Don't forget the old standby: if you ask a woman what she's thinking, she will probably tell you. But if you ask a man, he probably has no idea, and you'll get a blank stare. (Experience)

Which is why I like McGee - I assume it's JDM giving me plausible stuff, because he knew.

It's easy to look up something on wikipedia to read things for research, but it's not aware of all the local flavor. You might see a building mentioned and think it's the most prominent building in a cityscape because it's called a world trade center, but locals know it's not *the building* known as a landmark. Or you see the name of a hotel and think it's swanky, but it hasn't been swanky in 100 years and currently serves as an apartment building, rather than a hotel, despite the name. Or you see a neighborhood and think it works for your plot, and it's a neighborhood with a documented high crime rate which your character wouldn't live in.

That's where the research can fail you, because you just don't know the region.

I get where you're coming from with your the male characters, Alicia. I get very positive feedback from female readers about the women in my books. They tell me I don't write weak women, and they like that. I grew up with my mother, three older sisters, and a grandmother who was a God-fearing, tough-skinned pioneer woman. Add to that living in a small town in my teens with half a dozen of my friend's mothers treating me like their own kid and I have plenty to draw on!

So I mine, ferociously, both what experience I have from more than 34 years ago, and what I can imagine. Or what I know of other people's experience, being careful not to make it too identifiable (though my kids say they've seen themselves in my characters occasionally). Including middle son.

You don't want to use too much of what you've read in other people's books, or seen on TV - that's second-hand info - but some of it will trigger ideas to pursue.

A big example for me is that I love some of the male characters essentially written from inside by a male author - John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee stories are a big favorite, as are the original Ian Fleming Bond books (not the movies, which are ridiculous).

I figure if their (male) authors have figured out how to write what they think and what motivates the actions of their male characters, that, plus the men in my life (cousins, but alas no brothers amongst the five of us), allows me to write my own characters. It seems to work - my older male reviewers have written most of my favorite reviews, often including something like, "I don't normally read this kind of book, but..." followed by lovely praise. I designed this - am happy to say it works.

My female characters are like-wise a lot me - and a lot my four younger sisters. I know how I think - and how they act (they're normal and don't write fiction). Plus daughters.

You use what you have and add to that what you can observe or otherwise acquire - I know a lot of quirky people, but not many unbelievable ones. If you know people's actual stories, there's a lot of data out there.

Places - from the Acapulco and New Jersey beaches through a visit to India as a Girl Guide long ago - plus what you can read about. If I've been there once (like New Hampshire or Europe), I can conjure enough sensory details to ground whole villages.

Starting from your own emotional experiences makes for a great foundation. It's always easier to write a character's emotional response when you've been there yourself.

Pretty much any advice can be taken in a multitude of ways. It's always good to look at them from every possible angle see what you can glean from them.
It's also good to keep in mind that not every piece of advice needs to be incorporated into your work. If we all wrote the same way, we'd all sound the same. It's how we creatively break the so-called rules that set each of us apart.

I understand it's not always practical to visit a location in order to experience it. Picking the brain of someone who has been there is a great solution. The more people you can talk to, the better. Different people will experience the same place in different ways and notice different things. Great job!