To Research Or Not To Research, That Is The Question?

I think there is an element in the imagination that reality often tries to kill. Of course, they can coexist, but the imagination is often looking over its shoulder waiting for reality to strike. When I am writing fiction, I am constantly looking over my shoulder, because I will be the first to admit, that I don't do as much initial research as I should.

Although I do not ignore research altogether, that would be a major folly on my part, I have a one track mind. It's either the research or the writing. They compete for my attention. Two battling competitors, one winner, one loser, writing usually wins.

Or maybe it's my imagination that wins, but not for long, because I find myself using place holders where facts or descriptions should be. Even with my zaniest plots, I am reeled in by reality. Take for instance my PB manuscript "What's The Worst You Could Eat?" While writing about boogers was fun, reality came knocking in the form of critiques, and I finally had to question, "Would parents want their children to read a book about eating boogers in this swine flu paranoid society?" A little research could have helped me approach the story from a slightly different angle.

My blogmates have listed ways in which they research or don't research. Many of these techniques are shared by me, so I won't repeat them. But I do want to share what I find to be the most difficult thing for me to research, my setting.

I can vividly describe places that I've been, but when it comes to setting stories in unfamiliar places, I feel sort of lost. I can easily pull up pictures and descriptions of a place with a few taps on my keyboard, but reading about these places, leaves me wanting. If I am to describe a place, I like to have breathed the air and experienced the atmosphere, if you can image what I mean. I feel as if I'm painting a picture with a broken brush. I have to make do, but I can never completely capture the place I'm attempting to recreate.

I have had to change the setting of my vampire novel for this reason. My original setting was going to be in New Orleans, but I had to move it to the Midwest / Chicago since I felt my descriptions were lacking. Now I want to have a scene where one my characters jump off the Sears Tower or John Hancock. Don't worry she can fly, but first I have to find out if it's even possible for a human to breathe up that high? Is the observation deck outside? I don't remember. What's the security like? Okay, okay—I'll have to do some research. I haven't been to either the Sears Tower or Hancock building in a long time, but I figure a trip downtown is more convenient and cheaper than one to New Orleans.

Then it comes to my lack of research before writing this post. If I had researched the Sears Tower before writing this post, I would have remembered it is now called the Willis Tower. I think that's the new name, but don't quote me on that. If you don't know, please do your own research.

How much research? How little time?

I don’t have much scintillating information to add to what my colleagues have already said on the topic of research. (And I apologize for the lateness of this post. Between doctor appointment and family night at son’s school, I was busy from 1pm till 8:30.) I do think picture books provide a wide range of topics to research. When I was writing a story about a kitchen band, I looked up a couple different sites that explained what kinds of instruments might be made from various kitchen items, and I also listened to a few children’s songs about playing in the kitchen so I could better convey what sounds those instruments would make. When writing a Halloween story, I actually looked up lists of spooky names. When writing a story about a girl who moved and changed schools, it helped to be familiar with the way many schools are laid out today and to visit playgrounds to see what modern equipment looks like instead of relying on my memory of what schools and playgrounds looked like back in the day when I attended elementary! I think it really helps to spend some time around children to get a good feel for the way they talk and the words they use. Even if your characters in a picture book are animals, you want the way they speak to be relatable to your audience. If you’re writing adolescent characters, you definitely want their dialogue and thoughts to be realistic.

If I’m writing about vampires, research might depend on for which age level I am writing. If it’s a beginning reader book, I might research how authors for young audiences have handled the issue of the vampires’ “diets.” If it’s a YA novel, I research some of the myths about vampires. Anytime you have a supernatural element, there are certain myths or rules that are commonly accepted, that the reader expects. If the author changes one of these (vampires can be out in the sunlight, vampires have heartbeats, etc.), there has to be a definite purpose and plausible explanation. If a vampire character has lived longer than a normal person’s lifetime, that’s a wonderful opportunity to choose which places and historical periods he or she has experienced and then research those times and places. For YA novels especially, it may be helpful to research how other writers have presented issues of violence, language, and physical intimacy.

Setting has to be one of the most fun things to research. If part of my story is taking place in Ireland or a character’s family has a strong Irish background, I research Irish surnames and first names, perhaps in which counties of Ireland they are prevalent, Celtic traditions and festivals. Of course I think the best research would be to actually travel there! I think traveling, even locally, is a fun way for writers to do research and feel connected to the world, not always holed up typing away. It can boost creativity. One woman I know was writing some animal characters but wanted their behaviors to be realistic, so she made an appointment to talk to staff at a local zoo where she could observe these animals. Brilliant!

As my fellow bloggers (Peabodies!) have mentioned, time must be spent researching the subject of writing itself. And as far as writing memoir-type stuff, it sounds silly, but you really do have to research yourself. Researching yourself is not a bad idea anyway, as I learned from Carmela Martino, in doing writing exercises to get ideas flowing. These two topics of research could easily evolve into their own blog entries at a later date!

Which comes first: fantasy or fact finding?

I love ‘em both: creating ideas and digging deep in research. Even when I am writing pure fiction – a dragon waiting for wings to grow – there are things to learn.

I use two sources: children’s books at the library where I am employed and the internet. That wingless dragon book leads me into the mythology section for dragon traits and the picture book area for the ways others have pictured dragons. Then I comb the internet for difference between Western and Eastern dragons, and always check to see if anyone else has recently published a story about wingless dragons! If so I might as well put it in a file for next decade or work on it until it is really unique.


For years I focused on Bible storybook writing where there is only one source: the Bible. Publishers vary on how close to Holy Scripture the story has to be. Can I introduce talking animals? Can I put words in anyone’s mouth or only use direct quotes? Can I fill in settings with information I know is culturally accurate? Then I research the abilities and interests of the intended reader. What are children at various ages capable of understanding about terms like “crucifixion” and “incarnation”? What is the attention span of each age? (Pictured: Robin Currie's Baby Bible Stories about Jesus, Cook Communications, reissued with new art, 2009.)

Recently I may have found my real place in the publishing world: Edu-tainment: fun stories that teach new ideas and cultures with words introduced in glossary or sidebars. Who doesn’t want to know more about the arctic or the Sonora desert?