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1. GIVE IT TIME:
When first entering into a
research project always give yourself
enough prep time to work and to adequately
collect your materials. As writers we
often live and die by deadlines, but you
must allow yourself a realistic
opportunity to gather sources. Also look
at the back end of the project.
Tentatively map out time for editing and
fact-checking in your schedule. Hopefully
everything will run smoothly, but prepare
yourself and your publisher in case it
doesn’t. It is also quite common for last
minute materials to come to your
attention. Often people will get wind of
your project and send things that you
didn’t even know existed. I always have a
1-2 month buffer clearly defined in my
book contracts just in case the unexpected
happens.
2. DEFINE YOUR GOALS:
Write yourself a mission
statement and then outline what you will
need to achieve it. Once, I literally
wrote the back cover copy of a book first.
That gave me a “mental goal” to shoot for
as I began to assemble the pieces of the
puzzle. Of course at the same time you
have to remain flexible and be willing to
change or modify your plan of action if it
will benefit the work. I just finished
co-producing a Civil War documentary and
we were literally shooting 16 hour days
while constantly shifting locations and
schedules. We had a storyboard when we
started, but as the film evolved, we had
to evolve with it. One day we worked from
8:30 am to 2:30 am and over the course of
that day we had to constantly adjust our
plans. Be firm, but flexible.
3. PREP YOU TOO:
Take some time to
familiarize yourself with the libraries
and archives you’ll be using. Each
collection has its own system for
reference materials and chances are
they’ll have separate technologies to help
you along. It’s a good idea to talk to the
staff about where and how to start. If
you’re under deadline, you don’t want to
waste precious time trying to figure out
where to locate materials. Make sure you
know how to operate their microfilm
viewers or computers. (They are not all
the same). Also be sure to pack well. I
travel sometimes when conducting research
and I take a tablet, folders, a laptop,
digital camera, pencils and pens,
post-its, and you can even take a tape
recorder if that works for you. These are
the tools of our trade. Use them.
4. BE SPECIFIC:
When you are compiling
source materials (whether you are
photocopying them or not) always be sure
to take copious notes and write any
additional info down on them that you may
need later. This includes vol. numbers,
titles, locations where they were found,
what type of media they were presented on,
any credit information etc. The last thing
you want to do is spend hours and hours
digging for a source and then a month
later when you actually go to use it, have
no recollection of where it came from. In
addition, you may need to contact the
archivist and/or librarian to request more
information and you must refer them to a
specific item. It’s not their job to redo
your research. Write it all down. You’ll
thank me.
5. NEVER GO SOLO:
This is common sense in a
lot of regards, but it cannot be stressed
enough. NEVER use a single source. If you
can’t find additional sources to validate
a statement, delete it, or at least
present it as speculation and honestly say
“according to ____ …” You must establish
credibility and once you lose that the
rest of the piece is tainted. Research
doesn’t always yield good reference. It
can also lead to junk and that will result
in mistakes. I know an amateur historian
who wrote a short biography on a general.
He wasn’t much of a researcher, but he did
have a flair for writing. His book was
released through a small publisher who
didn’t have the time or money to
fact-check and on the first page he
horribly misquoted his subject. On the
first page! The rest of the book was
rendered meaningless by the sloppy
research depicted in the beginning.
6: CHECK YOUR TECH:
Today we have access to
tons of cyber information, but we must
always keep in mind that the facts on the
Internet are only as good as the person
who posted them. Therefore I always
compare multiple sources whenever
possible. I tell my kids that Google is
not the end all. It is a great tool - but
it does not provide all of the answers.
Many a writer has looked like a fool after
misquoting something off of Wikipedia.com.
Ask any high school teacher what’s the
worst thing to happen to today’s student
study habits and they’ll probably say the
Internet. Think about it. It’s Cliff Notes
without any accountability! Please don’t
misunderstand me, the Internet is a
wonderful tool, but keep in mind that it
will not compensate for sloppy research.
In fact the Web can help to magnify poor
work. I always try to cross-check digital
data against printed sources.
7. ROUGH
IT: Write your first draft as
freely as possible, following your outline
closely. Use all the information you feel
is relevant and important. When you’ve
finished the rough draft, check for
accuracy and completeness of facts. If you
think certain sections are too long or too
skimpy, rework them until you feel they’re
the strongest you can make them. Then, if
you can, have someone who knows the
subject look at it. Just as an editor’s
eyes will catch things you don’t, a
subject-matter-expert can identify any
issues you may have with your information.
If you don’t you are taking a chance and
it may come back to bite you. Once it’s
out there – it’s out there and there is
nothing more embarrassing that having to
write addendums and corrections if you
don’t have to. Even the best researchers
miss things during the composition
process.
8. GIVE CREDIT:
In the realm of historical
writing, the bibliography, index, notes,
and footnotes are often just as valuable
to the reader as the actual narrative.
Many times a reader will want to conduct
their own research into a topic and they
will depend on your credit and source
information to point them in the right
direction. Additionally you want to make
sure that you give credit where it is due,
not only because its part of the process,
but because it’s the right thing to do.
This is where step 4 comes into play. Also
you may want to go back and reuse an
archive or collection and if they know you
aren’t citing things properly, they may
call you on it or deny you access. A
writer can burn a bridge before they know
it by not following proper protocol.
Remember, you are just a visitor. These
collections are in the constant care of
the archivists and librarians. They are
allowing you into them.
9. SAVE
SOME: I’m not a
pack rat, but I do have a rather extensive
library and source collection that I refer
to on a regular basis. Simply put, if you
are going to spend all this time
researching a topic, why not make it worth
your while and assemble it in a way that
you can refer to in the future. This is
where my idea about folders comes into
play. After years of doing this I have a
nice stash. And it really works. I’ll have
a question or assignment come up and I’ll
pour through a book or two and then it
will come to me that I probably have
something relevant in file. You can waste
a tremendous amount of time digging
through piles and piles of unmarked and
unorganized papers. Organize yourself now,
and you’ll thank yourself in the
future.
10. ENJOY:
Research takes a lot of
time – a lot of patience – and a lot of
effort. If you don’t find a way to enjoy
the process, it will be like pulling
teeth. Aggravation and anxiousness are by
far your worst enemy and they can derail
any momentum you have as a writer. Take
breaks. Eat and sleep. Now any one who
knows me would call me out on that one as
I have worked myself sick on a number of
occasions, but I can say from experience
that you must take care of yourself. I’m a
Christian and I have found myself praying
for serenity on occasion and whatever your
higher power is (or is not), find
something to give you piece in those
moments when you feel like you’re getting
nowhere. (And believe me, there will be
times you’ve had it.) I’ve spent an entire
day at a library and left with nothing
useful, but in reality, it wasn’t a total
failure because I had identified a dead
end and was able to move on. So even if
you don’t walk away with something
tangible, you still have narrowed your
search in the process. Remember that.
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