小说与文学2019nytimes.com编辑精选
为了构思下一场谋杀，我去了尸体农场
To plot my next murder, I went to the Body Farm
导读
犯罪小说家 Lisa Gardner 为了写小说里的谋杀情节，亲自去田纳西大学的“人体农场”（法医人类学研究设施）观察尸体分解。这篇讨论值得写作者一读，因为它展示了实地调研如何变成可信的细节，也暴露了调研的两个陷阱：把有争议的研究当事实、以及被黑暗素材反噬。
可以直接用的写作要点
- 01
写不熟悉的领域就去现场：一次亲身观察胜过十篇二手资料，细节的真实感很难靠想象补足。
- 02
引用研究或数据前先查原始出处，一个被媒体放大的不严谨结论足以毁掉整段文字的可信度。
- 03
亲历经验（职业、创伤、见过的人和事）会自然渗进文字，成为别人模仿不来的鲜活描写。
- 04
调研要有边界：不是所有细节都值得知道、都该写进作品，选择“不写什么”同样是写作者的判断力。
HN 评论精选
亲历与一手经验是鲜活描写的真正来源，虚构的细节背后往往有真实的职业经历。
最近读了布尔加科夫的《狗心》，其中有段描写给狗做手术。读到那里我就跟自己说：如果作者没在活体上动过刀，绝对写不出这么鲜活的描写。后来才知道，作者二战时当过军医，见过一些可怕的事，那些东西就这样流进了书里。
firefoxd查看英文原文
I recently read A Dog's heart, by Mikhail Bulgakov. There is a part where he describes the operation on the dog. When I read that part, i told myself there is absolutely no way he could come up with such a vivid description if he had never operated on a live body. Turns out, the author had been a doctor in world war 2 and had witnessed some terrible things. And they made their way into the book.
引用研究务必核实原始出处，似是而非的科学结论会成为作品的可信度漏洞。
好文章，学到不少关于人体腐烂的知识，也很高兴有这样的设施在做研究。挑个小毛病：作者引用了一项研究，说使用手机可能导致头骨长出骨刺，用来证明人体在生前就能快速变化。但这项研究本身有严重缺陷：没有实际测量、拿不出数据支撑结论、研究对象搞错、样本也不随机。这不影响文章主旨，但说明一个不准确的结论可以多么轻易地渗入大众认知而无人纠正。
Hansenq查看英文原文
Great article! I learned a lot about human decomposition, and I'm glad there's a facility out there doing this kind of research. One nitpick: The author mentions a recent study claiming that cell phone use can cause bone spurs on an individual's head as an example of how quickly our bodies can change while we're still alive (vs what happens over generations and while decomposing): > Changes in DNA can take generations to occur. By contrast, our skeletons can show widespread changes in as short as 10 years — from the bony protrusions now increasingly common on the back of our skulls (“text necks,” some are calling them) to our increasingly low bone density as we transition from manual labor to office work. There have been serious deficiencies identified in the original study, from not actually measuring and providing data to back up their claims, studying the wrong thing, and did not have a random, representative sample. This doesn't detract from the main point of the article, but goes to show how easily an inaccurate study can permeate the societal knowledge without being corrected. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/smartphones-arent-making-millennials-grow-horns-heres-how-to-spot-a-bad-study https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/questions-raised-about-study-linking-phones-bone-spurs-skull-n1021706
一手调研能拿到真实细节，但也要有心理防线：并非所有细节都值得深挖。
说个身边的例子：我七十多岁的母亲在职业生涯末期做过 Snowtown 谋杀案（“桶中尸体”案）的法医调查员。她因为工作带样本去过美国 FBI，还给我捎回一件 FBI 连帽衫和 T 恤。这行当阴森压抑，但我很庆幸有这样一位榜样：她五十岁左右拿到博士学位，之后又开启了科研和法医的第二段职业。我问过她一些案件细节后也明白了，有时候知道得越少越好，也明白了有些人真的能对他人做出极其可怕的事。幸好她有相当阴郁的幽默感，才消化得了那些案子。
mb_72查看英文原文
Anecdotally, my dear old Mum (now in her mid-70s) worked as a forensics investigator on the Snowtown murders (aka the "Bodies in the barrels" case) in the final stages of her career. She took some samples to the FBI in the USA as part of her work, and snagged me a cool FBI hoodie and t-shirt (well, I thought so anyway). Quite a morbid and disturbing business to be in, but I feel fortunate to have a parent is such a good role model; she completed her PhD around the age of 50, and had another whole career in scientific research and forensics after that. As I'm heading towards the same age it gives me some hope I can also make a sea-change. I also learned, after asking some questions about the case, that sometimes you are better off being ignorant of the details. And that some people are really capable of terrible, terrible acts against others. :( Fortunately she had quite the grim sense of humour to help her deal with the cases she worked on.
同类还值得读
乔治·奥威尔1940年对《我的奋斗》的书评
George Orwell’s 1940 Review of Mein Kampf
这是奥威尔 1940 年对《我的奋斗》的书评，他没有简单谴责，而是认真分析希特勒的宣传手法为何奏效、又暴露了哪些思维特征。
小说与文学2022 · 499 分 · 545 评4 条写作要点编辑精选我们都是极客：尼尔·斯蒂芬森的文学作品
We are all nerds: The literary works of Neal Stephenson
这是一篇讨论 Neal Stephenson 科幻小说的文章，评论区读者围绕《Anathem》《钻石年代》《Snow Crash》等作品，聊世界构建、结尾处理和写作风格的变化。
小说与文学2022 · 307 分 · 220 评4 条写作要点编辑精选又一部我不会再去写的小说
Yet another novel I will no longer write
科幻作家 Charles Stross 讲述自己为何放弃一部已经构思好的小说：COVID-19 疫情让他的病毒灾难设定显得多余，现实给所有人上了一堂生动的疫情应对课。
小说与文学2020 · 304 分 · 169 评4 条写作要点编辑精选用图画写作：理查德·斯卡里与儿童文学的艺术
Writing in Pictures: Richard Scarry and the art of children's literature
这是《耶鲁评论》上漫画家 Chris Ware 写的文章，分析童书作家 Richard Scarry 如何用图画而不是文字来讲故事。
小说与文学2024 · 297 分 · 131 评4 条写作要点编辑精选如何写一部小说
How to Write a Novel
这篇来自 The Millions 的文章讨论写小说的两种路径——“计划派”（planners）与“即兴派”（pantsers，即“跟着感觉走、边写边编”）。
小说与文学2016 · 238 分 · 112 评4 条写作要点编辑精选