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Guest Author: Jane Heller

And the winner of Jane Heller’s contests are: Bettie Sharpe and Allison! Sistas, please email me your info, which I will relay to Jane and she will hook y’all up with a copy of Some Nerve. Lucky duckies! I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank Jane again for coming by to hang out with us. A big kiss and a thank you, Miz Jane! Come back again soon!

How Doing Research for Some Nerve Changed My Life. Seriously.

Hi, Everyone.
A reader sent me an email the other day that said, “It must be easy to write romantic comedies, because you don’t have to do research.”

Huh?

It’s true that all my books are set in the present, so I don’t have to dig up historical info. It’s also true that they’re light, breezy stories that are meant to make people laugh. But research is such an important part of the writing process that I can’t imagine not doing it.

For example, my novel Princess Charming is about three divorcees who take a seven-day Caribbean cruise together. Before I wrote a word, I took a seven-day Caribbean cruise myself. I know, I know. It wasn’t exactly a hardship, but I really did need to experience what my heroine did.

My novel Name Dropping is about a pre-school teacher at a private school in New York whose identity is mistaken for another woman with the same name. To research it, I spent days sitting on a tiny chair in a pre-school classroom at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan, finger painting, building blocks and singing the “Itsy Bitsy Spider” with a bunch of four-year-olds.

You can’t write credibly about something you know nothing about. Well, I guess you can try, but it just won’t ring true.

My latest novel, Some Nerve, is a case in point. I got the idea for it after a phone conversation with the agent in L.A. who sells the movie rights to my books. She was about to send my previous novel, An Ex to Grind, to Hollywood producers, so I said, “Let’s put Julia Roberts on the list. She’d be great as the heroine.” My agent joked, “She’s pregnant with twins and on bed rest at Cedars Sinai Hospital. Why don’t you sneak in as a volunteer and slip her the manuscript?”

We had a good laugh and hung up. About an hour later, I came up with a story about a celebrity reporter who signs up as a hospital volunteer to get the story on a really hot (but self-important) movie star patient. The idea took shape in my mind very quickly. There was just one problem: I had no clue what hospital volunteers actually did beyond looking kindly and helpful while they directed people to the cafeteria.

So I went to my local hospital in L.A. and asked, “Would it be okay if I observed your volunteers for a book I’m writing?” I was told, “No way. We don’t exploit our volunteers or our patients for ‘material.’ But if you’d like to sign up as a volunteer and give us a six-month commitment, four hours a week, we’d love to have you.”

I said, “Uh, I’ll get back to you.” I went home figuring I’d have to scrap my research plan. I mean, me hanging around sick people? Me being away from the computer one day a week with a book deadline looming? Me making a six-month commitment? No thanks.

But then a woman emailed my web site, telling me how she had cancer and how my books got her through her chemo treatments, and I thought… if the books can cheer people up, so can I.

I changed my mind, went back to the hospital and signed up as a volunteer. Like Ann Roth, the heroine of Some Nerve, I worked in the magazines program, which meant that I wheeled a cart full of Peoples and Newsweeks and Martha Stewart Livings around the hospital and offered patients something to read. (The nurses would steal the Peoples when I wasn’t looking. Very sneaky, those nurses.) The magazines were a prop, to get me into the patients’ rooms – a way to start a conversation.

Yes, I was doing research. But after a few weeks I had more than enough information under my belt. Now I was volunteering for me, for my own sense of satisfaction. I discovered how rewarding it was to talk to patients, to listen to their problems, to try to lighten their load, to ease their loneliness, to simply be there. One of the downsides to being a writer for over a decade was that I had spent way too much time alone.

I was so locked up in writing my funny novels that I had forgotten how to be funny in person, forgotten how to communicate with other human beings. This was a revelation to me!

My heroine’s life was changed by her volunteering experience and mine was too. No, I didn’t fall in love with a patient like she did, but I had a husband to come home to. And guess what? He became a volunteer too.

I’d love to give away free copies of Some Nerve to the first two people who either have volunteered or would like to. Maybe you’ve worked with Habitat for Humanity or some other organization? Or maybe you’ve been thinking about it? Just send me an email (jane@janeheller.com) and a book will be coming your way!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 13th, 2007 at 7:06 am and is filed under Guest Author. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

14 Responses to “Guest Author: Jane Heller”

  1. lys
    Posted: Nov 13th, 2007 at 7:42 am
    1

    Hello,

    I have done some volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity, I painted houses in Detroit. And I have done various bits and pieces elsewhere…I recently volunteered at a local school on Halloween.

    I would love to volunteer at the local animal shelter, but I think that it would break my heart.

    Thanks.

  2. Stefanie D
    Posted: Nov 13th, 2007 at 7:49 am
    2

    I haven’t volunteered yet, but I would realy like to.
    I’m thinking about going to South Africa as a volunteer. But also about volunteering in a psychiatric hospital.
    I hope that I’ll be able to do one of them, or both. :D

  3. jane heller
    Posted: Nov 13th, 2007 at 9:02 am
    3

    Lys, I hear you about the animal shelter. Some ways of volunteering are not for everybody. But given your housepainting and spending time at a local school, you should pat yourself on the back!

    And Stephanie D, I hope you’ll be able to follow through on one of your volunteering goals. They both sound awesome!

  4. Bettie
    Posted: Nov 13th, 2007 at 9:29 am
    4

    Hi Jane,

    Great post. It reminded me that I’ve been meaning to go back to volunteering. I always had such a great time. In addition to having a great time, I learned a lot about home maintenance on Habitat for Humanity builds (and the full time volunteers are really fascinating, kind people!). Plus, I always like to imagine the kids moving into their first real home. When you grow up poor, and no one you know owns a home, home ownership has this magical aura to it.

