Blogger: Michelle Ule
Location: Books & Such main office, Santa Rosa, Calif.
“Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose.”
~ Zora Neale Hurston
The research process feels very familiar. I spent five years working on my family history before self-publishing Pioneer Stock in 2001. Back in the fading years of the last century before the explosion of the Internet, most of my work was done in libraries. I spent countless hours pouring through microfilm and microfiche hunting up names on census records. I visited genealogical libraries in Honolulu, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Fort Wayne and Washington, D.C., not to mention Santa Rosa and Ukiah, Calif.
I interviewed people in Utah, South Carolina, Maryland, eastern Texas and points in between. I persevered through the woods of Maryland and found where my family first lived in the 17th century–a house that may be the oldest one still being used as a home in Maryland.
I read countless books scanning for familiar names, hoping for the merest reference and combing through indexes. I learned how to use Soundex cards to examine census records and befriended countless helpful librarians and assistants at Family Research Centers. I poured over maps and plumbed the depths of the early Family Tree Maker computer programs.
I loved it.
My family thought I was crazy.
I explained my fascination this way: Genealogy is like a puzzle. My current family was the finished puzzle; the trick was to work backwards and find all the pieces that went into making us the people we are.
But that’s genealogy, and I know the end product. Right now I’m trying to understand the time and place where my characters lived and how they got there and what will happen next.
Using the skills I picked up in the past, I applied myself to my characters’ genealogies–who were they to start with? What was their birth order? Did any siblings die young? How would their past affect their decision making in the story? Who did they live with?
I don’t have a membership to Ancestry.com, but I do have a library card for the Sonoma County Library, and working through their website (and using my library card number), I was able to access census documents through the Sonoma County Genealogical Library. Four clicks, and I was in!
Information that 15 years ago would have required multiple trips to the library, request cards, money and wait, came up on the screen within seconds. It was clear, blow-up-able and exactly what I needed on the right page. I couldn’t believe it.
(Frankly, I don’t know why every person in the whole world hasn’t worked out his or her genealogy–this is SO much easier than what I did!)
I saved the file to a folder on my desktop. I can examine it whenever I want.
Census records are considered primary resource materials because the information came from the actual people whose names are on the census records. If those names could speak, in essence, I would be able to hear my ancestors’ voices–and potential ancestors for my characters.
Doesn’t that possibility sound shiver-exciting to you?
Think how that could add to the character profile you’re putting together.
Of course, the best “score” is when you can find photos of the people you’re researching. I wrote about that in a recent personal blog here.
In trying to make the characters come alive, we need to figure out the sensory aspects of them. If your hero is a butcher, well, use your imagination. If your heroine is a professional guitar player, does she manicure her fingernails a certain way? If one of your characters has hemophilia, what does the blood smell like? If a pastry chef lives in a cloud of sugar all day, what happens to her hair?
Research will tell you all these things.
I keep a running list as I read of further details to find out. The more factual information I can include in my writing, the more real it seems.
And isn’t that what we’re looking for? A real, sensory, emotional experience?
How can facts be used to provide the background that makes readers feel like they’re really in a different time or place?
What’s your take on the importance of research in your writing?
Lynn Dean
I love slipping subtle historical facts into my writing. My favorite was the sloshing barrel strapped to the side of my characters’ covered wagon. They were traveling with a baby. Cloth diapers went into the barrel of soapy water to wash along the way and be hung out overnight to dry.
My favorite research, though, was finding the name of an actual crime victim from my story’s inciting incident. Because the victim was a slave boy, there was little personal information, so I began with the name of the perpetrator. A genealogy search revealed that he brought his household, including the number of slaves, to Texas from Louisiana. Louisiana sales records gave me the names of the family’s servants (slaves could be brought to Texas, but not bought or sold here), but “my” boy was too young to be on that list. Finally found a detailed account of the investigation on microfilm at the Federal Archives in Fort Worth, and there it was! The name of the young victim handwritten by the adjutant of the Freedman’s Bureau agent! After four years, it gave me immense satisfaction to give that boy a legacy.
A postscript: I phoned my mom, also an avid researcher, to share the news. “I found him! His name was Tony McCrary, and I also found the men who hurt him, the sleazy lawyer who got them off, and the judge who looked the other way.” My mom sighed and asked, “Did you find any mention of Eliza and her Papa?” There was a pause before I could find a way to let her down gently. “The story is fiction, Mama. Those are the characters I made up.” 🙂
Michelle Ule
Absolutely love this comment, Lynn! So, that’s how they did the diapers!
And your mom’s remarks–perfect! I’m laughing with glee. 🙂
Cynthia Herron
Michelle, I loved learning about your research methods! Although I write contemporary Christian romance, like you indicated, there’s still necessary research to be done regarding characters’ occupations, lifestyles, etc.
Isn’t it wonderful that we can do much of this by way of a few simple clicks?!
Ruth A. Douthitt
Thanks for the post, Michelle! I am working on a YA Christian Fiction project that will have my characters experiencing Ancient Rome. So, I had to do some research. I have read some books and watched some DVDs about the period in addition to the internet. It has really helped me set the scene!
I love to read historical fiction and now that I have had to do some research, I appreciate writers of this genre even more!
Blessings,
Ruth A. Douthitt
Cheryl Malandrinos
I love research, but I find it challenging too. I read a lot of books set in the 1800’s, but when I sit down to write my own books, I find I don’t know all the details I would like. The library has become my friend, but I’ve also reached out to historical societies lately too.
Thanks for the great post, Michelle.