This post is for new writers, experienced writers, and folks who wonder how authors create stories that transport us back to the padded shoulders, tinned meat, love, and loss of World War II… Or to the first spacewalk, paisley pants, and headband wearing protestors of the 1960s… To the materialism, big hair, and neon colors of the 1980s… The great unknown of 2286….
Research enables writers to do this!
Okay, I heard you groan! But don’t log off! Give me a chance to explain. I’m not talking about our old high school teacher saying, “Write an in-depth, twenty-page research paper on the relationship between supply and demand dynamics and their influence on the market.” Remembering that assignment sends shivers of dread down my spine, too. Regardless of the genre, year, or location, research provides the foundation for a more exciting, daring, romantic, and authentic story. The kind of research we will do is a magic carpet ride to unknown places.
Here’s why. When a character sporadically substitutes French for her primary language, you the author must know which words or phrases she will use and what this tells us about her character and her earlier life. Or, if your superhero has an undetected illness, what symptoms does he display and why does he hide them before risking his life to save the world? Perhaps your protagonist is the daughter of Jewish immigrants who moved to the Catskills in the 1900s. What did she wear to school? What did her mother cook for breakfast? Was her family welcomed with open arms or were they shunned? What effect might such things have on her sense of self-worth and the choices she makes for her future? Readers bond with characters who reveal their inner doubts, fears, and secrets!
Editors, literary agents, and publishers recommend that writers read extensively in their genre. Good advice
for understanding what readers expect. But what if that
author did not conduct sufficient research and misleads
you as to important details of character and scene develop-
ment? It’s up to you to find and verify the facts.
Primary and secondary sources provide authenticity.
Primary sources are firsthand accounts of people who lived through it, news reports from the era, photographs, diaries, letters, household objects, clothing, and people. You might find primary sources in your grandmother’s basement or your own garage. The human sorts of primary sources might be living next door, teaching at the local college, or preaching at the neighborhood church. Or, you may have an experience like mine.
A primary source invited me to sit beside her on a bus ride from Johannesburg to Zimbabwe. While I expected my trip to South Africa to be amazing, I didn’t expect a stranger to share incredibly touching and terrifying firsthand accounts from her life. As we bounced along on that bone-jarring ride, sometimes talking, other times watching for giraffes to poke their heads out over the treetops, it never occurred to me that the stories she shared would become the inspiration for my historical novels that comprise the Sticks in a Bundle trilogy.
You might also become a primary source. For example, I’d seen poverty during my childhood in the deep South and behind the tourist side of several international towns. Yet, I found it hard to picture the living conditions described by my new bus-riding friend. I had to go see for myself. Since I couldn’t jet myself back to the 1970s, I did the next best thing. I got off the beaten trail and headed for a Soweto shantytown. Even though it was now 2012, I saw with my own eyes that nothing had changed. There’s no substitute for taking it in through your own senses—seeing the poverty, smelling the unsanitary conditions, feeling the dust on your skin, tasting the dryness of the air. This experience anchored her words in my heart.
Even though it was now 2012, I saw with my own eyes
that nothing had changed. There’s no substitute for
taking it in through your own senses—seeing the poverty,
smelling the unsanitary conditions, feeling the dust on
your skin, tasting the dryness of the air. This experience
anchored her words in my heart. No longer did I imagine
the harsh living conditions of her childhood home. I saw
them for myself.
So, look around. Make a new friend. Have a chat. Your primary source may be the woman who waves from across the street each time you haul your trashcans to the curb. Or, as happened with Story of a Stolen Girl, your primary source may be someone contributing to the same cause as you. For me, what started as strangers working on the same project became relationships in which survivors revealed the terror of being kidnapped, the shame of falling for the trafficker’s lies, how they survived, and what their lives are now. This, you can’t make up.
Unfortunately, firsthand accounting is not always possible, but other sources exist! One of my favorites, the location of a variety of historical and cultural artifacts, is… a little drumroll please… wait for it... EBAY!
In Golden Boxty in the Frypan, my mother, at age eleven, struggled to get along with her harsh, nervous, and irritatingly tense stepmother. Mom divulged her solution to this problem, but she left out important details. So, I researched primary historical documents. Perusal on eBay turned up Dr. Miles Almanac and Handbook of Valuable Information. How could I resist? Fourteen dollars and thirteen cents later, I became the proud owner of this source of “authentic astronomical calculations, weather forecasts, and planting dates.” But the booklet’s primary purpose was to offer testimonials from women who used Dr. Mile’s Nervine Tablets to relax and soothe their nerves to “fully enjoy shopping, luncheons, and social events” and remain “the happy, cheerful pal you were when ‘he’ first met you.” (That made me gag. Perhaps I need a dose of Nervine myself.) Nevertheless, Dr. Mile’s Nervine sounded like the product Mom described, thus it became an important ingredient to portray how she calmed her cruel stepmother.
Fast-forward to my current work. I needed information about the activities planned for the passengers on Queen Mary’s 1939 voyages. And sure enough, guess what I found on eBay—a “1939 Cruise Activities Schedule.” Passengers were offered a “Captains Tour” described as a ninety-minute, behind-the-scenes look at the Grand Lady, a cocktail reception, a “flashy musical extravaganza,” a Cole of California “retrospective featuring the latest swimwear, and an auto show. Eureka! This windfall of information helped me create rich, authentic scenes!
