Most Research Intensive Novel You've Written?

gothicangel

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What's yours?

My current WIP is currently making me feel more like a historian, and less than a novelist each day. Just when I think I've got my history straight, a different historian makes me realise I've got my legions in the wrong place. :flag:

Anyway, so far my research is consisting of:

- The Bar Kokhba Revolt itself (and archaeology);
- Jewish History (especially the First Revolt);
- Jewish Culture;
- Structure of the Roman Army;
- What is life like as a soldier;
- Geography of Israel and Syria, and what did it look like in 2nd century CE.

I've come to the decision that this is going to be the most difficult book yet. Should I be enjoying the research this much? :evil
 

Chris P

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I'm having a blast (no pun intended) researching WWI. What's nice is that it is so well documented (especially compared to the Middle East of 2000 years ago). One thing I got wrong between the first drafts of the early scenes and when I got a good enough connection to watch documentaries on YouTube is how many horses the army used. They're everywhere! Six horses to pull a a single artillery piece, plus supply wagons, and not to mention thousands of cavalry troops. It would have taken thousands of people just to care for the animals. I think contemporary writers (memoirists, All Quiet on the Western Front, etc) took for granted this aspect of it that only comes through in watching the films.

But the most research intensive project was a modern-day Africa travel novel where the characters go from Cairo to Cape Town. I spent hours on Lonely Planet, TripAdvisor, TravelBlog, YouTube, and of course Google Earth. It was all worth it. When I got to go to Zanzibar back in July I knew more than the tour guide did about the slave market and cathedral. The only thing I got wrong was that a bicycle tour of Stone Town would not have taken the three or so hours I allotted to it. The walking tour only takes 90 minutes.
 

angeliz2k

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I'd say the trunked novel I wrote about Boudica's rebellion was the most research-intensive, but I still don't think I researched it enough. I had to research everything from the Circus Maximus to everyday food/drink of the time, not to mention the various accounts of the rebellion.

My research on pre-revolutionary France was fairly intensive. I read an entire book that was (basically) all about interior decoration. To be fair, they took their interior decoration VERY seriously at the time! I read bios and memoirs of the important folks in my story . . . and of course Frances Mossiker's The Queen's Necklace is still one of my prized possessions.

For my most recent WIP's, I was familiar enough with the general milieu (Antebellum and Civil War America) that I really only needed to research specific points (what is the growing season for rice? how much might cotton sell for? et cetera). I also did some thoroughly enjoyable research on the history of Washington DC, where I live and where part of one WIP is set. These stories probably required the least intensive research on my part.

I'm having a blast (no pun intended) researching WWI. What's nice is that it is so well documented (especially compared to the Middle East of 2000 years ago). One thing I got wrong between the first drafts of the early scenes and when I got a good enough connection to watch documentaries on YouTube is how many horses the army used. They're everywhere! Six horses to pull a a single artillery piece, plus supply wagons, and not to mention thousands of cavalry troops. It would have taken thousands of people just to care for the animals. I think contemporary writers (memoirists, All Quiet on the Western Front, etc) took for granted this aspect of it that only comes through in watching the films.

But the most research intensive project was a modern-day Africa travel novel where the characters go from Cairo to Cape Town. I spent hours on Lonely Planet, TripAdvisor, TravelBlog, YouTube, and of course Google Earth. It was all worth it. When I got to go to Zanzibar back in July I knew more than the tour guide did about the slave market and cathedral. The only thing I got wrong was that a bicycle tour of Stone Town would not have taken the three or so hours I allotted to it. The walking tour only takes 90 minutes.

Well, they could take it at a leisurely pace, stop for lunch or a drink of water, and take three hours doing it...
 

donroc

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For me, all my HF novels, ROCAMORA, HOUSE OF ROCAMORA, and my completed WIP BODO required intensive research for two reasons.

1. I want to get the times, climate, clothing, food, flora and fauna, and customs, even what made people in 17th century Spain and Amsterdam and the 9th century Carolingian Empire laugh, as correct as possible.

2. I write about sparsely documented historical personages who led exceptional lives and try to discover new information not generally published or even unpublished.
 

Siri Kirpal

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Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

Since I'm currently writing my first historical, my wip is it.

