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This week on Fable and the Verbivore, we’re talking about doing research for writing projects.

Though this episode focuses mostly on researching for historical fiction projects - often referencing examples from the Verbivore’s WWII writing project, we note that research is often needed for any type of writing project to ensure it reflects reality. Because of this, we start by sharing some of the strangest things we’ve ever had to research for a project. Things like:

• Learning about poisonous creatures and how to extract poisons from them

• How US airmen were fed when they were on the move in Papua New Guinea during WWII (traveling kitchens) and what types of food were made (like biscuits)

We also talk a lot about different forms of resources that you can turn to for information. Things like:

• Direct personal experience - Interviews, memoir, documentary, personal websites, personal pictures, personal letters, and personal videos

• Media, art, and sensory details from the timeframe - Newspapers, magazines, ads, movies, books, music, historical maps, historical weather sites, and historical lunar charts

• Other fictional resources - Films and books (reviewing the resources listed in the back of historical fiction stories that have overlap with your writing project)

• Geographic specific resources - Libraries located in the location you’re researching, historical societies located in the area, and museums in the location

• General resources - Government websites, your local library resources, virtual museum tours, and topical/informational websites

• Web searches - Google, YouTube

Towards the end, we talk about how there is no right way to approach research and your researching process can change based on the individual needs of each project. However, we do make the recommendation to just be open to the gifts that research can give to you. When something grabs your attention that you feel may add something important to the story, listen to that instinct.

We hope you enjoy this episode. Keep reading, writing, and putting your voice out there!

Into the woods,

Fable & The Verbivore

Notes:

Fable mentions author David Baldacci’s MasterClass where he goes through his research process in depth. Those lessons are:

• Research Methods and Sources, Part 1

• Research Methods and Sources, Part 2

The Verbivore references two YouTube videos from K.M. Weiland on her historical fiction research process. Here are those videos:

• K.M. Weiland Video “7 Easy Ways to Research a Historical Novel (What I Learned Writing Storming)”

• K.M. Weiland Video “How Do You Know When to Stop Researching a Historical Novel?”

The Verbivore talks about how many museums are now accessible online or have virtual tours available. Here is the link to an article from UpgradedPoints.com that lists 75 museums with virtual tours - “https://upgradedpoints.com/travel/best-virtual-museum-tours/”

In this episode, we touch on the following previous podcast episodes:

• Episode 184: Historical fiction part 1

• Episode 185: Historical fiction part 2

• Episode 186: Historical Fiction Favorites

Here are a few articles and videos we referenced for this conversation:

• MasterClass Article “What is Historical Fiction? Definition of the Historical Fiction Genre and Tips for Writing Your Historical Novel”

• CeladonBooks.com Article “What Is Historical Fiction?”

• YouTube Ruta Sepetys “Bradford Literature Festival - Hidden Histories with Ruta Sepetys

• MasterClass Article “How to Use the Five Senses in Your Writing”

• MasterClass Article “How to Research a Novel: Tips for Fiction Writing Research”

• Writer’s Digest Article “8 Rules of Writing Historical Fiction Research” by Kim van Alkemade

• KatClay.com Article “How to effectively research historical fiction”

• Kat Clay YouTube Video “How to Research Historical Fiction”

• Film Courage Video “What Writers Need To Know About Writing Historical Fiction by E.K. Prescott”

• Film Courage Video “Keys To Writing Good Historical Fiction by E.K. Prescott”

• Author Learning Center Video “Tips for Researching and Writing Historical Fiction”

Books and Films Mentioned:

• A Death-Struck Year by Makiia Lucier

• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society: A Novel by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018) - Netflix Film

Music from: https://filmmusic.io
‘Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)