On a Limb with Claudia

Writing involves research. Alex the Fey #8 is about getting to the Tamu Massif

My friend, Dan Blank, says that readers are fascinated with what I go through to write the Fey books.
I'm not sure that I believe him because what I'm am so obsessive and boring about getting all of the details right. (We've been talking about this for years.) But here goes...

Every book starts with obsessive, detailed research. In the Deep, Alex the Fey #8, is no different. My first step is doing the research, do the work.

Researching the Tamu Massif
My first research on the Tamu Massif happened in 2106 when I was working on About Face. I read everything available at the time, and then had a funny and fascinating email exchange with the world's expert on the Tamu Massif, William Sager. He was lovely and very helpful.

Two years later, another book to write, and Alex needs to get to the Tamu Massif.
There's no time to waste. Alex and the team have analyzed the map. Alex knows exactly where she needs to go in the Tamu Massif complex. She would never let anyone else take the risk of going into the deep. She could never accept that a machine would do the work.

How is she going get there? She's going to saturation dive.
 
Saturation, what?
Right now, men (yes, only men) who are working at or near the bottom of the ocean. They are steel workers, construction workers, and pipe fitters. Mostly, they work for oil and gas companies. The majority of them work at the bottom of the North Sea. The majority of them work to maintain oil and gas lines.

Some saturation divers work for the U.S. Navy. In the 1970s, they were a part of a nuclear submarine team. They completed covert operations from the submarine. The submarine has been retired. The soldiers have retired. And their missions declassified. Now, as far as is publicly known, saturation divers work for the United States Navy Experimental Diving Unit (NEDU). 

What the heck is a saturation diving?
Saturation diving is a diving technique that allows human beings to work in the ocean at great depths up to 300 meters (nearly 1000 feet) under the ocean surface. (The maximum dive is over 500 meters, but that's not done on a regular basis.)

In order to do this dive, divers must do two things:

1. Breathe a mixture of helium, oxygen, hydrogen, and special sauce (classified by manufacturers). 
   
   
2. Live at compression. <--that's what it's called. 
   In order to go down to 300 meters under the ocean, divers live at the compression pressure which matches the ocean pressure where they will work. If they are working at 300 meters, they live at 300 meters. (Most divers work at around 180-200 meters.) The divers are locked into their living quarters. It takes at least two days to get "under compression" and nearly a month to come out of compression. 

Research (my process) 

My first step is to learn everything I possibly can about a topic before I start writing a scene. In order to make things readable, I go back over the scene at least two more times to be sure that these technical, difficult situations are easy to understand and readable.

Then the book goes to editing. The editor(s) highlights anything that's confusing or not clear. The editor usually gives me detailed notes about the book.

I return to the book, eliminate any unnecessary details and technical language, and work to make complicated, technical situations easy and fun to read.

For In Deep, I must learn everything I can about saturation diving.

I always start with documentaries. I usually watch these with the husband so that we can talk about them when we're done. For saturation diving, I found a BBC "Real Men" Series -- Saturation Diving. That video gives you a general idea of what it's like to be a European Saturation Diver. I watched it once myself and then watched it with the husband.

Saturation diving is done differently in America. The teams are much smaller. They tend to work on their own for longer periods of time. Divers head out into the deep by themselves with only a person to monitor their lines.

According to American Saturation Divers, American divers are tougher and more experienced than Europeans. Of course, European Saturation Divers say that American divers are "dangerous." The teams of people do not mix. American companies hire American divers. EU companies hire divers from around the world. 

This is a Divers Institute of Technology video. It is a great overview of saturation diving in America.

After the videos, I read everything available online about saturation diving, starting with Wikipedia. Atlas Obscura has a wonderful article about saturation diving, The Weird, Dangerous Isolated Life of a Saturation Diver.

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Once I have a sense of what I am talking about, I start to look for people who actually do this work. I've found that people are always my best source. Everyone likes to talk about what they do to someone who wants to understand.

I found two men on Twitter who were outrageously generous in sharing their time and wisdom. One was an American who told me about American diving. The other man was from Ireland. He helped me with the specifics about European Saturation Diving. 

Both men talked about the sheer physical strain of going under compression as well as the difficulty in the work itself. In the Irishman's time off, he competes in extreme running and other sports. He says that saturation diving keeps him ready and in shape for these other stunts.

What about the U.S. Navy?
That's an entirely different story. I found a man on LinkedIn who works as a saturation diver. I contacted him, and he agreed to help me if it was okay with his C.O.

This led to a few weeks of being vetted by the U.S. Navy. I had to get specific permission from the Pentagon to speak with the information officer and then to this soldier. Phew!

Of course, the U.S. Navy is a little different from both the European and the American saturation diving.

In the first place, almost everything they do is classified.