I'm researching for the 1910s, the 1970s and a bit of the Victorian era, mostly for Oregon. Oddly, the 1970s are the hardest. I have talked to people who were in my target group in my target cities at the time, but there's little online and little in the way of books. I was alive at the time, but not in this part of the world.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal
 

Radzeer

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It's not a whole novel, but a few chapters that deal with trade in the Black Sea region in the 11th century. I tried to give a accurate portrayal of ships used in that period, and that has been a major headache. The fact that I am not an expert sailor did not help either. It's like I had a new language to learn first (ship parts, navigation etc.) :)
 

Nikweikel

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My current WIP. It's a historical mystery, and the prime suspects are Machiavelli assistants in the Florentine government.

They are famous enough that their letters have survived, but not famous enough that I have any idea what they looked like.
 

Maxx

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I'm having a blast (no pun intended) researching WWI. What's nice is that it is so well documented (especially compared to the Middle East of 2000 years ago). One thing I got wrong between the first drafts of the early scenes and when I got a good enough connection to watch documentaries on YouTube is how many horses the army used. They're everywhere! Six horses to pull a a single artillery piece, plus supply wagons, and not to mention thousands of cavalry troops. It would have taken thousands of people just to care for the animals. I think contemporary writers (memoirists, All Quiet on the Western Front, etc) took for granted this aspect of it that only comes through in watching the films.

Maybe, but in Robert Graves Good-bye to all That, he mentions the "borrowing" of properly matched teams as a skill at which his regiment's (the Royal Welch) first battalion excelled. At one point a shell hits the ration wagon and Graves and his sergant major go back to investigate and track down the horses for a whole night. They don't find them, but he later learns that the horses were taken back from some gunners who were staining the horses and removing the regimental marks.
 

PaulLev

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That would be Unburning Alexandria - published last year - which required extensive research about what was lost (or what we think was lost) and what survived the repeated burnings of the ancient library.
 

chompers

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I'm having a blast (no pun intended) researching WWI. What's nice is that it is so well documented (especially compared to the Middle East of 2000 years ago). One thing I got wrong between the first drafts of the early scenes and when I got a good enough connection to watch documentaries on YouTube is how many horses the army used. They're everywhere! Six horses to pull a a single artillery piece, plus supply wagons, and not to mention thousands of cavalry troops. It would have taken thousands of people just to care for the animals. I think contemporary writers (memoirists, All Quiet on the Western Front, etc) took for granted this aspect of it that only comes through in watching the films.

But the most research intensive project was a modern-day Africa travel novel where the characters go from Cairo to Cape Town. I spent hours on Lonely Planet, TripAdvisor, TravelBlog, YouTube, and of course Google Earth. It was all worth it. When I got to go to Zanzibar back in July I knew more than the tour guide did about the slave market and cathedral. The only thing I got wrong was that a bicycle tour of Stone Town would not have taken the three or so hours I allotted to it. The walking tour only takes 90 minutes.
Hi, can you direct me to some good reference links? My WIP is also partly WWI, and I'm having trouble finding information, which surprised me (but then again, I'm not good at Googling). I keep finding WWII stuff instead.

Anyways, to answer the question of this thread, this WIP is my most research intensive:

WWI
Louisiana (both 1918 and present day)
Cajun culture
dream interpretation
and some other stuff I can't remember right now

The second book will be even more difficult and will require research into the psyche of a serial killer.
 

triceretops

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Dispossessed Incorporated features a drug addict from the 60s, from Seal Beach, California, a gangster from 1930s Chicago, and a prostitute from 1910 New York. Each different segment is nearly 100 pages long and I had to research everything about each era to get it right. I used several old maps and read a lot of old newspaper clippings. But it took a long time.

tri
 

Chris P

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Hi, can you direct me to some good reference links? My WIP is also partly WWI, and I'm having trouble finding information, which surprised me (but then again, I'm not good at Googling). I keep finding WWII stuff instead.

Holy cow, Chompers, I totally missed your reply!

One of the best WWI memoirs I've read so far is "My Year of the War" and its (less informative) sequel "My Second Year of the War" by Frederick Palmer. Both are available for free via Guttenberg. Palmer was a reporter so went all over the lines and gives a good overview of soldier life in the trenches, aviators, artillery, etc. YouTube also has a bunch of documentaries posted. Those from the BBC are particularly good, as you'd expect.

For life in the heat of battle, "All Quiet on the Western Front" is not only a good read but also seems to be quite accurate based on the memoirs I've read.

For non-fic history-type books, "The Guns of August" by Barbara Tuchman is a classic and makes sense of the crazy array of political treaties and mutual assurances that caught everyone by surprise, and how people thought in terms of 1800s-style limited engagements that were a thing of the past with the mechanization of modern warfare.

