Way back in the 1980s (remember those days?) Bodie Thoene came onto the Christian fiction scene with her Zion Covenant and Zion Chronicle series, detailing pre-WWII Europe and post-WWII Israel. I fell in love with those books. With Murphy and Elisa. With David and Ellie. I’m sure a lot of you remember those books and loved them just as much as I did.
I knew then that I was going to be a historical fiction writer. I knew it! Why? Because I loved how the Thoenes researched their time period and drew out such minuscule and fascinating details. Tidbits I’d never heard in history class but tidbits that made history come alive and grab me. I wanted to do that.
So I wrote a historical. And got lost, completely lost, in the research.
It was fascinating! So much stuff I’d never heard before! I could have researched for hours. And I did.
Somehow, my writing tastes changed to contemporary fiction, and I do think part of it was because of the research. Writing contemporary fiction would be so much easier in comparison. Right? Because I was living it. How hard could it be to write about the time period I’m living in?
Ahem.
Saturday night I was watching Live PD. It’s a TV show that follows different police officers on their beat in almost live time. They follow different units across the country, so they’re jumping from one unit to another as something happens. And I told one of my kids, only partly joking, “This is writing research.”
One of my go-to spots for writing.
That got me thinking about the variety of things I’ve had to research as a contemporary author. Off the top of my head I’ve researched divorce, child custody, and surrogacy laws in multiple states. I’ve researched the difference between psychiatrists and psychologists (which I would now have to refer back to my notes because I can not keep that straight!), and I know far more about a specific type of ankle sprain than I ever cared to know. When writing Kept, I just about lived on Google Earth so that I could get the terrain and buildings of Chicago’s Grant Park exactly right. I’ve researched different cars to find the perfect vehicle for my male characters and created lists of phrases and words real men their age would say. I’ve researched what it feels like to be tased and how to kill someone in a very specific way (sorry — no spoilers here!). I’ve spent time on realty sites, looking for the perfect location and home and spent hours watching shows that gave me a deeper insight into the life of the professional athlete.
Another favorite writing spot here in Kansas.
It’s amazing to me how often something comes up in my story that I know nothing about. Nothing! And I have to stop and do a crash course on it until I get the information I need. There’s even a book idea I’ve had for over a decade that I don’t have scheduled because the amount of research involved is daunting.
But that research pays off, doesn’t it? I know all kinds of historical trivia, random facts, stuff like that. It’s really good for surprising your husband. :)
And, hopefully, it’s really good for creating awesome fiction.
You readers, what are things you’ve learned from novels you’ve read? Any random facts or cool trivia you remember? Here’s a cool trivia fact from me. My kids are out of school! Homeschooling is over for the year. So I’ll be checking comments here a whole lot earlier today. Looking forward to chatting with you all!
Sally Bradley writes big-city fiction with real issues and real hope. A Chicagoan since age five, Sally has been fascinated by all things Chicago (except for crime, politics, and traffic) for almost as long. She now lives in the Kansas City area with her family, but they get back to Chicago for important things -- like good pizza and a White Sox game. A freelance-fiction editor and former president of her writing chapter, Sally has won a handful of awards for Kept and another work-in-progress. Visit her online at sallybradley.com or on Facebook.
Hi Sally, enjoy your holidays:) I LOVE the Thoene’s Zion series. Thoene books got me hooked on reading, and I have vivid memories of hours spent reading and still re-reading them; I even recommend them to my history students!! The best books, the most believable books are those that are ‘real’ ie. well researched!! Thanks for your insights, looking forward to your next book also:)
Blessings:)
Hi Sally! As a young adult I read the Thoene series and enjoyed them. As a reader, I enjoy reading either historical or contemporary fiction that is well researched. As a retired teacher, I often pause in my reading to read additional information, especially when read books for book club. Over the years reading, I have gleamed interesting facts about many settings – Africa, Australia, Great Britain, Canada, etc. A real arm chair traveler. I also learned about sustainable farming, bee keeping, and a whole variety of different occupations, plus medical conditions. Keep up the research and happy writing.
I was so glad I discovered Bodie Thoene’s books after she’d written several, because I devoured them!
Enjoyed reading about all your research!
I always enjoy reading about research, a great joy in my life.
Wemble, I’ve reread Vienna Prelude I don’t know how many times. I’d really like to read that whole series again. It’s just a time issue. Those are not small books.
Renate, I like that phrase–arm chair traveler. That’s it exactly. And how fun that reading can send you off to read more about a topic. I’ve had that happen myself, particularly with historical novels. There’s just so much to learn, and it’s so entertaining, isn’t it?
Margaret, she and her husband have so many out now. I confess I haven’t read them all. Have you? Or are you still working on some series?
Linda, is your researching just for fun or part of a job?
My mother-in-law gave us the Zion Chronicles over twenty years ago. In all of our moves, it is one of the book series that I’ve kept. I just started to lend the first two books of the prequel series to a friend. They are great writers, yes, because they research very well. They are a great team! Such interesting background information in these books. That is what makes it come alive for me! Sarah Sundin’s books are like that: WWII. I love history and historical fiction for just those reasons you stated. Tamera Alexander’s Belmont Mansion, Belle Meade Plantation series are some more. I’ve read about the Chicago World Exposition, the fire and St. Louis history also ( I lived near Chicago growing up and lived in STL for twenty years). Great stuff . I still think books based on real events have a certain quality to them. Thanks for this post!
