Research – Bane or Boon?
For most authors the need to research is
either a love or hate relationship, at least in my experience. There are those
writers, and I am one of them, who feel that research is an integral part of
telling a good story. The old adage about writing what you know isn’t as cut
and dried as it can sometimes appear, but in the end, the more you know about
your setting, customs, political atmosphere, and simple geography can make your
story go from pop to fizz the moment someone spots the errors.
Realistically, we are none of us perfect
storytellers, we make allowances, take liberties with locale and language and a
myriad of other things. If you acknowledge those devices your readers will
understand you are taking creative license to tell your story, and if the story
is one they like, it’ll be forgiven. If you come across as simply too lazy or
indifferent to learn the layout of your world, those same readers will roast
your artistic ass until you cry. They will see it as an insult to their
intelligence if you think you can fool them, or worse, talk down to them by
pretending it doesn’t matter. It does. A lot!
The other side of this argument is that
sometimes to make the story work, to serve it best, you have to allow the
imagination freedom. Nothing in this world is etched in stone, except perhaps
monuments. A creative liberty that makes your story flow and thereby come to
life with a bit of magic and mystique, is certainly acceptable to readers and
other authors. Research will help you shape the mythos you need for your
creation. That doesn’t mean you get to reorganize the known world, but if you
rearrange a distance in a city to make your plot flow more smoothly, and you
acknowledge that, you’re not likely to get the citizens of that city ragging on
your book telling you you’re an idiot who can’t read.
Apart from making your story more authentic
in tone, research can often lead you to ideas you might never have entertained
otherwise. Often, it is in the small details of research that you find gems to
mine for your tale. Use them! Readers love the little details that flesh out a
story and make it zing. I’ve written a couple of novels in which the backdrop
was Victorian London of Jack the Ripper era. The murders are fascinating to
read about, even though they are of course gruesome in detail. However, if you
look at some of the facts, and marry it to the myth, you can find a wealth of
unrelated material upon which to base stories. That’s a reality for most
notorious events in history if you’re using them as a backdrop of any kind.
I’ve seen a lot of argument and discussion
about “pantsters vs. plotters” but nothing makes a stronger case for plotting
than the research you need for some stories. Historical books require realistic
background, and social rules of the day. Fantasy worlds need to be built from
the ground up, and that means you have to create religious cultures, political
situations and climates, if there are intrigues driving your storyline, they
have to been carefully presented and understood by your audience. ALL of this
goes back to research.
So, is the research a bane to your creative
muse, or the boon? That is as varied as the authors we read, but in my opinion
only–you can’t have a story that lives and breathes for people if you don’t do
the homework before you begin the writing process. The words flow better, like
a river, if they know what direction to go. Meandering might be fun for awhile,
but too much of it gets you–and your readers–lost in a sea of confusion. And, that
gets both annoying and betraying to the audience that’s invested their time and
money into your ability to entertain them for a time. I think that’s a thing
worth consideration, and a bit of invested time on the part of writers who care
about their stories, and their readers. It’s a bit like a sacred trust to the
readers who return over and over to buy our books.
Cheers,
Denysé
Denysé Bridger
“Live the Romance, Become the Fantasy...”
** Preditors & Editors Best Author
2012-2013 **
WEBSITE: http://www.denysebridger.com
Fantasy Pages (general): http://fantasy-pages.blogspot.com
Bound By Passion (adult content): http://boundpassion.blogspot.com
Yes - my vote for research every time. If you are going to set a story in Paris, you had better get the details right because if a reader catches you doing something inauthentic, it will colour your whole book for them. So keep checking Google maps and get it right.
ReplyDeleteI refuse to suffer through a story that is not internally consistent. For me, if I don't believe, I don't enjoy.
And if that applies to the plot in general, how much more does it apply to sex! I hate stories with women who spend their lives panting for sex, or man who perform again and again and again without stopping for lunch. Bleah!
Points very well made, Jacqueline. I don't mind a few liberties, but keep it within the realm of reasonable. A little stretch of the truth is fine, but let's not rearrange entire cities! A fantasy world is a hard one to build if you don't start from the ground up - and even if the details don't always make it into the books, the author writes from a place of knowledge and that makes it ring true for readers. Mystique is one thing, too lazy to read just makes for a bad experience for any reader. Thanks so much for stopping by!! Cheers, D
DeleteI couldn't agree more. The "write what you know" adage should have the disclaimer "and are interested in" in parenthesis. My Chances trilogy is set in Lake Tahoe and San Francisco, two places for which I have a long-held affinity. I've been there a dozen times, but still had to research everything from dialect in colloquial conversation (USC=SC) to ski terminology (all my trips have been in the summer) to the one-way streets on Nob Hill! But it didn't FEEL like "research" because I was interested in it. My goal was to make my readers fall in love along with my characters AND their surroundings. Turns out, I fell in love all over again myself.
ReplyDeleteGreat point Densye!
Thanks for the great post, Denyse! And, thank you, Jacqueline and Martha for stopping by. :)
ReplyDelete