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Conducting
Research to Achieve Realism in Your Fiction Most writers would agree that achieving realism in a fiction and fully developing its characters are critical drivers of its success. That is why it is so important to conduct valid research–by valid, I mean from an expert or reputable source, a real challenge in this age of technology. However, it is a challenge necessary to compete against best-selling authors like Stephen King, John Grisham, Joyce Reardon, and others. Not only does valid research bring about more realism to your fiction, it also increases its perfectionism and helps to develop likable and respectable characters. With the approximately 60,000 books due to be published this year, it is imperative to produce the most wholly realistic novel you possibly can to compete in this highly competitive book market. Below are a few ways or methods by which you can acquire valid research for your novel and fully develop its characters. Interview people who are experts in the fields related
to your fiction Investigate, conduct interviews, and ask questions of experts related to your fiction’s theme. People are excellent sources of information. Example: Let’s say you have a cop in your story. The best way to ascertain what a cop does or says when he’s on duty, or how he/she reacts in any given situation, is to ask a cop. So dial 3-1-1, a non-emergency number, and ask to be connected to your local police station. Detectives respond eager to provide relevant data to callers seeking information about their work. Another good example: If you want to report in your novel exactly what is said when somebody in your story dials 9-1-1. Again, dial 9-1-1 and find out. But be sure to change the particulars of the response, such as his/her name. However, it is not such a good idea to tie up an emergency line for non-emergency calls. But, sometimes, for the sake of adding realism to your story, you have to weigh whether it’s beneficial or not to cross the line to inappropriateness to achieve your goal. Further, let’s say you want to write about the life of a star. And interview that particular celebrity. You may be able to find his/her address and phone number in the latest copy of Current Biography at your local library or on the Internet. Please keep in mind that this reference vehicle only includes the addresses of celebrities who wish to be on the list. You may also scan the Writer’s Marketplace and the Literary Market, both reference books available at your local library, for suggestions on how to contact people for your research. In my fiction due to be released this fall, A Conspiracy to Ponder (http://www.aconspiracytoponder.com), it was my literary agent, an accomplished Ph.D., who sent me to the library to conduct research to develop one of my fiction’s themes. I sent her my manuscript. She read it and suggested I split the book into two books and get serious. I did. She told me the central plot of my book was actually taking place all over the world, largely in China, India, and Saudi Arabia. Per her instruction, I visited my local library and read all the actual, real-life stories I could find related to my main theme. I searched both the Internet and microfiche for relative newspaper and magazine articles. Countless stories appeared, all interesting, but sadly and horrifically intriguing. Then I fictionalized all the accounts, even magnifying a few, to make my story as realistic and thought provoking as possible. All in a way so that people can ponder the frightening consequences of what could become reality if they continue to take the quietude of night and day for granted. Also bringing to people’s attention how a significant few, all around the world, value their lives above all others. After my research, I also incorporated into my story one of the two main characters, a reporter from China, who lends his insightfulness and eagerness to get to the bottom of what’s going on. To develop my fiction’s characters in A Conspiracy to Ponder, I actually called the Chicago Police Department a few times. I also explored the Britannica Encyclopedia for facts related to China; called the airlines for actual flight schedules for China; and tapped into a host of other resources to obtain actual information to provide realism to my storyline and characters. Explore the Internet with discretion As quoted by the Chicago Public Library, “The Internet is a worldwide network of computers that ‘talk’ to each other and share information across phone lines.” It is considered by the public libraries to be one of the best reference and resource tools for accessing information these days. Example: Let’s say you’re writing a story about Lena Horne and you need some background material. Just type in “lenahorne.com” in the URL address field at the top of the World Wide Web home page and depress “Go” or “Enter.” Instantly, countless articles and other pertinent information on the singing and acting diva’s life and career appear for your accessibility. Scan the articles related to your area of interest. Analyze what elements apply to your novel’s theme. Write down everything useful and relevant to your plot. Then write your version. Do not plagiarize. Always use quotation marks when you’re quoting anything somebody else previously stated. And it’s a good idea to use footnotes or endnotes for any quoted material referenced in your text or story. Reiterating, when I typed my theme in the URL address field at the top of the World Wide Web, countless newspaper and magazine articles appeared. Visit your local library Also at your local library you can navigate the World Wide Web (WWW), the most popular and user-friendly search engine, and other search engines like YAHOO. However, the World Wide Web and YAHOO are just two sections of the Internet. There are other search engines, e.g. Google!, Webcrawler, Lycos, Snap, Go Network, Altavista, MiningCo, DOGPILE, and Ask Jeeves. In addition, there are reference and Internet books and circulars at your local library solely devoted to the Internet, which contain articles that offer helpful hints to first time users with cool sites to visit. Just a few include: 1) “YAHOO! – Ultimate desk reference to the Web; your indispensable companion to the Internet”; 2) “World Wide Web for Beginners, a US Borne Computer Guides” circular; 3) “The Internet For Dummies: A Reference for the Rest of Us!”; 4) “internet cool guideTM: entertainment – A savvy guide to the hottest entertainment sites (www.internetcoolguide.com)”; and 5) “World Wide Web Searching For Dummies: A Reference for the Rest of Us!” Other resources that may aid in your research are periodicals, videotapes, talking books, subject books, The Library of Congress (http://lcweb.loc.gov), Internet Public Library (http://ipl.sils.umich.edu), American Library Association (http://www.ala.org), World Wide Web Consortium (http://www.w3.org), The World Wide Web FAQ (http://www.boutell.com) (click on "WWW FAQs" under "Information"), Encyclopedia (http://Enclocypedia.com),Yahoo (http://www.yahoo.com and http://search.yahoo.writers.net), Internet Exploration (http://gower.net/Explore/Explore.html) Ask your librarian for other useful resources that will validate your research and enhance your story. Your public library also offers E-Mail Reference Service, which provides answers to basic information requests or direction to specific reference resources. Your requests may be more appropriately handled by using other public library resources or services. Read the works of like experts of fiction for
guidance Read the works of like experts of fiction related to your fiction’s theme. Take notes of how they developed their themes and characters. Also read past and present newspaper and magazine articles for interesting related themes and/or characters. Experts or people who have actually experienced what you are writing about often write them. Again, be careful not to plagiarize and don’t mimic their themes and characters. In my first creative writing class, my professor assigned us six books to read by well-known authors such as Maya Angelou, Richard Wright, James Agee, Hubert Selby, Jr., and others, and six book reports due by the end of the semester. He also asked us to always bring a book to class ready to recite a paragraph or two. This developed both our writing and reciting skills. In conclusion, I can go on and on introducing resources for realistic fiction writing. But I will end here, reinforcing that producing a believable fiction with likable and respectable characters is critical for its success. There are countless resources you can explore to conduct your research to add realism to it. Whatever resource you decide to use to conduct your research, discriminately explore it, especially the Internet, and sift through it with the utmost caution. Remember, you will be held accountable for everything you say or do. Everybody is writing articles and setting up web pages on the Internet these days claiming to be an expert, whether they are an expert or not. Therefore, it would be a good idea to double-check the data you obtain with experts and against other resources for validity. The best of luck to you in achieving realism in your fiction.
THE AUTHOR OF "A CONSPIRACY TO PONDER" List Price: $18.00, Our Price: $16.20; You Save: $ 1.80 (10%); Total Price including Shipping & Handling $21.05
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