How much do you research your 'facts'?

[Comshaw]

My simple answer for WW1 and WW2 stories is not to include specifics, just generalities, and also to write something that NEVER happened such as my 'Stand Down, Home Guard'. I had them sinking a German Cruiser with 1890s guns. I included a note at the end - No German Cruiser ever shelled the UK in WW2 and no German Cruiser was sunk by shore batteries. The whole story was fiction.

This ↑ Ogg succinctly made the point I was struggling to make.

From the Cambridge English Dictionary:

fiction
noun

/ˈfɪk.ʃən/ us
/ˈfɪk.ʃən/

B1 [ U ]
the type of book or story that is written about imaginary characters and events and not based on real people and facts:
The book is a work of fiction and not intended as a historical account.

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/fiction

If I were writing a true story, I would research it to the Nth degree to assure I was correct on all the facts and details. I wasn't. It was a totally fictitious story, pulled from my imagination. For those who need to be correct on all details in a historically based fiction story, more power to you. For me, I don't see the need to be that correct with facts in a work that is pulled from thin air, primarily manufactured from my imagination. In story writing, you are either writing true stories or fiction. Demanding accuracy, true details in a fiction story is to me like being "a little bit pregnant". You either are pregnant or you're not. A story is either fiction or it's not.

Comshaw

 

[PennameWombat]

This whole discussion covers items that are wildly, totally unpredictable with readers.

For instance, I generally like Scott Sigler's science fiction work (not his Galactic Football League stuff... yawn.) But in his book Earthcore, he referenced Brigham Young University (BYU, the flagship university of the Mormon (LDS) religion) and had a main character who was a full professor there. Crash. Every time that character appeared, I was totally ripped out of the book, because it was obvious Sigler had simply looked at a map to find a university and had no clue about the nature of that university, what it would take to attend or work there, its extreme honor code, etc. I brought it up during a writing workshop a few years back when another attendee mentioned being a fan of Sigler. That reader had no clue about BYU and the whole issue simply didn't exist for him.

So, yes. It's fiction. The whole book was about aliens who'd arrived on Earth ~12,000 years ago and hidden themselves under a mountain and was mostly very well written. His chosen location WAS a good choice. He was careful about deep geographical details so it was hard to call him on that. But, yeah, the fact that he totally misunderstood BYU came within an inch of destroying my enjoyment.

In one of my stories I intentionally introduced an anachronism about mid-1980s Summer Solstice celebrations at Stonehenge, around various disturbances that had in reality occurred. No one's called me on it, it was subtle, but well, I wanted my terrorist attack in 1986. So, my world has it. The fact that terrorists attacked tourists at Stonehenge using nanomachines isn't historical, so, well, we're off the timeline at that point, but getting there I twisted history a bit.

Overall, my research depends. I base some of my stories on real-world sites, e.g., Saturday in Paris was meant to be accurate. I did lots of orbital mechanics for Chronicle: Mel & Chris, as well as studying up on research on self-contained biomes for space travel. In other tales, Lucia uses Mexican-American slang, not specifically Spanish slang. In Predators, I have a youngish ex-US Army vet who made Staff Sergeant. This becomes a subject of discussion when another character discovers this, as the veteran's time in service was borderline to achieve that rank. Not impossible, but certainly not the norm. The other character knows about this because his cousin was a Master Sergeant.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Any fiction set on Earth has real bits in it. Humans act like humans, climate and architecture are what they are, or you wouldn't have a setting. Some details can be ignored by not going into irrelevant details, or deliberately ignored for effect - there must be a written equivalent of films inserting horse neighing and snorting so you know there's a horse, even though the directors know full well horses don't do that.

Some details, some people will get very exercised about - anything to do with wars and military, education systems, names for food, and their religions, and anything to do with illnesses and meds.

One of my characters has a chronic pain issue that could be MS, or EDS, or some kind of arthritis - but if I name it, people will expect me to get the symptoms and treatments spot-on. So I'm not naming it. Equally I'm trying to avoid mentioning what schools or unis my characters went to, because then people will expect correct details. I've basically created a fictional Cambridge college as it is. PD James and Dorothy Sayers both created their own colleges, after all.

 

[SimonDoom]

9. No one worrying about or taking any precautions about any kind of infections or pregnancy or angry spouses.

10. Women acting in ways that women don't act ever. She became the youngest VP ever in a male-dominated field by being smarter, faster, more prepared but now she is going to risk it all by getting up on stage at amateur night at the strip club in the town where the trade conference is being held because she lost her plane ticket home or something.

I let things like this slide most of the time. I'm willing to suspend disbelief as long as the author gives me something--even a very slender reed--to hold onto. The issue of prophylactics, for instance -- I don't care. Sometimes my characters take precautions, and sometimes they throw caution to the wind. People are like that in real life.

