How to Research a Story

Do you enjoy on-line research?  I thrive preparing the background material for my stories.  I love surfing the net, endlessly branching into new topics, like a multi-headed hydra.  I enjoy the wonderfully inefficient “stumble upon” feel of it all.  Are you similar?  Alas, this is a great time waster.  Time is money in the freelance world. 

I love research and have developed some pointers that help me focus.  

Always keep an eye on the point of the research.  Research conveniently divides into a number of categories: 

• Very general reading. This helps identify potential stories.
• Preliminary research. This lays out the basic facts about a subject
• Investigative research. This adds an original slant to the basic facts
• Story specific research.  This fills in information so that there is a good plot 
• Detailed research.  Check specific facts to enhance the storyline.  

As an illustration, I recently wrote about the first commercial steamship service across the Atlantic.  I started  thinking I could write about the fastest boat in the world.  My general reading led me towards the Blue Riband race.  My preliminary reading described the first attempt to win the Blue Riband. My investigative research considered the boat that came in second.  Then, I realised I had a story and wanted to gather some background information about the characters involved.

Very detailed information is difficult to obtain but adds colour to the story.   In the example, it would have been nice to know the weather in New York harbour when the boats arrived.  What else was happening in New York that day?  Detail that expresses the emotion or provides quotes from the protagonists is brilliant. 

When I read historical reconstructions I often question how the information was obtained.  Sometimes the author has limited facts and builds the story from inferences and peripheral details.  Sometimes the author takes licence and adds his own detail.  When the author takes licence it should be done in the spirit of the known facts. 

Interestingly, I have come across a novel where the author deliberately disregards his own research.  The novel contains details of a surgical operation.  The novelist researched surgical procedures then allowed his character to break the procedures.  It made him human.

Always be aware that an error in fact drastically reduces the credibility of a story.

As a final point, do not allow the research to dominate the story.  I find that my best articles have been written from memory.  If you seek quality, put the first draft aside and re-write from memory.

You can find my article on the transatlantic race at Racing the Atlantic: The First Commercial Seamships