Monday, January 21, 2019

How's Your Credibility?


I once asked a friend for her best tip on researching. She said, “Find someone who likes doing it and give them money.” That’s not always possible, and sometimes it takes the fun out of putting a story together, although her answer did get a chuckle out of me.

Why is research important? The answer is simple. Your credibility as an author is at stake. People read books, listen to a presentation or watch a television show and walk away believing what they’ve read, seen or heard. As a writer, you’re supposed to be an expert, right? Readers depend on you to know what you’re talking about, and that doesn’t just apply to non-fiction. Many people believe fiction, too.

I’m sure you’ve heard stories about viewers walking up to a soap opera star and slapping her because they believed what they’d watched her do in her role as a bad girl. Fiction is exactly that – fiction. So, no slapping! However, there’s generally a thread of truth somewhere in your story unless it’s total fantasy.

Let’s make up a fictional town. We’ll call it Big Buck City which is located in Northern Nevada and lies somewhere near Reno or Carson City. Here’s the information you gave in your book:

            Palm trees line the streets
            The terrain is flat, barren desert
            It almost never snows and the temperatures are mild
            You refer to Reno (or Las Vegas) as the state capitol
            You mention that casinos don’t allow smoking anymore
            There’s a house of ill repute on every corner

What’s wrong with this picture? Everything. Palm trees don’t grow well in a cold climate. Northern Nevada is mountainous, and it can be very cold with fairly frequent snow. By the way, Carson City is the state capitol. Casinos may not allow smoking in their restaurants, but most casinos allow smoking in the gaming areas. At the very least, most of them have smoking sections. If you write about casinos, you’d better know about casinos. A house of ill repute on every corner? While there are such places, you won’t find them on every corner.

If you created this description in your story, you’ve just lost the readers who live in Northern Nevada. They realize you’re not familiar with their favorite place – home. When a couple from Podunk, Ohio, visits Reno, they’re not going to find anything they were expecting. You let the tourist down, too. In general, you’ve let your entire audience down.

Don’t make up facts as you go along unless one of your characters is a pathological liar, or someone’s trying to lie their way out of a fix.

Another hint? Don’t rely on one source for accuracy. The Internet is so convenient, but what you find isn’t always correct. Check out more than one site, and there are great sources at the library, too. Talk to “old timers” and locals. Talk to experts. If your protagonist discusses the weather in Colorado, you’d better know what the weather I like in Colorado.

Have any of you worked on your family genealogy? You’ve probably found names, dates, locations and stories, along with other information. Maybe you researched Great-Uncle Fred and discovered he had a fifth child the family never talked about. Hmm. This could be interesting. Why wasn’t the fifth child discussed? Did Number Five rob a bank? Run away from home when he was sixteen to become an actor? Commit a murder? (Okay, don’t forget, I am a mystery writer.)

I discovered quite by accident that I enjoy researching. It’s like solving a mystery. You follow leads to come to informed conclusions. A number of my books contain cold cases. I had to find out what things were really like during the time periods I wrote about.

Organize your information and keep a record of where and when you found it. You might need to refer back to the same source.

Do you enjoy research, and if not, how do you keep your facts straight? What are some of your favorite sources to find pertinent information for your books?

Until next week, try researching something you’ve always wondered about but you’ve never taken the time to check it out. You might be surprised at what you find.

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website
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14 comments:

  1. Good advice, Marja. Even if you make up your setting, it better sound legitimate for the area. It can be distracting, but I love research and would never pay someone else to do it for me.

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    1. Research can be fascinating, John. I wouldn't pay anyone either, but my friend's comment struck me as funny. Thank you for commenting!

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  2. My first published novel was based on real events in my life. One reviewer commented that "This could never have happened in real life." But it did. Sometimes you can't win. But quite a few of my books are pure fiction and I hate to admit it but I hated doing research. However, I'm always glad that I did it.

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    1. All one has to do is watch the news to know that stranger things happen in real life than in fiction, Pat. Maybe we need to preface our stories with a comment about the reality of parts of the story. LOL No, not really. Thank you so much for commenting!

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  3. Doing research isn't so bad. I've had to do a lot. It's learning something new. Not that I always retain it, but I have a lot of notes I'll probably never use again. And sometimes when I think about deleting those notes, I go back and read them. Occasionally, they'll give me an idea for a new novel.

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    1. You know, Evelyn, that as soon as you delete the notes, something will come up and you'll need them. LOL Thank you so much for commenting!

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  4. Great topic, Marja!
    I've used real locations and one fictional location in my books. I'm very familiar with the areas, which helps. (The fictional location is based on a real location.) I have to admit I'm a stickler for accuracy even though my books are fiction and I enjoy doing research to be sure I've got it right.

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    1. I know you're a stickler for accuracy, and as a reader I really appreciate that. It keeps the books more interesting. Thank you so much for commenting!

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  5. I love research! I can easily get lost in it until I have to force myself to stop and get to the writing. Usually the story lets me know when to stop the research and start the writing.

    I like to use places I know well in my books, and I believe that gives them a richness that I wouldn't otherwise be able to provide. I know from reading Pat Gligor's books that she does the same thing.

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    1. I know from reading both of your books that you each use places you're familiar with because it's evident in the writing. I enjoy research, Amy, but it sounds like you have more fun with it than I do. Thank you so much for commenting!

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  6. Research is my favorite part of writing. Learning new things and carefully spooning them into my stories is fun, but I think we all learned from Jean M. Auel's caveman tales that too much research can bore the reader to tears. I've caught some mistakes in books from lack of research, such as Wyoming license plates with too many numbers and minus the bucking horse emblem. Another was antelope leaping over barbed wire fences instead of sliding under them. Most readers wouldn't catch the mistakes, but Rocky Mountain readers certainly would.

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    1. Great comments, Jean. You've made my point for me. : ) Thank you so much for commenting!

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  7. Also love doing research! Unfortunately can go overboard just for the heck of it! Enjoying so much. And even though I write fiction--and currently in a fictional town--need to "take the reader there" and can't do that without research in all the areas you and commenters here have mentioned. And just one "klinker" can spoil a readers enjoyment of the whole book.

    As always, excellent post.

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    1. Thank you, Madeline! I like the idea that the reader can follow along behind the characters if they have enough information, which is often where research comes in. Thank you so much for commenting!

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