Research.

Ack, a chore! Right? The word conjures up images of spending precious weekends during your school years, slumped over dry text and trying to stay awake. Eons ago, I had to put together some mishmash of facts about British Prime Minister Edward Heath’s foreign policy. I remember nothing of what I wrote, let alone what class it was for.

Writers have to do a lot of research. But, really, it can be fun stuff! It’s just a matter of perspective. When I wrote my novel The Celestial, I had to transport myself back to 1890s California, during the last days of the Gold Rush. There were so many facts that had to be considered: what people wore, what they ate, their manner of speaking, what they did for entertainment. On top of that, I needed to find out about how Chinese immigrants in America lived during that time, how they were treated, how they spoke. (Many came from areas of China where Cantonese was spoken, so I had to be certain the Chinese phrases I sprinkled throughout weren’t in Mandarin.)

You can find out so many fascinating things on a fact-finding journey. I never realized that many of the first American cars were right-hand drive. Or that long-distance calls in 1909 were still a long distance away. (As a matter of fact, telephones in 1909, for local calls, were still quite a luxury.)

Maybe it’s the way my brain is wired, but I love thinking about all the facets of life of past generations. Nowadays we have all our comforts of living. Imagine, though, that you’re, say, a twenty-two-year old, and you wake up on a farm in 14^th Century France. What do you picture? Aha! There’s where the research comes in. You have to figure out the dwelling, the sleeping surface, the clothes, what items are on the breakfast menu (if food is even available). To me, that’s just fun fun stuff! And writers will always have more material than what ends up in a story, but then again, he or she will have a great reference guide for other stories down the road.

So don’t be afraid to go on a fact-finding mission of your own. Take yourself back to an earlier time, and find out all you can about the way people lived.

Wait–that sounds just like reading a novel, doesn’t it? Yeah, it does. See, I told you it was fun!

Barry’s novel The Celestial won the Gold Medal in the 2012 ForeWord Book of the Year Awards and was a Finalist in the 25th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. His novel Tinseltown was a Finalist in the 24th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. Reunion, a collection of linked stories, was a Finalist in the 2012 ForeWord Book of the Year Awards. And his latest novel, Paradise at Main and Elm, was a Finalist in the Pacific Northwest Writers’ Association Literary Contest.

When not embroiled in his own writing, Barry sips wine, nibbles on chocolate, and watches films and TV—both the classic and the cheesy. (Mmm…cheese!)

www.barrybrennessel.com