With apologies to Bill Shakespeare, I've often wondered how important research is to the writing process. I know with my own stories and novels-in-progress, I like to research the heck out of them before I put word one down to paper, and hope the story flows naturally from there. So what about some of the best selling authors writing crime fiction today? Does research help, does it hurt, does it matter?
PD James is firmly in the "research is good" camp. As she says, "In addition to paying attention to real-life, a huge part of the
writer's job is to research. Often times, this is the best way to make
your characters real--by finding out the facts they would usually know...I
revisit the scene, get advice from experts, and usually consult both
the police and the forensic science laboratory." She does her research personally, and it usually takes months.
Martha Grimes, a U.S. writer who bases her Richard Jury series in the U.K., makes frequent trips there while researching her novels and often learns about human nature along the way. "The notion that most people have of 'researching' is the writer
in a graveyard (or pub) scribbling in a notebook. My 'research'
is both sloppier and more visceral. For instance, I drove around Lincolnshire looking for a pub I'd read
about in some dusty tome on pubs called 'The Red Last,' a name
that I would have loved to use as a title. In the hamlet of Cowbit, near
the wonderfully Sayers-ish-sounding village, Deeping St. Nicholas, I found
a white cottage with 'The Red Last' scrolled over its door...On the other
side of Spaulding, I mentioned this cottage and asked a gentleman sitting
next to me...if he knew what the name meant...'Well, it's like for shoes, innit?' Then the rest of them had to toss in their tuppence about cobblers and 'lasts' for shoes, but all agreeing that's what it must mean-the 'last' for a shoe. Finally, the owner said, 'Maybe it
means the end, say, like in chess, The black goes first, the red
last.' I was stunned by his sheer deductive brilliance. The rest of us had shoes
stuck in our minds and couldn't see around that association."
Tess Gerritsen is another fan of the do-it-yourself research club. "I do all my own research. I learned how important this is, back when I
wrote my thriller GRAVITY, which was set aboard the International Space
Station. I tried to hire a NASA engineer as my researcher, but he told
me something that I've since learned is very true: that the only way to
really understand a subject is to make the discoveries yourself. And
while doing the research, I discover facts that often become new and
unexpected plot twists. I do the bulk of my research before I start writing, partly because I
want to get the 'language' right, and understand the milieu or the time
period, and the way characters in that setting would think. Then while
I write, I'll also look up facts as they become relevant to the story."
That's three yesses from three successful female mystery authors. How about the guys? When Michael Connelly was asked how he researched his book "Void Moon," he said, "The setting was kind of easy. I just stayed over there
for several short visits and I did a lot of the writing of the book
there. Through connections to people in the police and security
businesses I was able to take a tour of the back room security sections
of a hotel/casino. In the book there is a lot about technology and
hidden cameras and so forth. A lot of that came from attending two
conferences in Las Vegas. I do most of my research by simple
observation and absorption of surroundings. So for me to drive over to
Las Vegas and sit in a casino and simply watch people--that to me is
research."
Harlan Coben admits he's not as big on research as many other fiction writers. "I'm more from the, 'Hum a few bars and fake it' genre...Tell you the truth, I do research, but I'm really more concerned with making sure that I am holding you hostage and gripping you. The research has to come secondary. Sometimes a writer uses research as an excuse not to write, not to grip, to tell you cute factoids. I don't want to do that. I want it do it with the story."
Lee Child is even less enthused about the idea of researching novels. "So how do I do research? Not by going to the public library for three
months and taking notes in advance. Problem is, I approach writing the
book with the same excitement and impatience that I hope the reader is
going to feel about reading it. But I need a certain measure of
technical intrigue in the story. So if I'm too impatient to collect
specific facts, where do they come from?...I file away interesting little snippets - not on
paper, but in the back of my mind. Then they eventually float to the
surface and get used. Sometimes my recollection can be a little shaky,
so the honest answer to the question is most of my research involves
clambering around in my basement trying to find dusty old books or
long-forgotten periodicals."
This is hardly a scientific poll or aggregation of mystery writer methods and attitudes, but it's interesting that the women seem more comfortable with the idea. Which doesn't make it good or bad, obviously, since all of the above talented writers are quite sucessful. Like most aspects of writing, it's whatever works for you. And of course, this Blog is here to help, if you need it. Or you can just be like James Lee Burke who says with a laugh, "I've never researched anything, and it probably shows."
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