Developing Characters Through Research, by Lilly Gayle

I'm very pleased to welcomeguest authorLilly Gayleto the blog today!
Lilly's got some great books, cool pictures, and interesting thoughts on writing and researching to share today. Take it away, Lilly:
I'm not much of a plotter. I usually know how I want my story to begin and end. So, I start by typing up a few notes with important details or events I need to occur within the story. Then I flesh out my characters on another page, assigning them physical characteristics and personality traits. For the main characters, I jot down some backstory info. Then, I start writing.
But, then I get to the middle of the story and that's where I run into problems if I didn't also take the time to do a little research BEFORE starting.
When writing Out of the Darkness, my paranormal romance, I knew I wanted to combine a vampire story with the light sensitivity disorder, xeroderma pigmentosum (XP.) And, I knew I wanted my vampire to hate his dark nature and search for a cure. That's when I got the idea for Dr. Megan Harper. So, not only did I have to research vampire myths and legends, I also had to research XP and microbiology. I have a bachelor of applied science degree in radiology, and I took microbiology in school, but I'd never been in a real lab setting.  So, I had to research lab protocols, equipment, and regulations. It took some doing, but the results were worth it. There's an "almost" believable scientific quality to the story. And because of my research into XP and biotechnology, Megan's character has stronger motives and a more clear-cut goal for helping Vincent find his cure.
When I began writing Slightly Tarnished, my historical romance released  June 3, the research came first. I knew I wanted to write a historical. It's one of my favorite genres.  I also knew I wanted to write a Victorian romance rather than Regency. But most of the romance novels I've read are set in Regency England.  I needed information on Victorian England. And being a twentieth century kind of gal, I was curious about the whole bathroom situation during that time. So, I began researching the toilets and sewers of England and found several articles on The Great Stink. Throw in a few articles on Charles Dickens' England and I had a story idea.
Slightly Tarnished isn't the original name of the book and Nikki's character was originally going to be from New Bern, NC instead of Portsmouth Island. But I never got her goals or motivation right.
Editors and agents thought Nikki lacked strong goals and motivation. There were no complaints about Chad. And maybe that was because I did so much research on England. I delved deeper into his backstory so I knew what made him tick. But what motivated Nikki?
It was time to do a little more research. And I started with the North Carolina coast.
If you know where to look, there's a lot of information on North Carolina's coastal communities during the nineteenth century. I live in North Carolina and love the coast, so my husband and I took a few road trips during the re-researching phase of Slightly Tarnished.  We visited the historic waterfronts of Morehead City and Beaufort, and went to the Maritime Museum in Beaufort. Then, we took the ferry to Portsmouth Island.
Portsmouth Island is one of the barrier Islands of North Carolina on Core Banks.  The Cape Lookout Lighthouse is located on the south end of the island and far on the north end, near Ocracoke Island, is Portsmouth Village.
Once a thriving shipping village, a devastating hurricane shoaled Ocracoke Inlet in 1846 opening a deeper inlet in Hatteras. Afterwards, Portsmouth Village became a lightering station where draft boats carried cargo from the heavier ships inland for transportation to the mainland. Then in 1860, many residents fled the island when Union troops marched on the Outer Banks.  They never returned.
Today, Portsmouth Village is a state historic site and many of the original buildings still stand. Walking through the village is like stepping back in time, and it gave me a believable backstory for my heroine Nikki. From there, I was able to create a character with better goals, stronger motivations, and increase the conflict between her and Chad.
Most of my research never made it into the story, but because it was part of Nikki's backstory, it made her a more sympathetic and believable character.

As a writer, what kind of research do you do, and how has it helped you develop your characters?As a readeAuthor of paranormal and historical romance: Where love is an adventure no matter the century

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Thanks for visiting today, Lilly! Everyone, leave Lilly some comment love and let her know what you think! As always, thanks for reading,Laura