11/20/2023 — Short post today because your girl is busy! Tomorrow afternoon, I’ll present my thesis project for my masters degree. I finished a study about grief literacy of parents, and it has required a lot of research. When I’m writing creatively (books, poems, even daydreams), I research. I have so many questions about the world, and researching is how I find (some of) the answers.
Now, in fantasy and even occasional sci-fi novels, the research is not so stringent. A world you create leaves the research opportunities endless; you just have to find a way to string them together in a way that is somewhat cohesive.
Other genres based in our realistic world requires the real research. One of the books I began but never finished is a romantic historical fiction novel. Part one of the novel is set in NYC during the early 1910s. Our main character grows into adulthood spending all hours in a theater, becoming an actress herself. Part two of the novel is set on Block Island, RI after WWI. Here’s the breakdown of research: this fiction book is based on two real places at two particular spots in time. When I sat down to draft out this book outline and a few scenes, it was not as easy to just jump in. I needed the background research first. I started by getting a timeline of major events in the 10 or so years my book spanned. I made my list pretty exhaustive. Not only did I have historical events, like the events leading up to the war, but other pieces that may impact my characters. For example, the first brasserie was invented in 1913. That is an important research point that affects my female characters, as well as all the other fashion details I had to dive into for this book. Let me tell you, there was a lot of fashion to comb through!
One of my favorite aspects of research for any type of book is the verbiage. Even in our modern day U.S.A., one person can asks for “soda” and another for “pop” while meaning the same thing. Words and slang of different places and times are fascinating, and using terminology and how characters speak can really enrich a story.
I hope you enjoyed a little blip into this research-crazy mind of mine!
Much love and happy reading,
Gail ❤
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