In my untitled sequel to The Unfortunate Conversation, one of my girls works in the Queen Mary’s kitchen. Yep! You guessed it. The big question is, what does she cook? Once again, eBay came to my rescue. Sure, I could peruse a British recipe book and try to fool folks into thinking I know that of which I write. But don’t you agree readers will be more effectively drawn in by showing my girl preparing items from the actual 1939 menu? So, after researching on eBay, I am pleased to report she shall make Bluepoint Oyster Cocktails and Brislings (sardines) in oil for the guests in the First Cabin Dining Room.
Now let’s look at secondary sources. A secondary source is removed from the event. Items, such as copies of photos, notes written on postcards, academic journal articles, encyclopedias, and Facebook posts, provide a plethora of secondary sources writers use to create an experience so deep and real that readers feel as if they were there.
For example, let’s talk about academic journals. (I heard you groan again!) In The Unfortunate Conversation, which is in the editing phase of its life, my main character—well, shall we say—she gets herself into a bit of trouble. One might think academic journals, with a reputation for being boring and laborious, are not the place to gather information about the strife my protagonist suffers, given that the year is 1939, she is sixteen and lives in Ireland. However, Maria Luddy’s “Sex and the Single Girl in the 1920s and 1930s Ireland” published by Cork University Press helped me portray the mindset of my protagonist, Isabelle Maguire.
In contrast to the stringent scrutiny required for publication in a juried academic journal, Facebook allows anyone to post almost anything in an environment where the “truth” is rarely validated. But don’t let that dissuade you from using the gems posted there. It’s up to you to verify.
In my WIP, my protagonist and her three friends travel across the Atlantic Ocean. Creating authentic scenes requires that I visualize the 1939 interior décor and layout, as well as the passengers’ habits (such as smoking at the dinner table). Fortunately, the RMS Queen Mary FB page offers photos of decks, public rooms, cabins, and the people who used them. Not only did I gain the mental pictures I needed of the 1930s décor, but I also saw women’s dresses, men’s suits, and staff uniforms. The bonus is that I can post questions to FB contributors.
Combining Primary and Secondary Research Efforts
Combining primary and secondary sources offers everything you need to build the world you want your reader to enter. My favorite technique is to combine research with fun.
Since I am fortunate to live only one hour away from the RMS Queen Mary, I booked an overnight stay in a family cabin. My twenty-year-old granddaughter, who loves adventure, came along to assist with taking notes and recording interviews. My husband enjoyed the cuisine and the history of this grand ship.
Driven by my mother’s advice, “Ask for what you want. The worst they can do is say no.” I filled out the contact form on the Queen Mary’s website. The general manager connected me with their Historic Resources Advisor. On the morning of our arrival, he spent over an hour answering my questions and sharing interesting, little-known historical tidbits. As a fellow author, I purchased Images of America: RMS Queen Mary, which he co-wrote and generously offered to sign. My granddaughter taped and transcribed the interview (my father taught me to never turn down good help.) We came home with photos, books, maps, videos, firsthand experience, and of course, T-shirts.
So, what is the lesson? Don’t stay home, thinking no one cares about your work and can’t be bothered to assist you. Somebody way more famous than my mother advised, ask and you shall receive. There are no guarantees, but if you don’t request that interview with the expert or the private tour of nooks and crannies not open to the public, you’ll never know what might have been.
When an expert generously says, “Yes,” to your request, this research results in a richer and more unique read. And you might stumble upon the premise for your next book and a perspective on the topic that has not yet been used.
Be Bold! Go where others fear to tread (sorry about the cliché). I’ll be watching, ready to read and review, your new thoroughly researched and deeply moving novel when it appears on the New York Times Best Sellers List!
Dr. Pat Spencer has a lifetime of experience publishing fiction and nonfiction: Sticks in a Bundle trilogy, Golden Boxty in the Frypan, A Baker’s Dozen For Writers: 13 Tips for Great Storytelling and Story of a Stolen Girl. Her short story won the 2019 Oceanside Literary Festival. Other pieces are published in online literary magazines and blogs. Pat formerly authored columns in the Press-Enterprise newspaper and Inland Empire Magazine. Visit her at https://patspencer.net
This is so cleverly written! Pat Spencer is an amazing writer and clearly knows of which she speaks. Reading this was like talking to a writer friend about how to succeed at your craft. She is a brilliant writer and mentor.
I couldn't agree with you more, Pat. Lots of research - which was fun! for my two historical books and I did background research even for my mysteries. Once you get into it, it's enjoyable and you learn so much!
Great advice, Pat. We are so lucky to live in the age of Google but you can't beat personal experience. Good luck with this website, Marie.
Terrific post Pat and such an important aspect when writing about the past or in a setting we might not be familiar with ourselves. Today so much is available on the Internet that most readers are much more informed. Thank you Marie for hosting and have included a link in my blogger weekly on Saturday. I hope that helps get the word out.
Excellent advice from author Pat Spencer on ways to seek authentic source material that can enhance our writing. I enjoyed what she shared about her experiences seeking primary and secondary sources, traveling to the actual settings of her works, finding artifacts related to the times or characters, and asking experts for information. Helpful article. Thank you, Pat.