Research

 

Today there are no excuses for a novel or short story to have inaccurate information or settings.  At one time research meant hours upon hours in the local library looking through the card catalog for any books or magazines that pertained to the subject matter we were writing about.  Depending on the city you lived in the books and periodicals on hand could be quite sparse.  Trips to neighboring cities’ libraries and University libraries were not uncommon as we searched for additional research material.

Research has certainly become easier in the year 2013!  Now we walk over to our laptops and desk top computers and flip a switch.  That one action opens the world before us.  One can Google almost any topic and get back 1000s upon of 1000s of hits.  Not all great hits to be sure but a little weeding will solve that.  And if the net doesn’t offer up enough answers one can then find many periodicals and books on the subject that one can purchase.  In some cases for a pretty good price!  Articles, websites, pictures, there is no end to what is available on the net.  Of course we still have the libraries, but the card catalogs have been replaced by computers, and in many cases if your branch doesn’t have what you need you can order it from another.  I personally still enjoy going to the library to do some of my research.  Many times I go there with my laptop and sit for hours doing my online research as most are now wired with wifi.

When I was writing “Voodoo Street” I needed to get some history on Voodoo as a religion.  While I still spent hours on the research it certainly was easier doing it from the comfort of my home office with a fresh cup of coffee at hand.  A few keystrokes and a whole new world of knowledge opened up before me.  In addition while I had a good working knowledge of the area in Brooklyn where my story takes place, my descriptions were made that much easier by pulling up some pictures of the area using Google and Flickr.

One caveat, just because it’s in print doesn’t mean it’s true.  Many times people will start a website or blog with a personal agenda.  Not necessarily to confuse an issue but sometimes to persuade others to come over to their way of thinking.  There is a wealth of research material available but one has to be careful and use common sense.

 So here’s to accuracy and the ease of research.