One of the things a book reviewer invariably comments on is verisimilitude of a book’s setting, the vividness of the details, the authenticity of the regional voice. And how to you get that authenticity? If you are writing about someplace other than our own home town, travel is an important part about getting the research right. One of the first writers I ever met and one who went on to become a 
mentor and friend, Susan Fletcher, went all the way to Iran to research her books Shadow Spinner and Alphabet of Dreams. She wanted to know what color the dirt was, the texture of the sand in the desert, and the smell of the souk. The result is a pair of books that were critically praised in America but also widely respected in their Persian editions in Iran.
I have since traveled to research my own books, both in the US and occasionally abroad. Here are some things I’ve learned along the way.
- Take a first aid kit and comfortable shoes. Always. You will be walking far more than you planned, and it’s just the worst when you have finally found the vista you needed most and be distracted by blisters or bee stings with no medical help in sight.
- Leave the computer behind. I get so wrapped up in my screen, it can b
e a real detriment to engaging in the place I’m visiting. Most phones come with a camera, a note taking function and voice recording function. That’s all I need. I try to resist the urge to check email and social media. The kind of discovery that makes the details of my story feel authentic is not going to come from a screen. - Be socially brave. Ask people questions. Engage. Most people like
to talk about their home town and home culture. A month of reading in a library will not give the kind of insights that make something feel true. For example when I asked a family in a rural Oregon county what difference the reintroduction of wolves have made to their life, they said, “Now we send our kids to the bus stop with a gun.” That’s the sort of vivid detail that doesn’t come up in books and newspapers.- Bring small gifts from home. I usually bring a stack of postcards from Oregon when I travel and give them as a thank you to a person I’ve had a conversation with on a train or at a pub. If I’ve made an appointment to see somebody–say a curator at a museum–I might bring something quintessentially Oregon like marionberry jam or chocolate truffles with douglas fir tips, or some small token of appreciation.
- Do n
ot collect things unless it is specifically permitted. In many places even collecting a rock or shell from the ground is forbidden. In some public gardens it is against the law to remove any vegetation, even fallen leaves or flowers. Sometimes the fine is shockingly high.Take a photo. Trace the outline of a leaf, catch a sound clip of a waterfall, - Track expenses. Many are tax deductible. Your flight or milage, admissions to museums, and exhibitions, your lodging, meetings that are specifically related to your writing count. The gifts you bought for your family, the play you took in just for fun, and the expenses of your traveling companions, not so much.
- Be open to discovery. The real benefit of going to a location is to find new perspectives and information that doesn’t get into the usual channels.
- Be culturally aware. sometimes the official line on a cultural or historical event is a dot off the full picture. Or, okay, an entire mile. The traditional thanksgiving story is a prime example. Take in more than one perspective. Be willing to change your story if your version in not fair in its representation. Or be clear in your bias from the outset.
- Take contact information from key sources for follow up. You may be making revisions on the final version of this story 10 or 12
years after your initial research. - Go beyond the guide book. Get off the beaten path. Linger. Arrive at an off peak time. Ask local folks where to go. The joy of travel is the unexpected and your book will be the stronger for it.
Most authors spend many hours researching topics before they begin writing. For fiction, getting details right is important, but for nonfiction it’s essential.
These were roads typically traversed on foot or motorbike. While we jounced along, huge chunks of rock and piles of dirt scraped the underside of the van. At times we could only pass by driving with two wheels in the ditch at the side of the road. Sometimes the van tilted so much, it seemed as if we were riding on two wheels rather than four. This harrowing ride was made more difficult when we needed to pass an occasional vehicle by a hair’s breadth.
After more than an hour, we came to the remote village in the mountains. We took a tour of the extensive farm, then settled in for the interview, while his wife cooked beef stew over coals in a small metal fire pit in the kitchen.
Chickens wandered into the screened-in porch, while a goose pecked at the screen as his story unfolded. He began with the family tree, so I would know his father’s history. He rattled off names and dates. What an incredible memory! And I left his farm with a full stomach and many memories of my own.
held. Because the prison is still in use, we had to wait for the guards to clear all the prisoners from the areas we would be touring. And we received special permission to take a few pictures. The prisoners watched from behind barbed wire fencing while we entered the older buildings on the grounds. It was an emotional day for the independence leader’s daughter because this was the first time she had seen the cells where her father was held for seven years. Throughout the tour, the guards were very respectful of the descendant of a man who’d helped secure Kenya’s freedom.
I spent one day at the area considered the “Eden” of the Kikuyu people and heard their origin story and history, and viewed historical artifacts, granaries (pictured), and homes. The fight for independence mainly began with the Kikuyu, who wanted to stop British settlers from taking over their land. Ancient and modern history combined later when I got to hear about politics from an official in the present-day government who is Kikuyu.
Another stop was the archives in Nairobi, which has a museum on the first two floors that added to my knowledge of history. My main goal, though, was to look at official records. Although they could not pull the specific records I requested, they did bring me a file from 1954 titled “Information and Propaganda,” which contained British records of the revolts, arrests, and killings. It was jarring to read the British accounts after hearing the Kenyans laud the Mau Mau as freedom fighters. The British called them “terrorists.” Interesting to see how people with opposing points of view can describe the same events so differently.