Sally, thank you! I am so grateful you put the time and effort into research for your contemporary stories. So many writers make the gigantic mistake of NOT researching because they think living it is enough. As a copyeditor, this frustrates me drastically, because there are a billion details that must be double-checked in EVERY book, not just historical ones. Job security for me, I suppose, but it sure makes my job easier when the authors already check their research and I don’t have to point out obvious errors.
I used to be one of those writers who didn’t think you had to research much (the former me would have annoyed the current me to pieces!). Then I got some great advice from Beth Vogt, which had to be tough to give — but I completely appreciated it! From there on, I’ve always put in the extra time to look up the facts I needed to confirm or fix the things in my contemporary stories. We all live and learn, and I’m grateful for those who have already been there who are now willing to share their advice and wisdom with the up-and-coming writers out there.
Happy writing!
LOL, yes, research! It chews up so much time, and it’s so much fun it’s way too easy to let it chew up more than it needs to!
Whether it’s simple things (like right now, I need to look up the flight schedule from Spokane to NYC in July, to be sure I have my hero getting back to NYC at a realistic time!), to adoption law in specific states, to medical questions, to walking up and down on Google Street View to get the feel for a neighborhood, it’s all interesting.
I wanted to write historicals. Not too long ago, I planned and began what was going to be a sweeping family saga, big fat novels, starting in 1830 and ending in the 1960’s, with each generations’ romance at the center of each book. I spent a solid month on nothing but research 8 hours a day for Book 1, learning all sorts of fascinating details I never knew about colonial history. Halfway through drafting Book 1 (already a mammoth 70k, and they hadn’t even arrived yet!), it hit me.
I’d need to do that much research every time.
Every. Single. Story.
I realized then why so many historical authors go deep into one time period and set ALL their books there! Needless to say, my family saga has been shelved for now. ;)
Going into a story, I don’t always know what I need to know. Since I’m not a plotter research often comes along as I write. I’m so thankful for the Internet for research.
This is the first I read bout Thoene’s Zion series, but the first thing that comes to mind when I think Christian chronicle series is CS Lewis’s Narnia. I’ve read those books when I was a teen and loved everyone of it. I’ve even cried in The Last Battle.
Of course it is a parallel universe and I appreciate the detailed descriptions just as much as I appreciate getting correct description of an existing place. (Thanks for all your hard research—or many hours spent online!)
Paula, “they” always say truth is stranger than fiction, right? Maybe that’s part of what makes historical so gripping — knowing that this scenario really happened!
Andrea, odds are that someone in the know will read your book and catch your mistakes, right? You’re so right — checking is a lot of work. Sometimes we writers fear it’ll ruin our plot, and while I’ve had that happen a time or two, it made me think harder about how to fix it and gave me a stronger story. So there’s that.
Happy writing to you too!
Autumn, exactly! And those authors that do different time periods? I’m in awe. Truly. I can’t even imagine all that work!
Merrillee, sounds like we write in very similar fashions. :)
You made me think, Priscila — how much research do fantasy writers have to do? I’m sure there’s some. As much as we make things up out of thin air, that’s still really never the case. I’m really curious about this now! :)
I can’t remember any random trivia I’ve learned right off, but I know there is a lot. I credit my Jeopardy skills on my love of reading!
There you go! Read a lot, read widely, and win big on Jeopardy. ;) Sounds like a great book meme.
I’ve learned more about the orphan trains & Children’s Aid Society in the late 1850’s from Jody Hedlund’s newest book “With You Always”. She does an amazing amount of research for her books and it shows! I’ve learned about the Moral Society from Melissa Jagears first two books; “A Heart Most Certain” and “A Love So True”. There’s so much history to learn through fiction, especially when an author does their homework in the form of research :-) It’s why historical fiction will always be my favorite genre.
As for suspense, I’ve learned a whole lot about K-9 officers and how wide their skills are. From bomb sniffing dogs to cadaver dogs (those who can find a dead body), to search and rescue, tracking dogs, etc. I think K-9 stories are among my favorite when it comes to suspense :-)
I’ve found lots of things that I’ve learned through the pages of a book! Even a few “Ah Ha” moments!
Isn’t it fun? There’s no way good fiction is a waste, is there? And, hey, learning can be so entertaining!
I remember the Thoene books. I really enjoyed them as a young mom and read many of them while nursing one of my babies. It’s funny because I don’t enjoy a lot of historical fiction now. I much prefer contemporary fiction, including your books, Sally! Although I have read and re-read all of Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin series and loved every word.
Thank you, Katie! I have to say I’ve not heard of the author you mentioned. I’ll have to check him out.
A great post, Sally. Thank you so much. For years I have heard of the Thoene books and now sorry to have to confess only earlier this year did I read the first book in the Zion Covenant and became hooked on them! I also discovered how much research I needed to do to “get it right” when I wrote my four historical Heartsong Presents books for Barbour. Am thrilled they are now avaiIable as e-books but I did have to decide the time I had to write could not include THAT kind of research so returned to contemporary books.