Because I am interested in "how" things work (and not what they are doing), I was able to speak directly with this soldier. He has been extraordinarily generous with his time and wisdom.

As of today, I'm working on In Deep, getting help from this U.S. Navy diver, and trying to keep it readable. Hopefully, all of these details will make for a better story. 
(Originally published in the Claudia's Corner Newsletter. This newsletter shares stories, discounts, and Claudia's writing journey. Go here to sign up for your copy of the newsletter.)

Ask Alex: How do you manage pain, Alex?

This article originally appeared in Claudia's newsletter. To subscribe, click here.

First things first:

Quite a few of you have written to ask me how I manage my pain. I am not a doctor. I only know what works for me. There are a lot of experts who write about this topic, so I'll share links.

This is MY list. This is what I do. I'm not going to debate the science. You asked what works for me - and that's what I'm going to tell you.

Please talk to your doctor before you try anything. Please try things out for yourself. Don't just take my word for it. Follow the links, talk to your folks, and give it a shot.

Also, this is what works for me right now. If we talked tomorrow, I might be doing something different. And some strategies change with the seasons. For example, I tend to use more ice in the summer and heat in the winter.

You need to uncover what works for you at this moment in time, and be flexible to try something new tomorrow.

Here are my top five day in day out strategies that help with my pain.

1. Anti-inflammatory diet: The basic idea is that processed foods, fast food, fried foods, and most meat can cause your immune system to move into hyperdrive. Inflammation=pain. An anti-inflammatory diet is basically a whole food diet with an emphasis on more oils (like fish oils) and more vegetables. The actual nutritional science is supported by long distance runners such as Scott Jurak and Rich Roll. Oh, and me!
   
   
2. Most of the time, pain is just pain: The mind is always trying to make sense of what's going on in the body. When you're in pain, your mind often interprets your pain as something to panic over or feel victimized by ("Why is this happening to me?"). Most of the time, pain is just pain. It doesn't mean anything. You need to learn when pain is something to pay attention to (injury, life threatening), which is rare, or when it's just pain.
   
   
3. Move your body every day: The body was designed to move. Pain makes us want to stop. This is exactly the wrong thing to do. Lack of movement makes your pain worse and keeps your mind stuck. Sometimes, the most I can do is walk and other times the best I can do is take my joints through slow range of motion exercises. Start slow. Find what you can do when you're at your worst -- and get going.
   
   
4. Know your neutral position: My least painful position is lying on the floor with my knees on a chair or bed. I sleep this way when my body is inflamed and I'm in pain. The opposite of this is arching your back. Which one works best for you? You need to know what your best position is so that you can use it when you need to.
   
   
5. Ice always works: I personally hate ice, but it always works. Every professional athlete ices before and after every game. Ballerinas often ice up before a performance. If you want to do something, ice is your friend.
   
   
6. Pain medication is a liar: The only thing pain medication tells you is to take more pain medication. It doesn't help with chronic pain and should only be used in emergency situations. Just had surgery? Take the meds. It's been a while? Get off the meds. Anything else, and you're putting your life in danger.

What works?

Click the links for articles about why these strategies work.

• Acupuncture - community acupuncture is relatively new and usually less expensive.
• Heat or ice - both at different times
• Core strength - this is how I can stand with my hip problems
• Meditation - my favorite? Mindfulness Meditation Jon Kabat-Zin and Holosync
• EMDR - helped me take the "meaning" out of the pain
• Gentle movement - yoga, Tai Chi, I use a mini-trampoline
• Balance training - both standing and life.
• Sex, of course.

Final thought about pain

Frankly, life is painful. Everyone in every life feels some pain -- emotional, physical, spiritual or a combination of all three. No living creature is able to avoid ever being in pain.

Pain isn't something that happened to you. Pain doesn't have anything to do with you.

Pain just is.

In Western culture, we're taught to avoid pain at all costs. This is an impossible task!

Pain is a natural part of life. Suffering, however, is optional.

I hope this helps! If you have questions for me, email me or contact me through my LinkedIn profile.

Alex talks... How do you deal with your physical and mental pain?

Claudia here: One of the most common questions I get for Alex is about pain. How does Alex handle all the pain she must deal with? In the Alex the Fey series, we see that she often handles her pain fairly poorly.  But most of the time, pain is not something she talks about. Today, Alex talks about pain. 

Alex talks

JW asked: "How do you deal with the pain from the metal in your leg and still work as a fully functional soldier?" 

EW asked: " I am too serious a person and grew up in an alternating quiet/intense or scary house. Could you write about the paths to mirth, laughter and delight in one of your chapters?"

I'm sorry it's taken me such a long time to get back with you. I wanted to take the time to give you a real answer. 

