong Drive, and entered the museum. I took pictures of the trees lining the drive. Like I said, in-depth research. Quicksand avoided. Back on the “write” path.

 Ha.

One of my Beta Readers sent me a text with a link to a blog, “Crepe Myrtle or Crape Myrtle? The Real Story Behind the Name.”

Say what? CRAPE myrtle? My feet now mired in the fact-check bog, sinking ever so slowly, I dove down the rabbit hole.

Turns out that most “plant experts” (you know, botanists) say the proper English name for the Lagerstroemia indica is crape myrtle. Yet, there is a substantial portion of the reasonably intelligent populace (including folks at a garden nursery in suburban New Orleans and the people running the NOMA Facebook page) who say it’s CREPE. So, after repeated volleys listing this website and that article on both sides of the issue, what to do to get back on track?

Simple. Ask the ultimate Fact-Checker-in-Chief—my spouse. The answer? It’s CRAPE.

So now comes the next step. What will the Publisher say during the final editing process? Don’t worry. I’ve done the research. I have the source material. I’m ready for whatever crape they throw at me. Or is it whatever crepe they throw at me? Oh, crap.