Getting the facts in fiction
What an irony. You thought that you don’t need to use facts in fiction. If you think fiction is just that – pure fiction - think again. Even though you write a short story or novel, research is an important part in creating believable characters and settings.
Making a plausible character is important for your reader to identify with and relate to. If say your protagonist’s occupation is a lawyer, you do need to get an accurate description about the life and ways of a lawyer. The more accurate your protagonist portrays it, the more credible he/she is in your reader’s eyes. So, if someone tells you writing fiction is easy because you can create everything in your mind without doing any research firsthand, you have received wrong advice.
Setting is another element in your fiction that requires accurate facts - unless you are writing science fiction that needs you to create an entirely different world. But even science fiction needs extensive research about some areas in science. Your characters need to be in a believable setting to interest the reader since they read your fiction to get an experience and to be entertained as well.
When I wrote Antara Dua Kota, the protagonists include Anita a fashion designer and David, a professional photographer. The main setting is Paris. I did hell a lot of research to be able to make the character’s come to life. I needed to know what it is like to be a fashion designer. I also needed to find out about photographer’s everyday job. I had never been to Paris, but thanks to the books about this popular tourist destination, I was able to sit and have chats with friends at the sidewalk café in the summer, mixed with the locals, discussing fashion design school and was able to visit all those larger than life fashion designer boutiques along Montaigne Avenue. And I was writing it all in my room, deep in the rustic life of North Borneo.
For the beginning writer, you shouldn’t take research for granted. It is one of the important parts of creating credible fiction. Here are some suggestions on how to get facts for your short story or novel:
1. Use you own experiences as the main source. First time writers usually write their fiction based on their own experiences. John Grisham is a lawyer and his characters were lawyers in his early novels. He knew the profession well because he lived it. As for the setting, the writer usually sets their characters based on where he/she lives or had lived at one time. When the writer gets published more, he/she usually will go beyond experiences to create characters and settings. In order to experience it first hand, the writer usually will go to the places or start to interview and read about the occupation of the character he want to have for the story.
2. The internet as a main source. Nowadays, you can find just about anything on the net. The best place to look for information about the experiences of others is through their personal blog. Almost everyone has at least one blog about their profession and how they feel about it. They also ramble about places they went to, give reviews about it and give recommendations. This is a huge opportunity for locating research for your character’s jobs and the setting. If you need more info about it, you can contact the blog writer and request an in-depth interview.
3. The library is another major source for your research. This is important for those who want to write an historical novel. You can dig into archives of how life like in say the Eighteenth Century and what were people’s lifestyles like back then.
Among all these sources, I like having a first hand experience the best. Although it is the most expensive source of getting the right facts, I can write my fiction better for I am showing it - not telling it. I can invoke the reader’s interest and make them feel they know the characters before and have been to where they live. After all, it is the experiences that the reader wants when they read your fiction. You need to suck them into the story as they are part of the story. Making your characters living an authentic life and occupation - as in real life and with an accurate setting - makes your fiction a page turner.
