Ahoy, mateys! (AKA How to Research When Writing a Novel)

For some reason, I decided to write about pirates.

Let me first say that I know absolutely nothing about pirates, so there hasn’t actually been much writing going on. I’ve mostly been trying to research actual pirates so that I don’t sound like an idiot. And since I’ve been doing so much research lately, I figured I should share some of my experiences and give you guys some tips.

First, the library is your best friend. The internet is that girl you’ve been frenemies with since eighth grade (For those of you who aren’t current on your middle school lingo, a frenemy is a friend that is sometimes an enemy and vice versa). If you thought you could get away with using only the internet for research, you should probably go find another blog to read. I love the library, so I’m definitely going to talk about how awesome it is.

Here’s the reason why the internet is your frenemy: you can find sites like this and this, but you can also find sites like this, which will do nothing but distract you. Do not underestimate the mesmerizing power of Wikipedia. You will be drawn in. In addition, it took me many hours of research and some very specific search terms to stumble upon those good websites, while at a library it’s as simple as searching ‘pirate’ and narrowing the results to Adult Nonfiction. I now have a bunch of good books at home just waiting for me to read them.

Something else that I’ve found increasingly important in my writing is Google Maps. Learn to use it. Not only is it fun, it’s also very helpful when you are trying to avoid making stupid mistakes and guessing (wrongly) how long it takes to get from one place to another. While there are some times when it’s okay to estimate, it is not okay for your character to drive across Texas in one hour. You can also use the street view to learn a bit about some places you’ve never been. Travel sites are also great for this, especially if your characters are going to be spending a lot of time in this place (this includes where they live, unless you live there or it’s completely made up).

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but I have a bit of a weakness for books about writing. I own a ridiculous number of books claiming to be “the only thing I need to get published!” While this couldbe seen as a Half Price Books obsession or an oddly specific hoarding problem, it’s pretty useful when I start writing about something that’s completely out of my comfort zone (like pirates). At the moment I’m reading Worlds of Wonder: How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy and The Writer’s Little Helper: Everything you need to know to write better and get published. I really like The Writer’s Little Helper because it presents an interesting take on writing. There are some formulas and an outlining  tool that I used for my pirate story, which now has a bit of an ending. If you enjoy reading, you should definitely check out some writing books. If you don’t enjoy reading, what are you doing trying to write? No offense to anyone….

Trivia: My unnamed pirate story was originally about space pirates. I think there are still parts where I mention a laser gun and the airlock of a ship. They will probably stay there until I get around to typing the story.