Writer's Wednesday: Research
Before I start, a tip of my hat to this day 26 years ago, when I became a parent for the first time. What a long, strange trip it's been!
On to writing--or research.
In the run-up to NaNoWriMo I've been posting about the process of preparing to draft my next novel, #3 in the Seffi Wardwell series (I'll be editing #2 once this is drafted, and hope to publish it by June if all goes well). I've talked a lot, now and in the past, about outlines, plotting vs. pantsing (or plantsing, as I mostly do these days). Today, let's talk about research.
What kind of research? I'm too lazy to write historical fiction (I'm very hard on writers of same so would really have to educate myself about a period in hopes of avoiding the kind of mistake I hate to see). I set my cozies in fictional contemporary places. And yet... research is still necessary.
For the Seffi Wardwell mysteries I'm finding I need two kinds of research. First is the kind you can do in books and on the internet--for example, information on ways of killing off the victim. How do you figure this stuff out?
1. Google. I am going to be in so much trouble when the FBI comes knocking, given some of my search history! The more you know about what the method will be, the easier to make a useful search with specific search terms. I also use Google for information about cars, climate, tides, and so forth.
2. Books. At one point I had my hands on a library book that was all about murder methods for writers of mystery stories (with reality checks about how effective some are). I didn't use that this time, but it's a good option especially for those who aren't comfortable doing internet searches (or at least, not on subjects like that), or as something to browse when you aren't sure how you want to do it.
3. I asked a couple of friends who work with some of the materials I was wondering about (not going to be more specific about that at this point). They have the hands-on knowledge to tell me if my vague ideas have any hope of working out. They are not to blame if I twist that information in odd ways.
My second area of research we might call more personal. Although Smelt Poin is a fictional village, it's not a wholly fictional environment, as with fantasy. I've set the books in Maine, which is not where I live. I have spent a fair amount of time in Maine, at least a little in 3 of the 4 seasons, but I can't claim an intimate knowledge of it, especially not of the sort of place I've invented. I need to know how things look and feel. How do I address this?
1. On my recent visit, I actually paid special attention to places that were like Smelt Point, and made notes about the vegetation, how it feels to walk in the woods there, anything I could think of to match what Seffi might notice. The more time I spend there, the more I can imagine the spaces Seffi moves in. Getting to know and understand the people and culture is a different matter.
2. Books to the rescue. A friend recommended two books on the Maine coast and I'll be reading them as soon as they arrive. These should help me to know and understand the people of that area.
3. Friends. I go to Maine to visit friends. They know more about the area than I do. I will be correcting a few things in the following books that I got wrong in the first!
I've said I'm too lazy to do historical fiction, but it's not that I don't like research. Actually, I may like it a little too well. I have spent years researching a couple of periods and events that I want to write about (or have written about). Once I get started, it becomes a never-ending obsession. It's hard to know when you know enough to start writing. Maybe one day I'll finish that historical children's book. Don't hold your breath. Meanwhile, if my research for the Seffi Wardwell books takes me back to Maine over and over... I've no objection to that!
Oh--and if you are doing NaNo, please be my buddy! Look for me as Rebecca Douglass.
Your freckles were darker when Kyra was born! Sigh, I used to have some nice, brown moles that have become blobs of pink flesh.
ReplyDeleteMy hair was a lot redder, too.
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