Adding factual information to a fictional work helps to ground a story in reality. In 16 Lakeview Terrace, I used actual places in New York City as Gaby and Matt gathered information on Pieter Jorgenson. The Internet proved a great resource in adding the factual details that were included in this aspect of the story.
The process began with a question: What happens to the bodies of unidentified people who die in New York? Pursuing that question led to news stories concerning the inability of concerned relatives to access information on an individual who was missing and likely deceased as well as who was in charge of the morgue where such bodies would wind up being sent.
While I chose the location of Jorgenson’s truck near a park, it was an Internet search that led me to parks in that area that would be inviting for kids to play in. Examination of the pictures available of the possibilities helped me to select and, more importantly, describe these locations.
Once the area of New York City was selected, I had to determine just what police precinct might be involved. Of the two possibilities, I chose the Ninth because of the description and pictures available that would ground that aspect of the story.
This process of asking questions and finding answers that provide realistic details, or “color,” in a fictional work helps to engage a reader to move more deeply into the story you are telling.