Writer's Café

research

So, I've talked about plot, first impressions, descriptions and characters till now. The next topic to touch would be research.

Just because your story is simple, you shouldn't overlook research. It is one of the key factors while writing a book. Even if you happen to know a lot about what you are writing.

Just how many times have you seen a writer describe a person working in office just working? Or reading a file or filing?

For me, too many times to count.

I once even saw a 22 year old surgeon too you know and I have no idea what they specialised in but I just know they were performing surgery.

I have a friend in dental college. She's 22 and she is a 3rd year student with 2 more years of studying left. They can't even touch patients yet, they can only assist their seniors.

I know what goes through a writer's mind when they pick up a job for their character. It's usually very flashy or too dull or something they would like to do. The jobs are often described so simplisticaly and dreamily that it seems like the best thing to do.

But it's not.

No job is as easy as we think it is.

Now, because I know about this to a degree, let's talk about a soldier. A female soldier.

So, usually there's the usual stereotype of buffed and hot headed woman who has lost all her femininity in the name of becoming a soldier. She's on a high post (mostly it's lieutenant or captain because those sound good but there are other ranks too) and commanding all these men and going through harrasment and all that.

Harassment point, I'll agree but the femininity point? Get out right now.

I think I've talked about it previously too but it all depends on your character's personality.

Now if you don't know how military personnel work, search about it. There is a hierarchy and order to how things are executed in military and even police forces.

It's not all about a female struggling to do what her male colleagues can do. World has changed and so has the way of working. Even in my dad's time, female officers were respected and treated equally in their field. My own experience, I have cleaned the grounds and done work alongside my male batch mates. So, it all depends on your perspective and research.

Why research is important?

Sometimes, or most of the times as young writers we don't know how the world works. We just know what we have been told and we believe it and write it.

There are characters that are often shown as prodigies. They'll complete their four years degree in two and become the CEO or 'doctor' without knowing what goes inside.

From what I have seen, not many can become a surgeon in only two years. After the 5 years of Bachelor's degree during which the final 2 years are the most grueling, there is internship and then there's specialisation too. There's master's and then fellowship and then you have to submit your final thesis on whatever topic you choose. So calculating like that, you'll be almost 30 by the time you will be able to practice medicine on your own. The next 10 years, you'll spend in debt for that student loan.

So, realistically speaking, becoming a surgeon, a general surgeon at that at the age of 22 is a little far-fetched.

Similarly, if your character is a normal office worker, what sector are they part of? Are they in the IT sector or a computer scientist or a data analyst? Or are they in the management team or HR (human resources) department? You have to decide all this while planning their character so that you can decide what their working hours are and when they can take a break.

For all this, Google is your friend. Google has literally everything you'll need to do research.

I remember searching about ramen houses and what are the common dishes served in these restaurants. I even searched up recipes to be able to describe them perfectly. This was for After Hours.

For Brush strokes, I searched about painting and painting styles before deciding what kind of style to focus on. I liked surrealism at that time so I made my character draw those types of paintings.

This is all job related. The other kind of research I did was for The beautiful accident and Giselle.

For TBA, I was going to show pregnancy. It was the main point and I asked about it a lot to my mother because who is better for advice for a girl like me with no experience.

For Giselle, again, I had to do a lot of research because the focal point of the story is drug addiction. So, I had to search about the types of drugs and how they can be consumed, what are the laws regarding drug abuse in Korea, etc. I also took help of some of my friends who know about it. Dw, they are all adults and they know what's popping. Their helped proved beneficial for me cuz honestly, I've never even held a cigarette in my hand.

There's a thing about choosing topics like these. There are a lot of stereotypes surrounding pregnancy and addiction which are often times wrong.

For example, in movies we see women screaming and thrashing while in labour. My mom told me, the nurse would slap you if you scream like that because you are only wasting energy.

So, one of the most valuable advice I got for writing research is when you are searching, type 'What Hollywood got wrong about (topic)'

I kid you not, I legit got such good articles about pregnancy and addiction. I found articles written by real drug addicts and those who have recovered or recovering from it. I also found interviews on YouTube and I got to see how a person's behaviour is affected because of substance abuse.

So, if you have topics like that which are tricky and you aren't getting satisfactory results, do that. Just go to google.

The point is never be afraid to ask. Asking and studying doesn't make you any less of a person.

Before starting anything new or before writing a character, especially living people for fan fictions, I spend days and days studying their features, their mannerisms and understanding their personalities. It helps so much, I can't tell you. So, don't be afraid and search it up. FBI isn't going to turn up at your door just because you searched up what kissing feels like. They have better things to do.

As a parting note and last advice, especially to those who are planning to write a gun sequence, please read:

And those who are writing a murder mystery:

If you have any questions or want to discuss something, post them here ^^