JW is asking about physical pain and EW is asking about emotional pain. Because we only have one brain, both situations involve the same systems. It's important for EW to learn about physical pain and for JW to learn about emotional pain. 

Pain is not a joke. For people who live with chronic physical or emotional pain, pain is a way of life. Pain closes doors and destroys relationships.

We don't talk about pain. People in chronic pain don't want to be seen as whiners and those who love them are literally exhausted from the weight of the pain. If you've ever visited someone who is in pain, you can feel almost feel the pain hanging in the air. 

Doctors have no idea what to do with patients in pain. Truth be told, there's very little doctors can do to help. Prescribing tubs of pain medication only leads to prescribing bigger pails of pain medication. To give you and idea, in 2011, 131 million doses of Vicodin were prescribed in the United States. That's 80% of the world's opiates and 99% of the world's supply of hydrocodone.

Prescription narcotics now kill more adults than heroin and cocaine combined. They account for 420,000 emergency room visits a year and nearly half of the more than 38,000 overdoses deaths in 2010. These medications are addictive and dangerous.

That's not to mention the 30 billion doses of NSAIDs -- asprin, ibuprofen, naproxen, and others -- that are taken in the US every year. Overuse of NSAIDs has been linked to increased gluten intolerance and other digestive disorders. 

And this is only physical pain!

What about emotional pain? In the United States, one in ten people are taking some type antidepressants, many of which have zero scientific data that they relieve the conditions they are prescribed for. Doctors, desperate for a solution, would rather prescribe a patient something, than have a conversation about pain.

We have to start talking about pain.

What is pain?

This is a wonderful video which explains how chronic pain works.

 

I think of my nervous system as a spring. Everything that happens in a day can either make the spring get tighter or make it get looser. If my spring gets very tight, anything that happens will hurt more. 

This idea gives me a sense of control over the amount of pain I feel. I also know, if things are super stressful -- I'm fighting with John and the brass has come down on me and I'm not eating and/or sleeping-- I'm going to be in more pain. 

When I'm on my game, I control my pain by controlling the spring. I get up early, warm up for the day. I ice my hip with the ice packs. I stretch every hour or so at my desk. I eat my low inflammation diet. 

And sometimes, I'm on a C-130 headed to who-knows-where after a night of poker and Irish Whiskey and no sleep. The only thing I've had to eat in a week is the all-processed-food-all-the-time standard rations, and I'm under mission pressure. I'm going to be in pain. That's just how it is.

So how do I handle pain? How do I enjoy my life while being in near constant pain?

1. give the drugs a rest.

2. accept that life is painful.

3. learn your own "go to" techniques when in pain - heat and gentle movement? massage? ice? a nap? learn to identify the lead up to pain.

4. Don't get too hungry, angry, lonely, tired.

Go where the fish are.

At the desk, 10:30 a.m. (what? I've been working!)

Last Saturday was National Great Outdoors day in Denver's City Park. Hoards of people swarmed the park to play. While a few of curmudgeons are sure the city sold out the park, I think it's really fabulous. Kids learn to fish in the ponds. They can sleep overnight in tents. It's a wonderful adventure in a gem of a park.

It takes days to get ready for the event. The amazing park people who make beauty every single day, work overtime to get the park ready. The National Outdoors folks do their thing and the Colorado Fish and Game people stock the small pond with fish. I mean really, what kind of a first fishing adventure would it be if a kid doesn't catch a big (8" I'm not kidding) fish. Right?

Everyone has a wonderful time.

Fast forward to early Monday morning and you'll find the park people on their golf carts to assess the damage; The can guy was thigh deep in garbage looking for aluminum cans; and cormorants were fishing.

Fishing is a bit of a misnomer. It sounds like the cormorants, birds that can fly and swim, were actually working. They weren't. Not after the Great Outdoors folks have been there. Hundreds of jovial birds were in the pond Monday morning. Juveniles birds were playing with each other while the adults stuffed themselves with big trout.

By Tuesday morning, the fish were gone and the cormorants had returned to their usual solo fishing in Ferril Lake.

I'm sure you're wondering, why is Claudia talking about birds?

We live in a time when people have firm opinions about a lot of things - "Don't work for free!" "You don't need to go to college! Look at Steve Jobs!" "Don't self publish!" "Don't blog!" I could go on but you know what I mean.

To me, the question is life isn't what's right but really, where are the fish?

I don't shift my ego in front of every decision so that I can determine whether this story makes me look fat or if it will sell in New York City or if that agent will follow my work or...

I look for the fish: What's a great story? What story do I want to tell? What stories does the world need to hear right now?

Where are the fish?

It's really quite simple and works every time. It's just not something I can shout about on Facebook and Twitter. ;)

Alex the Fey talks... Spec Ops

Readers have asked, wondered, emailed, chatted, tweeted questions for Alex. For the next couple months, Alexandra Hargreaves will guest post on this blog to answer your questions. If you have a question you'd like Alex to answer, feel free to email her at: AlexandraHargreaves at gmail dot com.