I'm definitely guilty of writing stories about people doing things that are so nutty they defy belief. I recently published an exhibitionist story that is loosely based on a real person, with her permission. She approved of and liked the story, although she told me afterward, "There's no way I would really do that." For me it's a fun fantasy. Most of my readers seem to think so, too, although I have definitely had some readers fault me for not being realistic. I've thought about it and decided meh, I'm going to keep doing it my way because it's fun.

 

[windar]

University stories that appear to have been written by someone who had never been on a campus or attended college ever. For example, Colleges don't have principals running the school.

In Canada and the UK they do.

 

[TheRedChamber]

Thus far, I do practically no research for stories as I'm prioritizing the easier to write stories which are mainly the ones set in and around places I'm familiar with.

Eventually, I'd like to write some stuff set in the 19th century, but I don't know nearly enough words for ladies undergarments in that time period, not the names of the furniture that said ladies are to be bent over, so alas I have had to defer it for the moment. I shall have to and read the muckier bits of Hardy and imagine adding some mucky bits to Dickens and see where that gets me.

 

[8letters]

I am a perfectionist when it comes to my stories, and I try to get everything perfect. "My European Summer Vacation" took a huge amount of research as the first third of the story is set in Ireland, and I've never been to Ireland. I got some things wrong, but not enough to upset many readers, even the Irish ones (who have been actually very forgiving of my mistakes).

 

[Djmac1031]

I wrote a 3 chapter series where the female character broke both arms and legs so I had to research how long it takes to heal from broken / fractured limbs to make sure I spaced out events accordingly.

 

[yowser]

Eventually, I'd like to write some stuff set in the 19th century, but I don't know nearly enough words for ladies undergarments in that time period, not the names of the furniture that said ladies are to be bent over, so alas I have had to defer it for the moment. I shall have to and read the muckier bits of Hardy and imagine adding some mucky bits to Dickens and see where that gets me.

If you're thinking UK Victoriana, the good news for you is underneath dresses, skirts, petticoats etc, there is nothing. So that simplifies things a bit.

If you want a good intro to 19th century sex life in England, for terminology amongst other things, read My Secret Life.

 

[stickygirl]

I research when necessary and enjoy the process. I know much more about Greenland after researching for Under the Ice because I wanted to describe how the environment impacted my characters. I'm sure I'd get pulled up by readers if I made references that were way off and even in the context of an erotic tale I don't want to mislead people with sloppy research. I know about yachts so could accurately describe sailing round the UK in Under the Sky and the plot is an extrapolation of my own experience.
I can imagine it's fun to write a scifi based on a moon of PT305 but Newtonian physics would still apply even if Darwin was shown the door

 

[gunhilltrain]

If you're thinking UK Victoriana, the good news for you is underneath dresses, skirts, petticoats etc, there is nothing. So that simplifies things a bit.

If you want a good intro to 19th century sex life in England, for terminology amongst other things, read My Secret Life.

I thought that at one time - maybe it was the Edwardian period - women did wear bloomers, specifically the ones that open up in the back. That seems like it could be fun for various activities like rear-entry sex, spanking, and so forth. I know I've seen many drawings and photos of that. The dark stockings and high-top shoes were another part of that look too. When was that, 1890 to 1914, or thereabouts?

Edwardian bloomers?

 

[Duleigh]

Researching facts for a story is both aggravating and rewarding. Aggravating because quite often good research blows a planned story line out of the water, rewarding because you end up learning a lot of things. My upcoming story We're a Wonderful Wife (Chapter 1 is pending with Lit PTB) revolves around a family of Vietnamese immigrants. Researching the plights of Vietnamese boat people instilled a lot of admiration for the courageous people in my heart. I actually love doing the research, but I've gotten quicker at knowing when the facts will not support my story line anymore and bailing out then creating a fictional reason to support the story line. Minot State University does not have a school of Pulmonary Medicine? No problem, just on the other side of town is where I'll build the CDU - Central Dakota University, their course catalog has everything I need.


On the downside, our readers don't feel a need to research before they comment. I recently had a reader comment on Stormwatch - A Date Which Will Live... that an AC-130 gunner is special Ops and will never say they're in a fighter squadron. I've had gunners supervising me in the following squadrons: 480th, 23rd, 80th, 81st all fighter squadrons, also the 27th a heavy bombardment squadron. The only squadron that I didn't have a gunner spending his time telling me of "the good old days" was the 480th (because I was running the Weapons Loading shop)

 

[BelleCanzuto]

I thought that at one time - maybe it was the Edwardian period - women did wear bloomers, specifically the ones that open up in the back. That seems like it could be fun for various activities like rear-entry sex, spanking, and so forth. I know I've seen many drawings and photos of that. The dark stockings and high-top shoes were another part of that look too. When was that, 1890 to 1914, or thereabouts?

Edwardian bloomers?

