Every writer wants to paint details so real the reader forgets they’re not Stephanie Plum fending off Ranger; but home in bed with cookie crumbs on the covers and a book propped up on a pillow so they won’t wake up with a crick in their neck.
To accomplish this feat, writers do a lot of sitting, listening and observing. We learn that if we’re writing a police stakeout scene, we should talk to someone whose actually sat through one.
But writers have day jobs, too. And personal lives. And sometimes they get sick, or injured, or live a thousand miles away from wherever the action of their story takes place.
What to do?
Assuming you have selected a setting that you at least know something about, or have unlimited time and money to learn about it (which means you’re nothing like any of the writers I know, including myself), you need to get there to immerse yourself in it sometime. But, if that sometime can’t be for another month or two, don’t wait. Write the scene; add details later. I’m learning this as I go along, and it makes sense.
A self-admitted book addict, Valerie was the kid with the flashlight under her pillow. A life of travel with exposure to many different cultures led to a pervasive interest in people, with degrees & teaching credentials in Cultural Anthropology & English.