Research Tools for the Writer
Author: Sandra T. Wales
Original Publication Date in Love Notes: May 2006

Historical authors know they have to research everything under the sun and then some to get their world just right because if we don’t, someone out there will know that there are only twelve buttons on a lady’s long gloves instead of thirteen.

What if you write modern fiction? Do you believe you don’t have research to do? Sounds too easy, doesn’t it? It is. You do have to research. If you choose to place your action in New York City, then you should know what the Big Apple looks like even if you’ve never been there.

How do you do that? There are several ways. The obvious research tool is a map. There are maps of Manhattan that show most of the buildings in an almost three-dimensional view. There are maps of Central Park. Maps of Coney Island. The Bronx. Queens. Highways and bridges. There are maps of the Theatre District. If you want to add depth via the five senses to your NYC story, then you need to know the sounds and smells of the city. Sounds are easy. Just watch television or some movies to get an idea of background noise. Use your imagination. Big cities have a lot of sirens. Smells are harder to come by. The deli will be different than the donut shop, but you can draw on your own experiences for that kind of background.

Satellite photos that you can get off the Internet could help. I have even gone into the Russian Satellite system to see my farm from way up high. (Don’t ask. I don’t know why the Russians have pictures of my farm. The only subversive weapons I have are cows.)

If you need to understand the terrain for your novel, topographic maps are available from the Geological Survey. Some areas have huge plastic relief maps that give a person a real sense of a particular territory.

Modern novels require other types of information, too. The best pictures I’ve found are in children’s books. Where else could you get a simple description and beautiful pictures of spiders native to a certain area? Of the Pyramids in Egypt? Or types of dogs, cats, frogs, and other creatures that go waltzing through your make believe world?

If you know someone who lives in the area that you want to write about, ask them to take photographs for you of whatever you need. The disposable cameras can be purchased, used, and mailed to you for development. What chain stores are there? Are there any unique stores that are locally owned? What are they? Are antiques a big business? Consignment shops? Where are the upper class shops? Pawn Shops?

Sometimes sociology journals have articles about a particular area as do archaeology and anthropology journals. Although these usually deal with the past, there are articles about modern places. The linguistic journals are great for researching speech patterns from various parts of this country and for the various socio-economic levels. I learned that the higher a person is on the social ladder, the more colors are in one’s vocabulary especially if that person is female. By contrast the Australian Aborigines have four basic colors -- red, green, brown, and black derived from their contact with nature.

Even modern novels require research into clothing. What do the different classes wear? What materials make up their clothing? The writer can research this through catalogues and costume plates, and personal observation.

One area of modern research that a lot of authors ignore is firearms. For example, revolvers do not have a safety, and a heroine with no experience can’t just shoot. Find yourself an expert and pick her brain. Cassondra Murray and Steve Doyle do workshops on firearms for suspense writers as well as a hands on workshop at their private firing range. Writers get first hand experience in how much kick there is to a particular weapon, the noise, the smell, and the damage to a target.

“For instance many writers know nothing about guns, and they try to use them in their suspense novels. These writers make glaring errors -- the kind that makes a reader throw the book across the room and never buy that author again. They rely on Hollywood and what they see on film and television, which is more often wrong than correct,” says suspense writer Cassondra Murray.

The more you know your world, the more the world influences your character and his actions. You can make what happens mesh with the created world because your character has intimate knowledge of his surroundings. This makes your novel believable and your characters real so the reader wants to stay with your novel -- page after page after page.

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Sandra T. Wales writes the Warrior Queen Series under the name Haley Elizabeth Garwood. For more information about the Warrior Queens and Garwood’s latest release, ZENOBIA, check out her website: http://haleyelizabethgarwood.com 

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