Where Do You Research?

This week I was asked where I’ve been conducting research for my novel about the American Revolution. My response was, “would you like that alphabetically or chronologically?” Certainly, I’ve worked with the traditional sources like libraries and archives. However, historical fiction isn’t like non-fiction where you must always go in search of proof. Sometimes it’s in search of opportunities for fiction.

Conflicting viewpoints are one way to find it. Wikipedia. Blogs. Historians. Those resources are filled with proofs and facts, but also opinions, theories and undocumented sources. Where two ideas collide gives me the opportunity to draw out what would happen if one of those two ideas was correct.

I also search for holes. Historical documents, textbooks (especially elementary and high school versions), and websites by historic hobbyists don’t always provide the same level of facts. Where I find a repeated dearth of details with regard to a place, event or time, is a hole I can fill with… well… stuff I make up.

I also research for the senses. I rarely find those in a book, so I travel to actual locations. I want to hear a place, smell it, touch trees, or look at the view – even if they’ve changed. There’s often a nearby museum, and there’s always some historic-ranger-docent guy who loves the place or whose grandpa told stories. I love them. After all, that’s what I do. Tell stories.

How do you conduct historical research for fiction?

Below are my photos from Stratford Hall, about an hour north of Richmond. It was home to the Lee family, who contributed two signers to the Declaration of Independence, and the general of the south, Robert E. Lee.