July 29, 2019
What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?
I can’t answer this question as it’s written. The truth is, I’m always researching something. Maybe not for the work in progress, but for ideas that I don’t even know exist yet. I’m a keen observer of life, and possibilities for my writing exist everywhere.
Part of that research comes from the forums I follow daily. One of those is aimed at mystery and crime writers, and includes ex-cops, a judge, a medical examiner and other experts. The ideas I get from there may or may not find their way into a Harmony Duprie Mystery, but when one does, I know it’s a fairly accurate description of how ‘stuff’ works.
Because I don’t plot out my books step by step ahead of time, I don’t always know what I need to know for a book until I need to know it. Guns appear in all of my books, but I can tell a pistol from a revolver and a shotgun from a rifle and that’s about it. There’s a lot I can find on the internet, but I’m lucky enough to work with a number of people who are very knowledgeable on the subject and are more that willing to help me out. They were the ones to tell me the rifle that appears on the cover of Wolves’ Knight is real and not a fake.
Image by Lorri Lang from Pixabay
Another thing I spend a lot of time with is google maps. Although I set my stories in familiar territory, I end up mixing fictional places with real ones. Maps help me figure out real roads my characters might take and hopefully make the story more believable. Yes, I really checked to see how many left-handed exits there are along the interstate in Pittsburgh for The Baron’s Cufflinks.
I know that other authors on this blog hop are more methodical in their writing, so I’m looking forward to hearing about their research. Follow the links below to find out how they do it.
July 29, 2019
What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?
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Just like you I work on the plot as I go along, and so research as I go.
The folks who have the whole book plotted out and researched before they start writing amaze me!
I wing it, letting my characters do what they will. Then I have to sort it all out and find a way to make it believable.
Me and my characters have arguments about what’s going to happen next. They usually win.
I forgot about Google maps when I wrote mine. I also use them as I always set my books in the UK and I only visit there one a year and live in South Africa the rest of the time so I have to remind myself. I enjoyed your post. I think the kind of books you write also determine the level of research required, but all books will need some in order to ring true.
I want to set a new series in Pittsburgh, but it’s been so long since I’ve been there for more than a few hours at a time, I know I won’t be able to make it realistic. So, for the moment, it’s on hold.
I do research as I go along too and very rarely before I start writing a novel because my main interest is the characters. I don’t really need to know about their world until I know about them.
I’m with you about the characters being the focus of my stories.
I think it makes for better stories. Some writers focus so much on their research that reading their novel is like sitting down with a technical manual. I want to be accurate, but it’s okay if Shane has no idea what nixilation is, for example. At some point, I’m going to throw that in casually and I want the readers to be as stunned as Shane is because, frankly, how you process corn so you can get nutrients from it is an astounding process.
I do plot out my books and do preliminary research, mostly about setting and characters.
So far, I’ve set my characters in familiar territory. I may have to do some research on fine details.
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