After The Crash Released and The Influence of Research

The ebook of After The Crash is out (a whole week early), and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out.  For those who want it, the print version should be out in a few weeks.  This one required a lot of research which is what I want to talk about today.  Don't worry.  I'm not about to launch into a How-To post.  If that's what you want, there are plenty of places on the web to help you out.

Today, I want to look at how research can help inspire writing.  I can say without reservation that if it weren't for all the research I did on this book, After The Crash would never have happened.[image error]

See, I knew I wanted to write a "survival on a wild planet" science fiction story but I also wanted it to be a well-thought out planet — not just some Styrofoam rocks and a purple sky. Now, I'm married to a biologist who, at the time I began work on this novel, was in the midst of earning her Masters.  She taught me how the wondrous life on our planet evolves, interconnects, and operates.  As I started creating my new planet, Cicora, I drew on my wife's knowledge to help me out.

She loves research.  Pretty soon, she had an extensive reading list set up for me which included classic animal behavior texts by authors such as Konrad Lorenz, E. O. Wilson, and Matt Ridley.  Those texts were just the thing I needed.  Not only did they inform my world-building a ton, but they showed me things about nature and animal behavior I would never have imagined.  They inspired the creation of all of the alien species on Cicora, and thus, changed the course of the story itself.

That's my favorite moment when doing research.  When I discover some little tidbit that not only helps me create the world of the story but actually transforms the story into something better.  In fact, it's the very core of what I seek out when researching for writing.

This has been on my mind a lot lately because I'm about to delve back into research for a novel that won't be ready (I think) until sometime next year — if all goes well.  It's a cool project that I'm partnering with a friend and his expertise is giving me quite a reading list to tackle.  Once I'm up to speed on the subject (and yes, I'm purposely not saying too much here — I get a bit superstitious with my writing — especially in the early stages), I'll be able to start plotting.  Except this one is more than just a straight narrative.  More on that down the road.

Point of all this is quite simple.  Research can be (and should be) more than just gathering information to make your history or science or gunplay or whatever be accurate and sound authentic.  It's more than just information.  If done right, research will uncover the gems of a story that will enrich the tale and, thus, the reader experience.

I actually have a paranormal-mystery series that's going to start up in June (knock on wood) which involves the history of my home state, North Carolina.  Like After The Crash, the stories in this series (the first book is called Southern Bound) were heavily influenced by the research I did.  And now that I'm writing about this, perhaps I'll share some of the specific research in a later post — if you're interested, of course.

Until then, enjoy the fruits of my researching labors!