If you want to learn a whole lot about women's clothing (outer and under) in the Regency to Edwardian to Victorian era, check out Bernadette Banner on YouTube. She's a costume historian who makes a lot of period correct clothes, and she has a series specifically about what ladies wore under all those layers of dress when. I find her highly entertaining. She actually made herself a set of "combination" which are bloomers and camisole combined. And they are not joined in the middle (i.e. the crotch isn't seamed shut) [She modeled them over thoroughly modern undergarments, including dark tights, so, no peeking.] She's serious about her craft, but doesn't take herself seriously, which I think make the videos so interesting.

 

[BelleCanzuto]

This whole discussion covers items that are wildly, totally unpredictable with readers.

For instance, I generally like Scott Sigler's science fiction work (not his Galactic Football League stuff... yawn.) But in his book Earthcore, he referenced Brigham Young University (BYU, the flagship university of the Mormon (LDS) religion) and had a main character who was a full professor there. Crash. Every time that character appeared, I was totally ripped out of the book, because it was obvious Sigler had simply looked at a map to find a university and had no clue about the nature of that university, what it would take to attend or work there, its extreme honor code, etc. I brought it up during a writing workshop a few years back when another attendee mentioned being a fan of Sigler. That reader had no clue about BYU and the whole issue simply didn't exist for him.

So, yes. It's fiction. The whole book was about aliens who'd arrived on Earth ~12,000 years ago and hidden themselves under a mountain and was mostly very well written. His chosen location WAS a good choice. He was careful about deep geographical details so it was hard to call him on that. But, yeah, the fact that he totally misunderstood BYU came within an inch of destroying my enjoyment.

It is interesting what will strike people and effect their enjoyment of a story. Your anecdote about BYU would bother me too, just as i can relate the OP being bothered by the bit about UMd's football team. I could see myself having difficulty continuing the book depending on how good the rest of the characterization and plot was.

I read an otherwise entertaing "thriller" type book last summer where the main character plead Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity for some alleged offenses. In the book, her plea is instantly accepted and she's on a plane home that afternoon. I finished the book, because there were only a few pages left, but in my head I was yelling "that's not how that works. That's not remotely how that works." And it would have taken the author five seconds to Google how it really works, and maybe another ten pages to plausibly incorporate the real process into the end of the plot. But of the thousands of people who read that book, I might be the only one who cared.

 

[astushkin]

I thought that at one time - maybe it was the Edwardian period - women did wear bloomers, specifically the ones that open up in the back. That seems like it could be fun for various activities like rear-entry sex, spanking, and so forth. I know I've seen many drawings and photos of that. The dark stockings and high-top shoes were another part of that look too. When was that, 1890 to 1914, or thereabouts?

Edwardian bloomers?

Actually, the entire inseam was usually open, not just the back, so that ladies could tend to business without pulling down their bloomers or pantalettes. Such undergarments were adopted when wide hooped skirts became fashionable, given the risk of the hoops lifting and exposing everything underneath. In addition to a hooped skirt, I've sewn myself an entire set of 1860's undergarments --- pantalettes, chemise, and corset (there are sites where one can purchase all the hardware and period appropriate fabric). I loved wearing them! As you suggest, they make for good story fodder --- split crotch bloomers have featured in several scenes I've written in my historical stories --- including the one I'm currently writing.

 

[TheRedChamber]

If you're thinking UK Victoriana, the good news for you is underneath dresses, skirts, petticoats etc, there is nothing. So that simplifies things a bit.

If you want a good intro to 19th century sex life in England, for terminology amongst other things, read My Secret Life.

If you want to learn a whole lot about women's clothing (outer and under) in the Regency to Edwardian to Victorian era, check out Bernadette Banner on YouTube. She's a costume historian who makes a lot of period correct clothes, and she has a series specifically about what ladies wore under all those layers of dress when. I find her highly entertaining. She actually made herself a set of "combination" which are bloomers and camisole combined. And they are not joined in the middle (i.e. the crotch isn't seamed shut) [She modeled them over thoroughly modern undergarments, including dark tights, so, no peeking.] She's serious about her craft, but doesn't take herself seriously, which I think make the videos so interesting.

I thought that at one time - maybe it was the Edwardian period - women did wear bloomers, specifically the ones that open up in the back. That seems like it could be fun for various activities like rear-entry sex, spanking, and so forth. I know I've seen many drawings and photos of that. The dark stockings and high-top shoes were another part of that look too. When was that, 1890 to 1914, or thereabouts?

Edwardian bloomers?

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll check these all out and start to think about how I might approach things.