    One really great gig is volunteering to help teach Internet classes to seniors at the local library or community center. We take the web for granted, but a lot of seniors don’t know the basics of web searches, how to avoid scams, or even how to use a mouse. It’s a great way to put all my (or your) procrastination-based web-surfing to use.

  5. jane heller
    Posted: Nov 13th, 2007 at 9:34 am
    5

    Hi, Bettie.

    Got your email on my web site too. Cool idea about teaching internet classes to seniors at the library. I finally got my mother to start emailing and since she lives in NY and I live in CA it’s helped us stay connected!

  6. Allison
    Posted: Nov 13th, 2007 at 9:53 am
    6

    Hi Jane,
    I volunteer 11 hours a week with at risk teenagers. At times I would like to ring their necks, but I would not trade any of them for all the money in the world. When I hear about how they are living (surviving is more like it) physically and emotionally it truly makes me appreiciate my parents and the home I grew up in. I love these kids and I want the best for them. They are the reason my heart beats Thanks for your great post.

    allison

  7. jane heller
    Posted: Nov 13th, 2007 at 11:36 am
    7

    Hi, Allison.

    Without sounding all do-goody here (my book really is supposed to be fun, as well as providing a message), I am so impressed that you’re putting yourself out there to help those kids. You already know what I only just found out - that helping people in need makes you feel like you’ve actually DONE something in this world! I had no clue that I was capable of that.

  8. Lorelie
    Posted: Nov 13th, 2007 at 12:35 pm
    8

    I did volunteering in high school. I was in the Key club and did projects through them. I wish I could do more now but with three kids, a full time job, a husband who’s going through a lot of shit recently and (lately) trying to be writerly I have no freaking clue where to find the time.

    :::coughBamIt’sTuesdayINeedMyEmberFixcough::::

  9. Allison
    Posted: Nov 13th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
    9

    Lorelie,
    Don’t feel frustrated at your lack of time to volunteer. You have plenty on your plate as it is. Being a mom to your kids is the best thing you can do and the best way to invest in our future. You will have plenty of time once they are grown to invest in others, right now enjoy investing in them.
    allison

  10. fiveandfour
    Posted: Nov 13th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
    10

    I did a lot of volunteering back when I was in school (responsible only for myself and thus with more free time on my hands - like many other people). Now that I’ve got other demands on my time, I’ve had to fit volunteering in with less regularity. I’ve found it’s kind of easy to find opportunities to volunteer in areas of natural interest to a person. For myself, I’ve done things related to books - reading and being read to by kids in inner city schools where language test scores are generally the lowest, helping with book drives, manning book sales where a portion of the profit goes to something to promote literacy, and so on.

    I’ve been trying to come up with a scheme to get my daughter on the hook for volunteering on her next summer break. If anyone has ideas for a friendly, funny and smart 12 year-old girl, bring ‘em on. Most of the things I did as a kid were thanks to belonging to certain youth groups or the church, but we’re heathens now so no church and my daughter isn’t much into youth groups so I’m kind of stumped for ad hoc volunteer opportunities for a single kid.

  11. Jambrea
    Posted: Nov 13th, 2007 at 6:57 pm
    11

    I worked for the Muscular Dystrophy Association for a while and it involved a lot of extra volunteer work on the side.

    Also, while I was in the military we did community work. We went into the neighborhood and helped the elderly and disabled do yard work and painting of their houses.

    It is a wonderful feeling being able to help other people. :)

  12. CJ
    Posted: Nov 14th, 2007 at 8:17 am
    12

    I am so impressed by all your diligent research! Also, I just want to say, I really love that cover. It’s so happy and bright and attractive.

    On the volunteer front, oops, I guess I don’t fare so well. I used to volunteer-teach ASL to Hmong immigrants, but today, between my job and home and writing, I don’t have any time to volunteer, to be honest. Though I give probably more money than I should to any animal in trouble. Show me an endangered tiger or a suffering whale, and I am so there.

  13. jane heller
    Posted: Nov 14th, 2007 at 8:55 am
    13

    To CJ and others,

    Please don’t feel guilty about not having the time to volunteer. We all have busy lives and pressures. That’s one of the reasons we read, isn’t it? To escape? I just wanted to tell my story - how researching Some Nerve led me to volunteer and how I never would have done it otherwise. Which goes to prove that writing a romantic comedy can change your life in unexpected ways!

    Jane

  14. Shannon
    Posted: Nov 14th, 2007 at 1:44 pm
    14

    We have to do community service work ten hours every year as part of school. It counts as a grade, and if by the end of your high school career you have less than forty hours you arent allowed to graduate.

    So we try to get our volunteering in.

    My personal favorite is trick or treating for UNICEF, because you have the added bonus of watching people acting really awkward when they cant find their wallet (happened three times this year). And then there are the interesting experiences, such as the guy who invites you inside so you can hit up his ten dinner party guests for money (I had my prop wooden shield ready just in case he attacked me). Plus there’s the knowledge that the fifty dollars you got is going to afford some ridiculous amount of HIV/AIDs medicines and two village water pumps and some huge amount of food and water.

    True volunteering, as in going to an organized setting and doing something under someone’s supervision, really isnt my thing. I tend to be too anti social for that…The only exception is food banks. I love being the person that organizes the massive bin loads of food into their separate containers, all the while wondering exactly why people seem to think that the poor would love to eat Feline Fancy and Gack (they might, for all I know, but I’m pretty sure they dont).

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