Gregg Jones
asked
Julie Christine Johnson:
Hi Julie - I found your page after following your marvelous comment on "The English Patient". Your 2019 year in books contains many compelling titles on my TBR and CR lists. I tend to read more non-fiction, and historical fiction is also an interest area. My questions are: how much background research do you perform for your writing and do you do that research prior to, or during, your drafting? Thanks!! Gregg
Julie Christine Johnson
Hi Gregg,
Thank you for the wonderful comment and questions!
I struggle to quantify how much background research I do, because that is necessarily comparative to how much other fiction writers do - an amount I couldn't begin to estimate. I do what I need to do to be able to write the story I want to write- how's that? My first novel was historical fiction/fantasy and for sure, I did a lot of reading and research about Cathars and medieval France and Spain, from the macro aspects of history- Crusades, Catholicism-to the micro- dog breeds and shoes. But I wrote to evoke a flavor and feeling, rather than to lose my readers in medieval minutiae. I left out so much. But I needed to understand the culture of the times so that my readers would follow me as I left history and timeslipped into fantasy.
My second novel, set in contemporary Ireland, still demanded research into endangered birds and Irish mythology, metal art, photography, corporate tax evasion, substance abuse and treatment... some of this I found my way into before I began writing the narrative because I was trying to find my way into the story; as the plot took shape, I left the research behind until I had enough of the story that I wouldn't lose the thread. I filled in the holes later.
And that's what I'm doing now, as I write a work of contemporary crime fiction. I did a ton of research in writing the first draft because I was discovering the story as I went. I had my protagonist and her journey, my settings, and the bare bones of a story idea, but the research informed subplots. So I've got pages on civil asset forfeiture and tree poaching, internal affairs investigations, home health care industry, the flora and fauna of the Olympic National Forest, how long it takes flesh to decay from skeletons, , :-) but now I'm on the third draft and I need to start filling in holes I left along the way- which mean researching the minutiae of gun types, car makes, forensic divisions... I have to decide where on the continuum I want to fall- I'm not an "every detail is maddeningly precise and accurate" like a Robert Dugoni police procedural, but I want to be credible. More like Peter Heller's Celine or Kate Atkinson's Jackson Brodie. The details are there, but they don't get in the way of the story.
A very long-winded way of saying that yes, my research happens before and during the drafts. I'm far more of a pantser than a plotter - I need to be writing to know what I'm writing about. If I tried to research everything ahead of time, I'd never start writing. Deep into drafting, I have to slow down and consider the credibility and viability of each scene, from where the sun falls through the window at what time of day in which season, to what the characters are wearing, driving, their work schedules, and dominant sides of the body to understand how they would turn, gesture. It's maddening and exhausting, and I love it!
Sorry for blathering on. Thank you so much for reaching out to me!
Warmest,
Julie
Thank you for the wonderful comment and questions!
I struggle to quantify how much background research I do, because that is necessarily comparative to how much other fiction writers do - an amount I couldn't begin to estimate. I do what I need to do to be able to write the story I want to write- how's that? My first novel was historical fiction/fantasy and for sure, I did a lot of reading and research about Cathars and medieval France and Spain, from the macro aspects of history- Crusades, Catholicism-to the micro- dog breeds and shoes. But I wrote to evoke a flavor and feeling, rather than to lose my readers in medieval minutiae. I left out so much. But I needed to understand the culture of the times so that my readers would follow me as I left history and timeslipped into fantasy.
My second novel, set in contemporary Ireland, still demanded research into endangered birds and Irish mythology, metal art, photography, corporate tax evasion, substance abuse and treatment... some of this I found my way into before I began writing the narrative because I was trying to find my way into the story; as the plot took shape, I left the research behind until I had enough of the story that I wouldn't lose the thread. I filled in the holes later.
And that's what I'm doing now, as I write a work of contemporary crime fiction. I did a ton of research in writing the first draft because I was discovering the story as I went. I had my protagonist and her journey, my settings, and the bare bones of a story idea, but the research informed subplots. So I've got pages on civil asset forfeiture and tree poaching, internal affairs investigations, home health care industry, the flora and fauna of the Olympic National Forest, how long it takes flesh to decay from skeletons, , :-) but now I'm on the third draft and I need to start filling in holes I left along the way- which mean researching the minutiae of gun types, car makes, forensic divisions... I have to decide where on the continuum I want to fall- I'm not an "every detail is maddeningly precise and accurate" like a Robert Dugoni police procedural, but I want to be credible. More like Peter Heller's Celine or Kate Atkinson's Jackson Brodie. The details are there, but they don't get in the way of the story.
A very long-winded way of saying that yes, my research happens before and during the drafts. I'm far more of a pantser than a plotter - I need to be writing to know what I'm writing about. If I tried to research everything ahead of time, I'd never start writing. Deep into drafting, I have to slow down and consider the credibility and viability of each scene, from where the sun falls through the window at what time of day in which season, to what the characters are wearing, driving, their work schedules, and dominant sides of the body to understand how they would turn, gesture. It's maddening and exhausting, and I love it!
Sorry for blathering on. Thank you so much for reaching out to me!
Warmest,
Julie
More Answered Questions
Douglas Larson
asked
Julie Christine Johnson:
So did you read the remaining books in "The Dark is Rising" series? You reviewed "Over Sea, Under Stone". The tone of the remaining books in the series is more mature than Over Sea Under Stone though the three kids, plus a fourth are still the primary protagonists. In my opinion the 2nd book, "The Dark is Rising" is the best of the five, with the last "Silver on the Tree" a close 2nd best.
Jeanmariebarrett
asked
Julie Christine Johnson:
I enjoyed your review of "My Age of Anxiety: Fear, Hope, Dread, and the Search for Peace of Mind". Have you read "Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart by Gordon Livingston? (I guess I could scroll through your bookshelves but I want to start baking cookies!) Thanks, Jean
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