Special Operations (Spec Ops) vs. Special Forces

I've been asked why I use the term Special Forces rather than Special Operations.

I grew up with the concept of "Special Forces." I grew up around Green Berets. Steve Pershing, my sensei, was a Green Beret.  My father was in a soldier, trainer, and leader in Special Forces. Almost every man who came for dinner at our house was a Special Forces soldier. (Trust me, they'd  have to be to survive my mother's cooking.)

Sure, people say Special Operations or Spec Ops now. Just to be clear, Special Operations is an all encompassing term that defines a nation's specialized units. That means any operation which requires trained and specialized personnel is a Spec Ops. It also means that every police force, sheriff's department, and probably even the Guardian Angels has a Spec Ops group.

To me, using a term like Spec Ops takes the focus away from the men and women who work, train, and risk their lives to complete non-traditional missions. Using the term, Special Operations focuses on the operation rather than the people. And frankly, I don't like that.

I know it's old school, but I'm going to use the term Special Forces. I am a Special Forces soldier; my team is filled with Special Forces soldiers.  We complete Special Operations and missions. But first and foremost, we are a Special Force.

So maybe it's wrong or dumb or lazy or whatever. Maybe I should use the 'proper' term.

But my father doesn't. He believes in a Special Force, not a Special Operation. The difference is subtle, but to him, important.

And he's right.

That's about all I have to say about this issue. Next week, I'm going to let Wyatt Klaussen, MD, PhD, our twin expert, take the reins and talk about male female single zygotic twins.

>>>>>Alexandra Hargreaves is a fictional character created by Claudia Hall Christian for the Alex the Fey thriller series. Opinions expressed are that of Alexandra Hargreaves and may not reflect the opinions of the author or Cook Street Publishing. 

Alex the Fey talks about WikiLeaks

Readers have asked, wondered, emailed, chatted, tweeted questions for Alex. For the next couple months, Alexandra Hargreaves will guest post on this blog to answer your questions. If you have a question you'd like Alex to answer, feel free to email her at: AlexandraHargreaves at gmail dot com.

**WikiLeaks**

A lot of people have asked me what I think about WikiLeaks. I mean, my mother has even asked me what I think about WikiLeaks. So it seemed like a good topic to start this conversation.

Let's see... WikiLeaks.

The first time Ben saw a desktop computer, he said, 'You're looking at the end of keeping secrets.' He even had a conversation with Bill Gates about the 'idiocy' of putting computing in the hands of individuals. He fought against the tide to turn all US Intelligence over to computers.

Ben knew the first time he looked at a computer that someday, some where, someone would leak whatever they knew to the public. So, all this shock and horror and 'Oh My God How Could This Possibly Happen,' on the part of policy makers, brass, and big wigs is bullshit.  They knew, as they've always known, that this kind of thing was going to happen.

And, make no mistake. The concern is not that our "frienemies" might get our "secrets." Trust me, anyone who wants anyone else's secrets and has the time, money, and energy to make it happen, knows everything there is to know.

The concern is that the public will know what their  government is up to.

Before you say it, yes, most wars are won based on intelligence information. That's a fact.

But you can trust that this intelligence information isn't sent around in memos and emails from diplomats.

Why? Because diplomats are nice, good-looking people who are friendly and can carry a conversation. They are the kind of people who make a party fun. You'd like them and want to invite them to your home to hang out with your friends.

They are not huge brain trusts.

Most of them don't have any idea when or if they stumble upon a noteworthy piece of information. Their job is to smile,  shake hands, make friends, and pass information along to people like me or Ben or Raz. Our job is to connect the dots.

So you have to ask yourself, why is everyone so upset about WikiLeaks? Why doesn't the government want you to know what the intelligence arm is doing?

I can only give you my opinion: the government doesn't want you to know what they are doing because you won't understand it.

Intelligence is a huge chess game. We do this; they do that. When information is leaked, the public only sees one move in a decades long chess game. The one move maybe shocking, unnerving, but it's only one move. If you saw the entire chess game, you  might understand what's going on. But no one is going to show you the entire game. Moreover, not very many people know or understand the entire game.

I'm neither defending WikiLeaks or the need for secrecy. Frankly, neither impact my life or job very much.

If you have questions for me about WikiLeaks, you can leave them in the comments. Email me if you have a specific question about anything, otherwise next week we'll chat about Spec Ops.

>>>>>Alexandra Hargreaves is a fictional character created by Claudia Hall Christian for the Alex the Fey thriller series. Opinions expressed are that of Alexandra Hargreaves and may not reflect the opinions of the author or Cook Street Publishing