How Research Can Take Your Writing From Good to Great

Every year, we’re lucky to have great sponsors for our nonprofit events.Today, screenwriter Peter Malone Elliott of Book Pipeline shares how great research can lead to great writing. Book Pipeline is a Camp NaNoWriMo 2020 sponsor.

From an early age, there was never a shred of doubt in my mind: I wanted to be writer. I wanted to inspire change, uplift hearts and minds, and facilitate cultural and societal dialogue through my words.

At the end of the day, however, I learned the ins and outs of the craft (and what it really takes to be a working, professional writer) from the esteemed New York Times best-selling novelist, L.M. Elliott—my mother.

There are a thousand things I gleaned from a childhood of looking over my mother’s shoulder—way too many to fit into one blog post. However, probably the most valuable thing she imparted (besides exposing me to a plethora of classic literature and authors as soon I was able to read) is this: the only way to craft a truly authentic work is through intensive research.

As primarily a historical fiction novelist, my mother absolutely immerses herself into meticulously “doing her homework” in whatever time period her novel is set. This usually means reading at least a dozen nonfiction books and combing through hundreds of primary sources. This wonderfully hard-nosed commitment to accuracy undoubtedly comes from her background as a journalist (she was an award-winning reporter for 20 years before writing her first novel).

And all of this reading and research? She does it before she even writes a word. That singular dedication—in combination with her beautiful prose writing and character work—is what makes her books so powerful and potent.

Furthermore? I learned that it is the difference between great writing and good writing.

I’ve taken this lesson to heart for my own career. In every single piece I write—whether a present-day crime thriller feature screenplay, a period drama TV pilot, or an adaptation of a novel or piece of nonfiction—I learn everything I possibly can about the world/setting of my fictional story before I begin typing. Going the extra mile in that way—and channeling my mother’s work ethic—brings revealing detail and voice that make my scripts stand out to producers, executives, and studios. For example, my feature screenplay about the 1963 kidnapping of Frank Sinatra Jr. is now being packaged by one of the biggest talent agencies in the world and read by actors and directors I’ve wanted to work with my whole life.

It is also a lesson that holds great importance for me in my job with Book Pipeline, the literary division of Pipeline Media. Since late 2019, I have spearheaded the expansion of Book Pipeline as their Development Executive. Through our Unpublished competition, we are dedicated to discovering emerging authors and connecting them with our network of literary agents and publishers.

It brings me such joy when I read a manuscript from an entrant who has clearly “done their homework”—when their prose is genuine and heartfelt, their characters and dialogue really pop, and their settings/backdrops are rich and fleshed out. It is truly an honor and privilege to “talk shop” with these authors—people who have poured their hearts and souls into their words in the pursuit of greatness.

Simply put? It is the best part of my day. Nothing is more enthralling and awe-inspiring—and I hope to have many, many more days like that in the future.

For more information on Book Pipeline, please visit their website.

Peter Malone Elliott is an award-winning screenwriter, producer, and playwright originally hailing from Virginia. After being selected as the winner of the 2018 Script Pipeline Screenwriting Competition, Peter joined the ranks of Pipeline Media Group one year later as their Development Executive. His first feature film credit as writer-producer was on the thriller Wired Shut (2020).

Top photo by Hans-Peter Gauster on Unsplash.