 

[Rustyoznail]

I don't heavily research everything, only points that are either important to a story or I know will piss someone off if I get it wrong. For the former, I spent time researching what takeaway pizza is available in India for my "Cricket Anyone?" series. For the record - chicken and vegetarian, and it's not called takeaway. For the latter, details of a 1964 Plymouth Fury convertible in my "http://literotica.com/s/uncle-tom-and-sammy-going-for-a-ride" story. I had a comment from a reader who appreciated that I did my research as getting the details wrong really irritates him.

 

[TadOverdon]

A whole lot and not nearly enough.

 

[DouglasFinney]

Oftentimes the stories that I write require plenty of in-depth research on unrelated topics, but sometimes I might write a story that doesn’t require any source material whatsoever. Either way, I check every fact that makes it into the final draft.

Verisimilitude is important to me. I believe that sloppy facts make for sloppy fiction. The primary purpose of fiction is to craft a sound and plausible lie. Every spurious fact is a crack in the narrative that calls attention to its artifice.

John Gardner talked about the suspension of disbelief using the “fictional dream” as a metaphor. A successful fiction, Gardner maintained, lulls its reader into a dreamlike state of consciousness and keeps the reader there until the story’s end, hypnotized.

Getting a fact wrong, I’d maintain, is like getting poked in the ribs during an actual dream. Just when I’m ready to settle in and lose myself in the story, I’m abruptly reminded that what I’m reading is only that—just a story. And I demand more than just that from fiction, even if its brand of grace is “only” a small escape from reality.

 

[NotWise]

I've been interested in the medieval history of Iberia for a long time. I decided to put part 4 of "A Valentine's Day Mess" there and then -- partly as an excuse to do the research. I put months into it, and still have large articles and even dissertations scattered on my hard drive.

First the research became "One Night in Gormaz" and it took another two years before I finished the story that I did the research for.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

As an example of my own research process, I’m in the process of writing an E&V tale for the upcoming Nude Day contest. The heroine loves being outdoors, hiking, orienteering and such. She enters a Nude Day orienteering event in which naked participants are dropped off in the middle of nowhere and have to navigate back to their clothes.

I’m up to about 1,500 words and so far have researched orienteering, geocaching, personal emergency beacons, the International Orienteering Federation, the Silva compass website, 1980s city transit-style buses and federal laws WRT nudity. I’ve also pulled up topographical maps and GoogleEarth images of an area I remember navigating years ago to make my descriptions of ground and route consistent. More to follow, I’m certain.

Much of the detail I’ve learned (or relearned/confirmed) will never be used and suppose I could have dodged and just made things up, but I find that getting that kind of solid detail in my mind makes things flow better. YMMV.

 

[yowser]

I don't heavily research everything, only points that are either important to a story or I know will piss someone off if I get it wrong.

I think this is a good approach. Almost any technical area (people have mentioned science, university, military (esp guns) is going to pose problems with the Gotcha! crowd if your detail is wrong. Sometimes you will not be able to win.

Once I worked with a couple guys who would spend their whole lunch hour talking about movie/tv soundtracks that got the 'car noises' wrong. I want to say (memory fails me as to exact details) that Hawaii Five-O reruns came in for a lot of derision.

'He's driving a Camaro on screen and they're using the sound of a 68 Ford Mustang 289! Can you believe it?'

I suppose the worst is inaccurate details that are entirely tangential to the story - ruins your credibility and a good way to lose your reader.

 

[soflabbwlvr]

For the most part I write from the "go with what you know" school of writing. But when I step out of my realms of expertise, I do as much research as necessary to make the story flow. I do research for a living and accuracy is important in what I do. I carry that over to my fiction as well. I don't turn stories into historical treatises or "how-to" manuals, but I endeavor to avoid the obvious factual flaws that will take a reader with any knowledge of the subject straight out of the story.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

For the most part I write from the "go with what you know" school of writing. But when I step out of my realms of expertise, I do as much research as necessary to make the story flow. I do research for a living and accuracy is important in what I do. I carry that over to my fiction as well. I don't turn stories into historical treatises or "how-to" manuals, but I endeavor to avoid the obvious factual flaws that will take a reader with any knowledge of the subject straight out of the story.

That's the most succinct statement of the issue I've seen so far!

 

[Bramblethorn]

We kinda do. This is one of the valuable roles the AH can play: someone on here knows almost any answer any of us might need.

I crowdsourced Australian slang during a story I wrote for Chloe's "In A Sunburned Country" event years ago, and two commenters mentioned that I'd gotten it right... even though a lot of it sounded weird to me. I'd asked some antipodeans for help here on the AH, and of course I credited their assistance in the final piece.

No reason writers can't do that for a host of topics.

Depends on the topic. For mainstream Australiana, sure, there are quite a few Aussies here who can help. But for something like "would an Islamic woman who plays D&D take a pause for Ramadan?" or "how would an Australian Aboriginal family feel about a woman getting into a relationship with her father's girlfriend's grown-up son?" (both things that I've encountered here) I'd be much less confident in going to AH for advice.