How do I add more sparkle to my story? How do I make my characters seem authentic? How can I make scenes feel real? Research!!! Online catalogs and trade newsletters for professionals can help. It also helps to interview a professional in that trade. If you have a friend who is an arachnologist, who better to ask about those horrible eight legged fiends?

One way is to use the language of your character. If your character is a chef, then drop in cooking words. Fire up the salamander (not the reptile ), tie on a four-way apron, take out a terrine, pick out some nice truffles and whip up some quail and foie gras. Or if your man is a mechanic, know what a gear ratio is, how to cure vapor lock and adjust rear toe. How about an architect? Would he design a bungalow or specify a mansard roof? A beautician would use words like double process, electrolysis, and use a Wahl clipper.

Speaking of language, an accent can be of use in your writing. Writing with a local accent can lend authenticity but it is best used sparingly. If the locals call a water fountain a bubbler, it could add to the spice of your writing.

Another way to help your locations to seem more authentic is to use real places. In Ireland, your character could protect Ulster at the Enniskillen castle. Or your setting could be near the Lakes of Killarney. In Alaska, watch eagles feasting on salmon at the flats of the Chilkat river in January. Find out more about their nesting and habitats. Research how eaglets are hatched and raised.

How did Mayans live in Mexico? Or did your character meet a beautiful woman in Cozumel then lose her to the historical smallpox epidemic? Tourist guides and history sites can help you with these answers.

Finding a few specific points of interest or using job-related vernacular can take a writer a long way in enhancing your story. Your readers will get more involved in the scene or relate better to the character if you immerse them with real words and authentic-feeling locations. Doing the research and reviewing it as the author can also help inspire you and draw a better picture in your mind as you write.

In the end, a little research can help your writing gain another level of excellence and stretch your imagination a bit further.