Writing brings many surprises, from characters who begin to speak for themselves, to the time it can take to construct a scene, to plot twists I hadn’t envisioned but now can’t imagine the book without. But one surprise that just keeps on giving is how many things I need to know that are not in that handy well of background knowledge. As a rule, I try to avoid writing anything that requires much research. It’s not just the information-gathering that puts me off; it’s the idea that despite all the care I take to ensure that my information is accurate, I could still introduce some huge flaw and be forever discredited.
Such avoidance can only last so long, however. Shortly after I’d finished assigning most of my past careers to various characters and setting stories in most of the regions in which I’ve lived, I began to write, of all things, a book that’s loosely based in history. (Key word: Loosely. I still need that wiggle room.) Researching a shiny new career is one thing; building a whole Medievalish world is quite another.
For my various professions I’ve had to take several classes in research techniques, and although I’m not a master when it comes to digging up information, I know my way around Google, several online databases, libraries (Dewey decimal system and all), and your basic reference materials. Which is a good thing, since I recently found myself browsing a website on Medieval weaponry. This was quickly followed by searches for ways to communicate with horses, injuries to the frontal lobe of the brain, the layout of a typical castle, and bread recipes. And the research continues, all so that I can add about four words per subject to lend credibility to the book.
And amidst all this information gathering, the most important thing I’ve learned is this: research is not as scary or as boring as I’d thought. Sure, it’s daunting, and not as fun as writing, and when I’m in the middle of a scene and suddenly find myself desperate for a few obscure details about fabrics in the 1400s, it’s definitely a distraction. But it’s doable, and it can lead to some pretty amusing searches.
Which leads me to wonder…What are some of the weird things you’ve found yourself researching, either for your writing or otherwise? Ever read a book where the research was just plain wrong? (No author bashing, please! Everybody makes mistakes.)
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Kristi Holl said,
Friday, February 8, 2008 at 6:40 am
I write fiction too, and I think I could get lost researching if I let myself. Even things like short flashbacks require some research. (What was the Scottish countryside like back when he wandered there as a boy? What kind of hats did national park rangers wear in the 40s? Besides hard tack, what did Confederate soldiers eat?) You don’t realize how many tidbits you’ve picked up over the years in your research until you play Trivial Pursuit!
Caryn said,
Friday, February 8, 2008 at 9:55 am
That’s so funny, Kristi! Just last night we had some friends over to play Trivial Pursuit, and I admit to being a bit disappointed that none of my new knowledge came up during the game.
77free said,
Friday, February 8, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Hey!
I totally agree with you i use to be daunting byhistorical fiction and scren plays and now i love it. research is cool because its information that anyone can find out, if someone else can do it so can you.
iIve researched history of donuts to spas, to backpackinig in europe to communal dining to mileage (that idea is in the works so i can’t expand on it) and its been a lot of fun. whats fun to is to create fictional worlds or scenes off of a piece of reality, check out the pullitizer by Gwendolyn Brooks called March – its great!
keep writing, can’t wait to see you in print!
Melissa Blue said,
Friday, February 8, 2008 at 4:25 pm
The weirdest thing I’ve researched had to be the life span of a condom. Don’t ask.
emily said,
Friday, February 8, 2008 at 5:53 pm
i don’t write, but still find myself researching on google.
these days it’s mostly about migraines and chonic pain – i spend more time than i would’ve ever thought learning about headaches.
can’t think of any books i read where the research was incorrect. maybe i need to keep my eyes out for it?
Caryn said,
Friday, February 8, 2008 at 6:18 pm
77free, I love your list of research topics! So varied! And thanks for your optimism and encouragement with my writing.
OMG, Melissa. I’m not asking, but I’m *telling* you that I’m dying to know the context of that one!
Oh, Emily, I hope you find your solution soon. As for finding books with errors, they usually involve places where I’ve lived or professions I’ve had, which is probably why I gravitate toward writing about those professions and places I know from extensive first-hand experience.
Dru said,
Friday, February 8, 2008 at 6:42 pm
I’m not a writer, but part o fmy job is to do research and I recently had to do research on the various ways of asking one question and coming up with the same answer, no matter which way the question is asked. I spent one day and was able to find the question that I needed.
lainey said,
Saturday, February 9, 2008 at 8:20 am
History fascinates me and I love well written historical, but I don’t think I could be as thorough in research as what would be required to write historical.
My wip has a vigilante. I keep waiting for the Internet Police to break down my door and demand I explain searching for substances that will burn a vehicle and body beyond recognition, or untraceable drugs that would kill a man in a cup of coffee. :0
Book bashing. Hmm. I read an HQN rom/susp not long ago set in Toronto. Less than an hour outside of the city, our poor heroine was in a wilderness, no traffic, towns, cell service. Ah, I live an hour from Toronto and every page of this book screamed that the author had obviously never been there. She fell just shy of putting us poor Canucks in igloos. Drove me crazy!
Melissa Blue said,
Saturday, February 9, 2008 at 11:05 am
My character has a slight nervous break down at her mother’s funeral. The next day she’s humilated. She compares it to having to throw out a condom because it’s been that long since you’ve had sex. Condoms have a three year life span. Three years??? Cobwebs, anyone?
Caryn said,
Saturday, February 9, 2008 at 11:14 am
Dru, now I’m curious about the question! What you said has me now trying to devise questions like that, too.
