When I started writing my first novels (back in the 20th century–ha), the Internet was in its infancy. Google was not the preferred search engine. Anyone remember AltaVista? Those were the days. Except they weren’t. Not for a writer in need of easy research.
I used to go to the library to do research for my stories. I remember spending many days of one summer at the library on the campus of California State University, Northridge. I brought my spiral-bound notebook and parked myself at a table until the sun went down. In retrospect, it all seems so charming and romantic. But, it was very time-consuming. Many days I would come home and remember something else I wanted to look up, which meant another trip to the library.
Now, of course, the Internet is a beast. All you have to do is type a query into a search bar and you get pages and pages of results. You can disappear down rabbit holes for hours–days!–at a time. I’ve heard writers talk about how their quest for information begins to overtake their stories. Suddenly, they are more obsessed with gathering facts than with developing their characters. There’s just so much out there.
All of my books have involved some research. I’m still a fan of reading actual books on topics, but the Internet comes in very handy. I haven’t been to a library for research purposes in a very long time.
Cherry Blossoms is the most research-heavy book I’ve written. I read lots of books (this one was a favorite), and I traveled to Japan, but I also relied heavily on the Internet. In fact, I’m not sure the book would be what it is without the Internet. There’s just no way I would have had access to knowledge of certain things without it.
Here are a few interesting factoids I found while doing research for Cherry Blossoms:
- In a survey of international students, 86% of young Americans believed that the 21st century offers them hope; only 34% of young Japanese agreed
- Japan used to have a system of lifetime employment, which disallowed layoffs; poor workers were sent to “banishment rooms” with minimal work responsibilities until they became so disheartened that they quit
- A Japanese official proposed distributing secretly punctured condoms to young married couples to help boost the birth rate
Those tidbits (and many more) are in the book. What’s interesting about this book is that the character himself is doing research about Japan as he prepares to go there. That means that much of my research as the author becomes transparent. Usually, when I’m researching for a book, my findings are integrated into the story in a subtle way. The reader probably isn’t (and shouldn’t) be aware of the behind-the-scenes digging that goes into a certain story line. With this book, the process of discovery–mine and the main character’s–is obvious. And it’s my hope that the process of discovery for the reader is nothing short of enjoyable.
Cherry Blossoms will be released on October 30, but you can pre-order now. Like, right now: Amazon ~ IndieBound ~ Barnes&Noble