Did someone say Research?

Researching for a new piece of writing can be as simple as looking at a map and as complicated as using the map.  When traveling to the place you are writing about isn't possible it's time to turn to what others have written.  While I use the internet I also know that about 50% of what is on the internet is crap with no basis in fact and no reference to reality.  Why do I say this?  Because the "I read it on the internet so it must be true" meme is based in that reality. Without the capability to follow the logic in some form of annotation such as footnotes or a bibliography question your source be it in print, face to face contact or on the internet.  Wikipedia by the way is not a good source.  Why does everyone from your English teacher to me say that?  Because anyone can and will update Wikipedia; this gives it questionable content.

My favorite place to verify what I find on a Google search that doesn't have a backstory to it?  Right back on Google. If all of the "facts" lead right back to the original author then sadly it's time to start over. Without independent verification the facts are not real. Unless you are writing Science Fiction or Alternative History it's best to have your facts straight.

Why do you (or I) do all of this? To make our story more believable. If you are writing about Christmas in Australia you should probably know it happens in the middle of their summer not winter. It hurts the believably of a story for it to have a glaring error that isn't explained. If in your AH Australia is now in the Northern Hemisphere it would make since for Australia to have Christmas in winter, in our world not so much.

I have a new and excellent source for my research:  The Oxford Press, combine this with your local interlibrary loan program and you are going to know everything about EVERYTHING! Currently I am researching for my NaNoWriMo book "Live" and I am reading about Ancient Egypt, China and Greece; Medicine, Farming and Preaching; New Orleans, Mexico City, and London.  The background I give myself now will fill my book with authentic details so that when the story happens people are following it and thinking about it.

If you do know something to be true or you are an expert in a field then, of course, you don't need to research it...or do you? Sometimes double checking your facts doesn't hurt.  My family has bred and shown dogs for over 40 years.  My Mother worked as a vet tech for a significant portion of that time. If I am working on a story about dogs there are going to be parts I can and will write about with complete confidence. Those parts do not need to be double checked, I KNOW them. Then there are the parts I know, or think I do. If there is even a little bit of uncertainty then you should double check your facts.

Here's a great thing about fiction that turns all of what I have written on it's ear:  It's NOT supposed to be true.  If a fact doesn't align with your story AND you can give a plausible reason in your story that it is not true in your world then who cares?  If you don't have a plausible reason but it doesn't jar the story then who cares? Just remember that the person who cares could be a reader or worse a publisher.

Love what I am doing and want to see more?  I am now on Patreon.