About 10 years ago, in an effort to gain a better grasp on McCone's world, I took up the hobby of building fully electrified scale models: first of the legal cooperative where she started out, and then of her own brown-shingled cottage, a pursuit that the more tactful of my friends label unusual, and that the more blunt refer to as obsessive.

In this quote, Marcia Muller explains her unique approach to understanding McCone's world, referring to her process of creating fully electrified scale models. Muller shares that she started with a model of the legal cooperative where McCone began her journey and later moved on to build a model of McCone's own brown-shingled cottage. The quote illustrates Muller’s dedication to getting inside the mindset of her subject, using these detailed models as a way to immerse herself in McCone's environment and understand her life better.

The origin of this quote stems from Muller’s writing process, particularly her work involving fictional characters and their settings. As a writer of mystery novels, Muller often creates rich, detailed environments for her characters. The creation of scale models was a personal and immersive way for her to explore and connect with her subject matter. The act of building these models reflects her deep commitment to her work, using tactile methods to enhance her understanding of a character’s world.

Muller’s mention of her friends’ reactions—some calling it unusual and others labeling it as obsessive—acknowledges how her intense focus on the models might be seen as extreme or even eccentric. This highlights the obsessive nature of her craft, where she is willing to go to great lengths to create an authentic representation of the environments and contexts her characters inhabit. The quote hints at her deep dedication to her craft and how she strives for thoroughness in her writing process.

Ultimately, this quote illustrates Muller's approach to storytelling, where she uses both creative and personal methods to connect with her material. The scale models serve as a symbolic representation of how deeply she immerses herself in the worlds she creates and the lengths she is willing to go to in order to understand her characters’ experiences, showing a unique and passionate method of research and character development.