The Research Makes All the Difference

So, I’m working on a proposal for a new book.

This is a new experience for me, but it’s one I can tell already that will be highly beneficial. Doing so, however, has made me very clear about how important doing research is for me, instead of just relying on my imagination.

I used to teach a fiction class during my days at Florida State University, and it was required that we had a research paper component in class. Though my students groaned, even then I lectured happily to them about the fact that, yes, they needed to know how to do it even if they fancied themselves famous novelists or essay writers. This was before I ever had to do research for my own novels, however, and boy howdy I am happy to say that I was right even back then.

One of the most crucial elements of your work is, of course, your character. Knowing him or her as intimately as you can (regardless of how much of that shows up in the novel) will make your work as strong as possible. But that doesn’t just mean knowing her favorite color or what he’d do if he saw someone shoplifting. It also includes knowing as much as you can about his or her environment and surroundings.

This is something I’ve experienced with all of my books. Doing some Bible research for Pure was immensely helpful; finding real poems for After the Kiss made a difference; reading about summer camp and interviewing campers/counselors was vital for The Summer of Firsts and Lasts; Being Friends With Boys was aided by a lot of interviewing; and my forthcoming book, Criminal, took a lot of research that you’ll understand once it comes out in 2013. But this was the first time that my own sense of the plot and what would happen in the book –not to mention exactly who my characters are– has been affected by doing research, first.

I can’t tell you very much about what I’m researching yet, but here’s a hint:

I can also say that in the past two weeks, the on-site visits and personal interviews I’ve conducted have really shaped this book. (Even though for one excursion I had to wake up at 4 AM). As an added bonus, I’m more excited to work on it now than I was when I got the idea a couple of months ago. So, as painful as it may feel right now, believe me when I say your teachers are right. Knowing how to do more than look something up on Wikipedia is going to make you an even better writer.