Wikipedia articles of particular battles are likely to be accurate in their overall details, since enough WWI enthusiasts are surely contributing to the articles.

Send me a PM if you have specific questions, although I'm by no means an expert!
 

gothicangel

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Turned into an interesting thread. :)

I'm still working on the research (plot is coming along nicely though), and consoling myself that it's research that will last three books.
 

chompers

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Holy cow, Chompers, I totally missed your reply!

One of the best WWI memoirs I've read so far is "My Year of the War" and its (less informative) sequel "My Second Year of the War" by Frederick Palmer. Both are available for free via Guttenberg. Palmer was a reporter so went all over the lines and gives a good overview of soldier life in the trenches, aviators, artillery, etc. YouTube also has a bunch of documentaries posted. Those from the BBC are particularly good, as you'd expect.

For life in the heat of battle, "All Quiet on the Western Front" is not only a good read but also seems to be quite accurate based on the memoirs I've read.

For non-fic history-type books, "The Guns of August" by Barbara Tuchman is a classic and makes sense of the crazy array of political treaties and mutual assurances that caught everyone by surprise, and how people thought in terms of 1800s-style limited engagements that were a thing of the past with the mechanization of modern warfare.

Wikipedia articles of particular battles are likely to be accurate in their overall details, since enough WWI enthusiasts are surely contributing to the articles.

Send me a PM if you have specific questions, although I'm by no means an expert!
Thank you so much for the recommendations! I will be sure to check them out!
 

Taylor Harbin

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I haven't written my most intensive novel yet, but I will begin the research before the year is out, after I finish my current WIP.

I've already put four books on order, which might not be enough. I have to learn about German colonies, how they were made, race relations, everyday life in said colonies, the civil and military structure, and of course, the fighting itself. That's not including coming up with characters, a plot, and the fact that I've never done anything like it before!

Kinda terrifying, but I'm excited.

Chris, what's your WWI novel set against? War against the Ottomans?
 

ishtar'sgate

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I did tons of research, over a couple years, on my medieval novel. My current wip isn't taking as much research. I don't think it's that I'm not researching as thoroughly but that I've figured out how much information I actually need from writing the first one.
 

firedrake

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To date- the one that's about to be released (see avatar)

<-------------

It's set in Central Asia and Russia, and it took some serious digging to get the stuff that I needed, plus the marvel that is Google Earth to work out how my MCs got from Bokhara to the mouth of the Volga River.

The one I'm writing at the moment, which is mainly set in St Petersburg/Petrograd during WW1, the Bolshevik Uprising and the Civil War will end up being my most extensively researched one, I reckon.
 

KaelynMiller

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the marvel that is Google Earth to work out how my MCs got from Bokhara to the mouth of the Volga River.

I did this also, to add realism to military operations in 4th century Scythia. It was kind of fun, actually, but also more time-consuming than I thought it would be. It was also a challenge finding enough information on deforestation patterns to estimate the tree cover in the region 1640 years ago.
 

Flicka

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The one I'm working on now. But to be fair, it's also because it keeps shifting. It started out set in one period, derailed into another and may even have slipped back even further in time. Plus I knew absolutely nothing about the world pre-1700 when I started (OK, exaggeration since I have a degree in history and we read little but the c17th in school, but still – next to nothing).

So right now, it's late 1630s or early 1620s, and since it includes the rich and famous, I find myself having to go back to the 16th century every now and then, just to figure out my characters' backgrounds (and how they are related, which is like playing Seven Degrees of Mary Boleyn because, geez, did that woman have A LOT of descendants - I made chart of them from MB to about 1680 and it took up 21 pages in Word).

It didn't help that I moved in the middle of it all and had absolutely no time for research for about 4-5 months... BUT I am hanging in there. :)
 

snafu1056

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To date- the one that's about to be released (see avatar)

<-------------

It's set in Central Asia and Russia, and it took some serious digging to get the stuff that I needed, plus the marvel that is Google Earth to work out how my MCs got from Bokhara to the mouth of the Volga River.

Careful. The Aral sea used to be a lot bigger. You might want to check some historical atlases to make sure your route doesnt pass through places that wouldve been under water in the past. The Caspian sea has shrunken quite a bit too in a relatively short span of time.
 
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Madame de Plume

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My current WIP is the most intensive research I've ever done. It is set during the Napoleonic Wars in France, England, and Prussia so far. More countries may be added later (Russia, Spain, etc). The French Revolution also plays a huge part so I've had to brush up on a lot of my history in that area as well. It's a lot more work than I originally thought it would be. :)