How I Conduct Research

Research can make or break a book.
For my series first book, The Dark Thorn, I had to do extensive research, requiring two months of reading and tracking down obscure texts before I wrote one word. Since my novel hinges on the histories of Seattle and Rome as well as that of the Celtic Britain, I knew going in it would be a bit intensive at the outset. If I was going to write a convincing contemporary fantasy that weaves what we know to be true in history with the fantastical, research was the key.
I really didn’t understand at that time the learning curve I was about to jump on.
Not at all.
The first thing I learned is research can be a double-edged sword. It can give you the world and the greatest joy or it can freeze you at your keyboard and–possibly even worse–your reader while they are reading. Finding balance is the key to proper execution. Overloading a book with background info slows the narrative to the point the reader may put the book down and never pick it back up. The flip side is to not give the book enough background detail, when the reader loses interest in the world of the story. The trick is finding a way to weave both together in a seamless way, where the reader is simply enjoying an interesting tale.
But where does that research come from? And how do I conduct it without becoming its slave?
The answer is very carefully.

By the time I start researching, I know the overall arc of the story, the main characters in a general way, where they begin, and where they end. For the most part. I know the literary underpinnings as well as the adventure story that lays over top of them. I do not know many of the details though. Those details are needed to add a depth to the overall story, and those details must be found through research.
In The Dark Thorn, I knew Vatican City would play a central part. One of my point of view characters is a Cardinal Vicar, a man who wishes to keep his flock safe through attained power–no matter the cost to his soul. I knew the conflict at the end of the book would hinge in St. Peter’s Basilica as well. Having not been there, I did not, however, know how my characters would be traveling through its physical confines–or if it were even possible. How many Swiss Guards are posted there at any given time? Is there a police presence? Are entrances watched to keep tourists out? When does the Basilica open and is it guarded at night? So many questions needed answering before I could even attempt to write the scene.
Through my research, I discovered the catacombs beneath St. Peter’s Basilica, which would become an unlikely yet perfect entryway for my army’s invasion. The Popes and dignitaries buried there in their sarcophagi and tombs would make a great backdrop. From a literary point of view, the Vatican, I decided, would be invaded through its past.
It took about a week of just reading about the Vatican. The details filled in–exactly as I needed them to.
And while researching that scene, I gained another story idea for later down the series.
The reason I am writing about research today is because I have begun preliminary research on The Dark Thorn’s sequel, tentatively titled The Winter Wraiths. It takes place in the same settings as the first book, which makes it a bit easier, but the details of certain elements are not yet known to me. For instance, I know there are Celtic druids in the book. According to my earlier readings of Julius Caesar, these druids believed rather firmly in the everlasting nature of the soul. In other words, they believed in reincarnation. While doing my preliminary research last night though I discovered some of the rituals and rites they allegedly performed centering around this notion of life after death. Oak trees and mistletoe were a main focus of their lives.
I will include this in the book–along with many other interesting tidbits that will make the reader feel as though they know the druids of which I write. That research has been key and will continue to be so. I would not have been able to do this if not for it.
As I’ve just shown, research can be a good thing. For this book I need to know about the druids and their way of life, about the city of Vienna, the Danube River and its trek through Romania, and little details like how prolonged winter exposure affects men and women–even plants.
How do I go about finding out what I need to know?
To be honest, it takes a bit of organization, but it has been the same for all three books I have started. I usually start with a simple baseline. I use Google. I use Wikipedia. I use any number of easily referenced materials to get the broadest of understandings about a topic. While reading these sources, I discover details that I want to learn more about. Once on several dozen different paths, I conduct more intensive searches with Google, delving deeper. I also at this time visit the University of Washington and its library system. For two or three weeks I get lost in the stacks, looking through numerous sources. This time, I may even write an email to one of my former professors whose specialty is Celtic history and legend. Undoubtedly he will point me in even more directions to explore.
From the details gleaned in my research, I take notes. Lots of notes. I do this in a .doc file for ease of searching when I am into writing the book. Those notes percolate within, expanding, until someone can ask me a question and I know the answer.
After all of that information has been absorbed, there comes a time when I enter critical mass. It has happened the two previous times and I have no doubt it will happen this time. At that moment when the story is about to explode from me, I have to write. Need to write. I can’t sleep if I am not putting words down. It’s at this point I know I have my story and I begin my outline.
The outline consists of two parts. The first is a simple one page chapter by chapter breakdown of who the POV characters are. The second part is each chapter getting its own file. Into these files I put down details from my research, approximately where I think they should go. For instance, I am fairly sure my research on druids will be put into Chapter 5 and a few other chapters later in The Winter Wraiths.
It is Chapter 5 when I will introduce my naïve female druid character, right before her life is turned upside down and altered forever.
I would not know her as well as I do right now if not for the research I’ve already done. I know I’ll know her better in a week or two. Until then I keep reading and learning. Then I’ll begin writing.
When it comes to research, remember one thing.
Do it well if it needs to be done. Read a lot, be curious, but remember that while writing only a fraction of what you’ve learned will go into the book.
Now I have to get back to my research.
Hope yours goes well too!