Writing fiction requires a lot of truth. Well, I guess if an author writes science fiction everything can be made up. But when I write contemporary fiction, I like for aspects of the story to be factual. Having characters visit real locations, noting events that happened on certain dates, and infusing the characters with deep emotions brings a work of fiction to life. When the short story I was writing began to evolve into a novel, I realized how much research truth-infused fiction would require. Good thing I happen to love research!
What to Research
Research can be like falling down a rabbit hole; you never know where it will lead. It can be easy to get lost on the trails, so it’s important to narrow your areas of research. Since it’s a work of fiction not every place or event has to be real. The first step is deciding what you want to be real. Certain situations should be realistically represented out of respect for those who have lived similar experiences. When characters are visiting real sites, you want to make sure the details are correct. It draws a local reader out of the book if characters are visiting a museum on Monday, but that museum is always closed on Mondays.
As I was writing my first book, I decided that many of the places the characters would visit would be real. As the two main characters got to know each other, they visit several tourist locations in their respective hometowns. Some of those places I had been to, and those were easier to incorporate. However, if it had been several years since I had visited, I still researched the location to ensure that what I remembered was still accurate. Other places that seemed natural to the story line, I hadn’t visited. Since the book was set in South Korea and New York, and I live in Colorado, I relied on the Internet to fill in the details.
While their apartment buildings and office buildings were fictional creations, I still wanted them to be realistic. To ensure this, I looked at photos of apartments in South Korea and brownstones in New York, including looking at floor plans. While not all of these details were included in the book, having them in my mind helped me to visualize the places as I wrote the scenes.
Tips for Searching
Once you know what you want to research, the Internet is your best resource. I start with a search engine to see what information a general search will yield. The more specific you can be with your search topics, the more likely you are to find what you’re looking for. If the first combination of words I put in doesn’t yield what I’m looking for, I’ll try different variations until I find what I’m looking for. When I’m looking for ideas for homes, I’ll search real estate in the area and look at several different places on Zillow.com or Realor.com to develop an idea of what types of houses are available in the area.
If I’m looking for places to visit, I go to the tourism site for the area, such as visitkorea.com to find ideas. If I already know places I want the characters to visit, I use the websites for those locations to find the details I’m looking for.
Google Maps, or similar mapping apps or sites, are also helpful when planning out your characters’ lives and haunts. Once you have your characters’ homes located in a neighborhood, pull up a map program and look around. Where would they eat? Would they take public transportation? If so, how far must they walk to access it? My male protagonist has a house on Jeju Island. I used Google Maps to look at the island, found the location for his house, and then explored a coffee shop that would be within walking distance of his home. Photos on the map site left by reviewers helped me to describe the shop’s interior and menu.
Focus on Credibility and Appropriateness
To ensure you are using credible sources for the details, stick to official sites. Tourism sites and location websites will give you the most up-to-date information about the site itself. However, if you start your research with a search engine, the results about your subject will likely span a variety of platforms. The unofficial sites may add depth to your descriptions, and may even provide ideas for your story that you hadn’t thought of before.
Personal blogs and unofficial sites may provide a different perspective on the location. Here’s an example. If you are researching a tourist location, you will likely find several personal blogs detailing the site. These accounts can provide a more personal look at the site. Blogs might detail the best time of time to visit, places to eat in the area, and how helpful the staff is. Details like these can add realism to your description of the location.
When researching for fiction, most sources would be considered appropriate. Personal blogs, reviews, and other unofficial sites will give you details you might not find on official sites. If you are not able to visit personally, reading about the visits of others is a way you can live vicariously through others. You may even find a story from one of these blogs makes its way into your story. Just make sure you are making the scene your own by changing important details.
Incorporating Information
In fiction writing, the information that your research yields will be incorporated into your writing in a variety of ways. It will be used in the description of locations that your characters visit. It may be shown in how you describe the culture your characters live in. Your research may even be used in shaping the characters you are writing and their experiences. Most of the information will be worked in using your own words, although occasionally you might quote information that you found. If a character is struggling with a mental health issue, for example, you may want quote a source through a character that is a therapist.
Learn More
If you would like more information on research and fiction, here are three sources that I found helpful. Jake Wolff on Literary Hub (https://lithub.com/on-the-fine-art-of-researching-for-fiction/) talks about when your writing becomes too much research and not enough fiction. As you become familiar with a topic, this is certainly a problem you might face. Jack Smith’s article on The Writer (https://www.writermag.com/improve-your-writing/fiction/research-in-fiction/) discusses how in depth your research should go and how to select the best details to incorporate into your story. Alexandra Chang’s article on J. Robert Lennon on Cornell’s site (https://research.cornell.edu/news-features/research-fiction-writing) encourages fiction writers to seek out nontraditional sources, including eavesdropping.
Amy G. Park 