Welcome guest blogger, Georgie Lee!
Research, for me, is not an onerous task. When I’m
ready to start writing about a particular time period, I can’t wait to go to
the library, pull every book available on that era off the shelf, take them
home and lose myself in a time period. However, research isn’t everyone’s cup
of tea. It can be overwhelming deciding where to begin, what to look for and
when to stop. Today, I want to offer some advice and a few suggestions for
getting started and seeing it through until “The End.”
The first thing to do is…
Start
Big:
You know what era you want to write about, so it’s time to learn about the era.
General overview books are a great place to start because they give you the key
politics, ideas, people and events that helped shape the time period. Once you
know the basics, you can begin to…
Narrow
things down: Decide when in the era you want your
story to take place then focus your research accordingly. In my upcoming
Regency novella, Hero’s Redemption,
the hero was involved in the battle at Hougoumont Manor during the battle of
Waterloo. As a result, I did a great deal of research on the particulars of the
battle including the manor layout, the French soldiers who stormed the gate,
the British soldiers who held them off and how the wet weather turned the
ground muddy. Details like this are important since they helped me craft scenes
and add to the historical realism of the story. So once you’re done narrowing
things down, it’s time to...
Get
personal: The details of everyday life help create
characters, make them real and flavor a narrative. To make the Regency period
come alive in the story, I researched everyday life including dress, food,
furniture and the plans of both London town houses and country manor houses. I
sprinkled these details throughout the story to help make the setting come
alive and draw the reader into the time period. However, be careful with how
much historic detail you add to your story. Too much will make it read like a
college mid-term instead of a sweeping saga. So, what happens when the research
you need isn’t there? Well, it’s time to…
Think
outside the box: Depending on what time period you’re
dealing with, or what obscure historical event you’re trying to incorporate into
your story, you may or may not have a wealth of information to draw from. This
is when it’s time to start looking at primary sources like journals,
autobiographies and even government reports. These writings will give you more
detail on a subject than a general history book will and most are in the public
domain and available free on Amazon. It’s time consuming but worth it, even
though at some point I’m going to have to…
Know
when to say when: Research can be fun. It can help you
outline your story or navigate a tricky plot point. However, it can also
distract from writing. There is no end to the research available or the hours
you can dedicate to it. It’s an important part of the process, but so is
sitting down and getting words on paper. So, don’t be afraid to put your
research aside and start writing, because the great thing about research is,
you can access it any time and you can always do more.
Thank you everyone for stopping by and a special
thanks to Valerie for having me here today.
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Hero’s
Redemption
by Georgie Lee
London,
1817
Devon, the
Earl of Malton, is a hero for his deeds at the Battle of Waterloo. But he
suffers terrible nightmares, and drinks himself to sleep most nights. A habit
he vows to break when he awakes one morning to find a woman sharing his bed, no
memory of how she got there, and her angry brother at his door.
Cathleen is
mortified when her wastrel brother and his greedy wife propose a blackmail
scheme involving the earl, but as a penniless war widow she's at their mercy.
She goes along with the plan and sneaks into Devon's bed one night, and ends up
comforting him through a night terror.
Charmed by
her beauty and kindness, Devon determines that rather than pay the blackmail,
he will offer his hand in marriage to Cathleen. Although she is deeply
attracted to the stoic earl, Cathleen cannot understand why Devon would want to
marry her. What she doesn't know is that Devon owes her a debt that can never
fully be repaid…
BIO:
A dedicated history and film buff, Georgie
Lee loves combining her passion for Hollywood, history and storytelling through
romantic fiction. She began writing professionally at a small TV station in San
Diego before moving to Los Angeles to work in the interesting but strange world
of the entertainment industry.
Her first novel, Lady’s Wager, and her
contemporary novella, Rock ‘n’ Roll Reunion are both available from Ellora’s
Cave Blush. Labor Relations, a contemporary romance of Hollywood, and Studio
Relations, a love story set in 1935 Hollywood, are currently available from
Montlake Romance. Look for her Regency novella, Hero’s Redemption from Carina
Press on July 29, 2013, and her Regency novel, Engagement of Convenience, from
Harlequin Historical on October 1, 2013.
Buy Links: Carina
Press|Amazon
When
not writing, Georgie enjoys reading non-fiction history and watching any movie
with a costume and an accent. Please visit
www.georgie-lee.com
for more information about Georgie and her novels.
Social
Media Links
Twitter: @GeorgieLeeBooks
Website: www.georgie-lee.com
1 comment:
Inevitably, the stories that my muse wants me to write takes a lot of research. LOL I love to research, I know how to research, and I get sucked into it. Every. Single. Time. LOL
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