Topic:
All story genres take some research for establishing details in the setting.
What type of research have you had to do? Does it bother you when you read
something happening in a story that is inaccurate historically, socially,
scientifically, etc?
Does it bother me?
Yes.
However, in my case, there
are varying degrees of irritation. If it
is an easily found fact, or a fact that any functioning adult should be aware
of then, yes—I am very irritated and will probably not finish the novel. On the other hand if current verbiage is used
or the description of an item of clothing is more modern, that could be the
writer’s choice. The writer may feel
that her ‘readers’ wish to have the ‘flavor’ of a historical story without the genealogy
charts or gritty reality of the era. Then I am okay. But to pass the facts off as accurate/ or
marketed to make the reader believe this is not a fictionalized story—as in “The Other Boleyn Sister” or Disney’s “Pocahontas”
animated movie (with what I like to call the Vulcan-mind-meld when the Hero and
Heroine suddenly speak and understand each other), I do become angry. Apparently, I clamp my teeth, and my husband
swears, that I growl when these movies become a topic of conversation.
We all make mistakes, I remind myself. Alternatively, the copy-editor adds/ deletes
a needed fact. Moreover, sometime we
simply ‘thought’ we removed it from the final draft. Still sloppy research makes for sloppy
writing. If you do not like research, build
your own world/town/or, do not give the reader a date or place to hang her hat
on. You and add a statement: liberties were taken; the mistakes are my
own, etc.
Researching
Any professional writer knows there is a lot more to the job than
simply writing. There is also revising, editing, promoting, and much more. Before
I even consider typing: Chapter One. Whether
I am writing, historical, or fantasy, I conducted days—if not months or even
years, gather my research material and scheduling interviews.
Research is vital to every writer. Contemporary novels required daily research
to keep up-to-date on the latest tech item, hairstyle or whatever relates to
your storyline.
Every encounter with a new person or visiting a new place is an
opportunity for better, more descriptive writing. Writers never truly take a
vacation, or turn off the research part of her/his brain.
So how do I organized my research material? (Tossing everything into a large bin is
oh-so-not-the-way to be organized.)
#1: Keep a File Folder for Ideas
I have files where I stash clippings of articles on specific
topics I feel will come up again, or will one day make great short stories/articles.
I have plain colored folders for
“shared” topics (I write multiple genres), cute folders (for YA/Teen topics), action
folders for supernatural stories, etc.
These clippings are often story generators or prompts to open a chapter/create a pivot point.
How many times have you heard something on the radio or watched something on
television and thought, “Wouldn’t that be so great in my next novel”?
Story prompts can be anything that you find interesting, anything
that relates to your genre or area of writing interest. Because my books are
character driven, I tend to be drawn to articles that talk about the human
condition (i.e., why we do the things we do) or specific topics that I feel
relate to my particular ‘character’.
#2: Story Premise Research
First
When you start a new project, you must make some decisions. What
is the theme of your book? (We might also think of this step as “what
is the premise of your book?”) The answer to this question will guide your
starting research.
My third book, Whisper upon the Water, focused a lot
on the living conditions and societal attitudes about Native American children.
I already knew that Native American children were forced to attend government
run boarding schools after the Indian Wars, but I did not know about the
process, and how it affected the children or how they adapted. Therefore, I
began with interviews, tours of the schools still in operation and trips to historical
archives and reservations.
Before I wrote a single word, I looked into this, and the answers
I found are what formulated my plot points. I needed this foundation of research to create a convincing
plot, otherwise I would not tell the story correctly. I wanted the truth, I wanted historical
accuracy and I wanted my readers to have an emotional connection to my
characters.
Poor research in the beginning often results in a manuscripts
dying at the halfway point. Think of this step as the foundation of your novel.
#3: First-Hand Accounts
As a rule, I set my stories in placed I have lived or
visited. However, a writer does not have
to go to a city/country to get a feeling for it.
Online Resources
Travel sites, local blogs, and YouTube all have a place in a
writer’s arsenal. In particular:
- Travel Sites often
have detailed maps and downloadable audio walking tours that can give you
context for notable buildings and directional substance for urban areas to
include in your book.
- YouTube is a
major resource, often underutilized by writers. Those seemingly normal
videos are great for providing local terminology, dialect, visual
perspective and even minor details like the amount of traffic at a
particular park or on a particular street.
#4: Details
- Using Google
Maps and Streetview, for my upcoming release anthology at BWL: Gumbo Ya Ya—for women who like romance
Cajun & men Hot & Spicy! I was able to get a street view of
that area and I could ‘walk’ the streets as they appear in New Orleans. The Streetview
feature setting on Google Maps plops you down right at street level and
gives you a 360-degree view of everything including traffic, crowds, and
architecture. While I do have my
personal photos and memories of the city, it is always good to make
certain the details are ‘just right’.
#5: Remember to Write
You can always do a fact check on the smaller items as part of the
final revision process.
When I am dictating or typing my story, unless an earth-shattering
event is in the works, I do not stop the process. I will type:** research time line of Spanish
Flu or ** insert the popular song year, and keep
writing. When I go back over the
material, I will have time to add the particulars.
Research is fun. Unlike may
authors, research in my favorite part of writing. Like a method actor, I immerse myself in the
process. Hobbies, Music, Books, and Food
(well, not food when I wrote my Zombie novella, “Here Today, Zombie Tomorrow”. right now, however, it is shrimp
Creole, pecan pie and coffee with chicory).
Research need not be cumbersome. If you are interested in your subject
matter, then it is not work. It is just another part of writing a book.
I believe it is writing a
book that is rich in research helps to separate the writers from the multi-published
authors.
Readers, how do you feel about this topic? How important is historical accuracy to you?
Please Blog Hop to see what the other participants in this month’s
blog have to say.
Happy Reading,
Connie
