Guest post by Chicki Brown
Recently I’ve seen a couple of
people on Facebook asking questions about doing research for works of fiction.
What I’ve surmised from the questions is that some new writers feel because
they are writing a fictional story then factual detail doesn’t matter. This
could be the case, if the setting of the story is also fictional, but what if
you’ve set your story in a real location? Shouldn’t your details be authentic?
And how about the other details? For
instance, if is a model, do you know what happens behind the scenes as she
prepares to walk the runway? If your character is a doctor, can you simply
fabricate the way she performs an operation?
Of course you could, but savvy readers will call you on something that
doesn’t make sense. When mentioning a real restaurant, do you download the
actual menu and get it right rather than taking a chance and making up what the
characters ordered?
Doing research for my books is one
of my favorite parts of writing, and online research makes the whole process
easier than it’s ever been. I love researching the city, learning about its
landmarks and checking out the street map. Between Google, Google Maps,
Citi-data, and Wikipedia, finding detailed information is a breeze. When I use
a hotel, nightclub or restaurant in my novels, one of the fun parts is looking
at pictures of the establishment on their web site. Doing this helps me give more
accurate and picturesque descriptions.
My new novel, Ain’t Too Proud to Beg
is set in Telluride, Colorado and Los Angeles, California, two drastically
different locations.
I’ve never been to either city, so I really
had to spend some time discovering them. The hero is a Hollywood actor, and the
heroine is a physical therapist. The little I know about acting comes from
watching TV shows, and I don’t have a clue as to what a PT actually does. I also
learned a lot about Telluride, a town I’d heard about ever since it became
known in the 1980s for being notorious in the drug counterculture as being a
drop point for Mexican smugglers.
Researching your setting,
professions, and other important facets of your story take time, but the depth
it can add to your story is definitely worth it.
Chicki Brown
Ain’t
Too Proud to Beg:
--------------------------------------------------
Kimberly T. Matthews
"I knew exactly how many condoms were left in his gym bag, in a little black box, wrapped in gold foil. Seven. Each time I randomly checked for no other reason besides I knew they existed, there'd always been seven. So I was taken aback that morning when I went to do his laundry, peeked in the box and only found three..."
Lisa from - "Lisa's Dress"
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4 comments:
Thanks so much for having me, Kimberly! :D
TY for explaining so succinctly the need for research in fiction writing. I never quite understood its importance, but what you say makes a lot of sense! :)
You're welcome, Andi-Roo! Thanks for stopping by.
I'm honored to host you Chicki!
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