Have you ever been reading a book set in a specific time period when you are hit with a word, not from that era?

I know I am disappointed when this happens. It is a clear indicator of a newbie author. 

Research is the foundation of a compelling book in a time other than the present. It helps the reader accept your world as believable and gives them eyes to walk among it while reading. 

Building Realistic Characters
Thorough research ensures that the setting, historical context, and cultural nuances are accurately portrayed. These things help readers to suspend disbelief, connect with the characters, and become engrossed in the story. When you are developing your characters, it helps to understand the backgrounds, professions, and experiences your characters will or could have, making them multi-dimensional and relatable individuals. Delving into their unique struggles and joys makes them relatable to readers, evoking empathy and a stronger emotional connection. 

Plausible Plot Development
Research serves as a guiding light in crafting a cohesive and believable plotline. While fiction allows for imaginative twists, grounding the narrative in research prevents plot holes and inconsistencies. Whether historical events, scientific principles, or cultural practices, well-researched details lend credibility and logic to the story’s progression. It also helps establish a set of rules for the story to stay within, preventing far-fetched details from stretching the story in a way that destroys the novel’s believability.

Tackling Sensitive Topics Responsibly
Fiction often explores sensitive and complex issues. Proper research is vital when handling such topics to ensure respectful and accurate representation. Thorough research enables authors to navigate these themes sensitively, avoiding harmful stereotypes and misrepresentations. When authors infuse their narratives with well-researched information, readers gain insights into different cultures, historical eras, scientific discoveries, and more.

Places to do research.
Local libraries are great places to do research. They often contain extensive collections of books, manuscripts, historical documents, and academic journals that can help you dive deep into various subjects. Librarians are also more than willing to help point you in the right direction to narrow down what could be helpful when researching any topic.

Online libraries and databases such as Google Books, Project Gutenberg, JSTOR, and others provide access to a vast array of books, articles, and research papers.

Visit a museum or two relevant to your novel’s themes, historical period, or settings. They can offer unique insights into artifacts, artwork, and historical exhibits. In the artwork alone, you can get an idea of fashion, social class, family life, and the governing system of the time period. 

You also have the local and national archives containing letters, diaries, photographs, and official documents that can provide firsthand accounts of historical events. These documents give a detailed report of what a character from this type of life would have endured daily, including the things they could have feared, found joy in, been experiencing from an industrial standpoint, items being invented, and even the weather.

You can also interview experts, historians, professionals, or individuals who have studied the time period your novel will be set in to gain personal experiences. Including subject matter from your interviews can add authenticity to your writing and believability.

Take a good old fashion field trip to the locations mentioned in your novel, or places similar to them, to experience the setting firsthand and gain a deeper understanding of the environment and atmosphere. 

Another place to gain information is documentaries and films that relate to your novel’s themes or historical period. If watching a movie, be sure to fact-check the details. While film producers strive to get the details right, sometimes things are missed or unable to reproduce in a film but can be easily written about correctly. 

This list of places to do your research is not an exhaustive list of places, but it is a good starting point. Remember, fact-checking against more than one source will always enrich your novel when researching on Google or any search engine.

Another word of caution when doing research for your novel. If you are eager to put your fingers on the keyboard and find some details you still need for your book, create a note and keep writing. Come back with the research you need later, and keep writing. You will always edit your novel; sometimes, the words just need to be on the page. 

Good research makes your characters, plot, and subject matter more believable when it is done well. Taking a few extra minutes to verify details will draw your readers deeper into the story melting their current world away and capturing their full attention.