Research

This past weekend, my husband and I took a trip down to the Florida Aquarium in Tampa. It was a beautiful day and the crowds were fairly light considering that it’s February vacation time for Northerner’s who flock to the warmth of Florida at this time of year. Sadly, it’s not as warm as it usually is, but there is no snow!

The visit to the aquarium served multiple purposes. First, it was a lovely day to be out and walking around seeing all the cool marine life that Florida has to offer. Second, I’ve had two books on the back burner for a few months while I finished Book 2 in the Maisey’s Journey series. Book 2 is completed and in the hands of Beta Readers, so it’s time to dust the other two stories off and revisit them.

The aquarium was the perfect spot for researching the world that lives beneath the waves. I had previously outlined a new picture book about an octopus and a chapter book about a mermaid. The vibrant colors of the plants, corals, and ocean animals that live there gave me great inspiration of ways to create a world in which these new characters will live.

It’s incredible to sit quietly and watch how each ocean creature swims, floats, and observes in their own world. The hands-on tanks are always fun for any age. I did take the opportunity to touch the top of a jelly fish! The sting rays loved to swim by and flap their pectoral fins as if waving hello. However, in all likelihood, they were probably looking for food since it was their feeding time.

Sadly, the one marine animal I wanted to observe, a Giant Pacific Octopus, had its area filled with families with small children. The kids were amazed by its size, colors, and movements which was fun to watch for a few moments, but then I opted to observe an octopus at home on You Tube. This way, I had the ability to stop, start, and replay the movements of the Caribbean Reef Octopus so that I could take the notes I needed especially since that is the type of octopus my character is based upon.

Octopuses are such intelligent creatures, yet sadly they stay solitary their entire life. Instead of the octopus, we watched the otters play tag and engage a few of the little ones in their game. We also found several areas of sea horses and beautifully colored fish. The bright reds, deep and light blues, and various shades of purples of the fish were stunning to watch. The shapes of the fish from round and fat to long and razor thin helped to create an underwater world that was unique.

While at the aquarium, I was able to take pictures of some of the more unique fish, corals, sponges, and anemones. My biggest obstacle was wanting to include a few of these into the stories I am writing, but they are not naturally found in a Caribbean reef. Although the stories are fiction, I do want to keep the type of oceanic information about movement, body type, and where the animal live to be scientifically accurate.

Writiers are often asked why do you need to do research? Don’t you just create a story in your mind and then write it? Research is often needed for information about topics the writer may not be knowledgeable about, such as how an octopus can solve puzzles or the correct way to hold a bat if writing about baseball. You need to know the rules of the game for the story to be realistic enough and capture someone’s attention. Sometimes the research is about the geography and layout of the land. If you’ve never been on a trolly or gone on the New York City subway, how do you immerse you reader in that world without some type of background knowledge? Research is very important to the story no matter what type of book you are writing or for the age of your audience.

If you are ever visiting the Tampa area, the Florida Aquarium is worth a visit to see all sorts of marine life. If you have the time, the boat trip offered through the aquarium to see the dolphins is another wonderful way to spend a few hours, but this time out on the bay! You’ll never know what stories you’ll come home with after such a visit!

Cheers to the storyteller in all of us!