Why this mystery writer also works as a private investigator

I want to write incredible stories about interesting people in wild, dramatic situations with deep thoughts and insight, and flash action scenes. But I'm a writer sitting in a basement room. Just me. Where can I get workable ideas? From my books and references, from the internet, from messages, yes. But, there's NOTHING like the real world.

 The real world isn't crazier than you imagine. It's crazier than you can imagine.

 I think you need to be out there. Yourself. In Person. With all your senses alive and collecting information, shades of meaning and real human feelings, reactions, speech, and tragedies. Cramming human experience deep into your writing subconscious.

 If you want to write police procedurals, try volunteering at a local police department. Maybe go to a mall (one that is still open) and study people. The population at 9 AM is a lot different than the population at 9 PM. Go to a shooting range to study gun people. Go to a gay pride parade or Walmart to see all sorts of things. Go alone (being mindful of risk) so you can't hide behind someone and have to deal with the experience personally. Be careful of who you stare at and who you photograph. Go out there, then sit with a coffee and a bearclaw with three other writers who are doing the same thing and gossip about meaningful things.

So, how do you get PI experience? Not by reading PI fiction. Most PIs I read aren't that real. PIs must pay rent, taxes and food, They spend money on databases and indexes. They invest in ongoing education, and they study. They belong to PI groups and trade experience with other PIs. The field is broader than you realize. There are many working PIs out there who work at the thin level of fiction.  I know PIs who are true professionals and who have amazing experience. So, how do you tap into that?

Some States have straightforward licensing requirements, and many offer a good starting point. Colorado did, but doesn't now for political reasons. I started by reading the State material about Standards of Practice, Colorado Revised Statutes (laws), especially on privacy, stalking and business ethics. Then I discovered the State PI exam was open book! So I built a notebook with all the State-recommended references, studied a little, took the test. Missed one dubiously-worded question. I bought E&O (Errors and Omissions) liability insurance, posted the New-Guy Surety bond, and I was in. So, I found office space to rent, bought a computer and furniture, and designed a website. Glass Key Investigations, named after a Dashiell Hammett novel.   D4C.*

I got cases. I learned tough business lessons and I formed interesting friendships and business relationships. I learned things the novels and topical books never tell you. People have problems that affect them deeply, cases can be messy, clients this real PIs are like CSI and will solve their case in 60 minutes. And you learn people can treat each other horribly.

 I've "met" a millionaire's wife who did sex shows online at 2 AM for small change. They called her Queen, she called them Slaves. I located a Hispanic man who fathered a child out of wedlock and discovered he has four other children by three other women. Never married. Doubtful citizenship. He thought bedding women was a mandatory cultural expression of his manhood. I investigated a man who ran a shady business and who fathered two children by a woman who had lived rent-free in one of his barely acceptable houses for several decades. Paying rent the old fashioned way. And he lives in a really nice new house. His business couldn't deliver that much income. To use a Thai expression, he is "unusually rich". My imagination can work on that statement. Book fodder.

 Perhaps my imagination could invent similar characters, but they wouldn't be real enough for my stories. Working as a PI, I meet interesting people, and my characters and plots benefit from that experience. So can yours. Get out there.

*D4C Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

SP/MC