Lainey, that was hilarious! I’ve heard that some authors have been tagged before because of their searches, but it should be pretty easy to prove what you’re doing all the research for. As for the Toronto countryside, I’ve read similar things about places near where I live. The Stand by Stephen King mentions a small city where the characters stop for gas or something. In reality, it’s just a waystop about a half hour from where I live, with maybe one family living there.
That makes sense, Melissa. Wonder if *that* will ever come up in Trivial Pursuit? Hmmm. I’m guessing not. Too bad. I hate to waste a good piece of trivia. I’ll have to break it out some other way, then.
Absolute Vanilla (an said,
Sunday, February 10, 2008 at 3:43 am
I’m a confirmed cheat when it comes to this – which is why I suspect I write in the fantasy, paranormal, supernatural genres – I can make things up! That said, I actually love doing research – it appeals to the analytical part of my brain – but like you I am so aware of inaccuracies out there in the places we do research. I’m not sure I’d ever have the courage or be willing to give up the time to tackle historical fiction – unless of course I could create a historical fantasy!
One of my recent lines of weird research has been vampirism and related offshoots – frankly, it become so downright creepy I nearly frightened myself!
Now I’m about to move onto near death and death experiences – which, actually, is proving to be incredibly enlightening.
Kristen Painter said,
Sunday, February 10, 2008 at 3:34 pm
Hey, thanks for stopping by my blog. I research so many odd things I don’t know where to start.
Caryn said,
Sunday, February 10, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Absolute, I admit I cheat, too. That’s why the setting is in Medievalish times instead of just Medieval ones! As for your research into vampirism and near death experiments, those sound both fascinating and scary! Have fun with them.
Thanks for reciprocating the visit, Kristen!
Alyssa Goodnight said,
Sunday, February 10, 2008 at 9:44 pm
I’m like you–or at least the old you–research seems rather over-whelming and time-consuming. I’m totally happy to go on a quick Google fact-checking mission, but I balk at setting out to write a book set in time I know nothing about . Most of the research for my Regency romance came from years and years of reading othe Regency romances. That is by far my preferred research method.
Katie said,
Thursday, February 14, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Sorry I missed the game. It’s my favorite. My knowledge (scattered and varied as it is) frequently comes up in Trivial Pursuit, for some reason. I am glad everyone else got to play, though.
Have a spectacular weekend!
Angie said,
Saturday, February 16, 2008 at 2:44 pm
I majored in history (medieval, emphasis on early universities and trade (no, not together [grin])) so usually when I notice glitches and oopses, it’s in a medieval historical. A lot of folks still haven’t gotten the word about all the New World foods which simply didn’t exist in Europe during the Middle Ages, or still subscribe to the Early Fairy Tale school of medieval clothing design, or think that anything they’ve seen in a book or a movie set before, oh, about 1780 or so, can be stuffed into a medieval and no one will notice. [sigh]
Oh, and then there’s the Regency with the “several eligible dukes” present at a ball. [facepalm] Ummm, yeah. I mean, okay, your plotline might require you to have one eligible (in romance terms: youngish, reasonably handsome, unmarried) duke in your story, if you want your Girl to either marry him or contemplate marrying him, but nobody needs “several,” and the realities of the English peerage make this a ridiculously impossible detail, especially as a throwaway line for a supporting character. [sigh] This one got laughed at back on RomEx, and a few old-timers still snicker over it.
I did a blog post a while back about a mystery I read which was set at a science fiction convention and just full of howlers. I gofered at my first SF con back in 1980 and have worked quite a lot of them since. I’ve worked WorldCons, and chaired a major regional a couple of times, and am pretty familiar with what they’re like. This author, unfortunately, was not, and although the mystery she constructed was clever and interesting, her setting details clunked so badly, all the way through, that I was wincing and eyerolling from cover to cover and it made it hard to enjoy an otherwise well-written novel.
This is definitely an important issue, though. No matter what subject you’re writing about, there’ll be people out there who are much more familiar with it than you are and who will notice your clunkers. [nod]
Angie
Caryn said,
Sunday, February 17, 2008 at 10:44 am
Alyssa, I would have to agree–nothing like historical fiction for research, is there?
Thanks, Katie! Hope you do, too. Maybe you can come next time.
Thank you so much, Angie, for your very informative comment. I loved your examples, too. And you have a great point–sometimes people are trying so hard to add authenticity (like with the dukes) that they go overboard and mess everything up. It’s so tempting to just throw everything in there, even when it’s totally unnecessary. That’s why I’m making it Medievalish instead of Medieval, and giving it fairy tale elements, a little magic, and setting it in two made-up kingdoms. That way I can say, “Well this is how it was done in *this* country!”
Belinda said,
Sunday, February 24, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Caryn,
Thanks for checking out my site! I had to comment on this entry because I love the topic. I think the oddest thing I’ve ever researched, as a historical fiction writer, is the treatments of syphilis during the 1880s in London. Not a pretty picture. It was pretty weird/awkward doing the research, too, because I had to look this up on a public computer because I don’t own a printer.
I’ve also done research on things such as mourning customs of the late Victorian era. In order to get into my character’s head, I once spent a couple of weeks reading books on adult orphans (that is, adults that have lost both parents and feel lost without them). My aunt was visiting at the time and thought I was insane until my mother pointed out that I was doing research for my new book.