An old and perhaps worn out cliche about writing is ‘write what you know.’ In beginning any new project I generally assume that I know very little about the theme I have chosen. This is true even when I am writing about places, time periods and cultures that I am somewhat familiar with.

One of my books, Roses of Winter, is set in my home city of Glasgow, Scotland during World War II. I was born five years after the war ended so have no direct experience of it. Fortunately, the interiors and street scenes that I did experience in the city of the 1950s and early 1960s were broadly similar to those of the 1940s. However, there remained a lot of details that needed to be pinned down.

The book also included the wartime adventures of male members of the two families that are featured in the story. One served on a rescue ship in a convoy to Murmansk, another found himself stranded on the beaches during the Dunkirk evacuation. These scenarios created another set of research needs.

The types of information I needed ranged from general background to the highly specific. To find the answers required a mix of strategies. They included interviews, internet searches, seeking out books and papers on various topics, and visits to archives.

Interviews

I was fortunate to have access to a number of older relatives who had lived in various neighborhoods and experienced the war first hand. Before speaking with them I created a detailed list of questions that would meet my information needs. Many were quite basic such as ‘where did you buy bread and other groceries,’ or ‘how did you get from here to there during the war.’ This helped me develop a sense of the lifestyle as well as provide interesting details I might not otherwise have known. One interesting point is that, since I was in the US and my family were in Britain, most of these interviews were carried out over the internet using VOIP, an inexpensive method that allowed long conversations. Skype is another way to do this. Recording is an option if your subject is agreeable.

Internet searches

I used the internet in several different ways. They can be summarized as follows:

1. Searching for books and other materials

2. Finding people with direct experience of particular events

3. Looking for newspapers and radio broadcasts from the time period

4. Seeking personal accounts

5. Locating historic images

6. Establishing physical details such as sunrise and sunset, temperature ranges, geographical details.

Many of these are fairly straightforward so I will focus on my experience with finding people. An important part of this strategy was to seek out sites and message boards where people gathered to discuss a variety of topics. Some were related to life in Glasgow, others were places frequented by former merchant seamen or naval personnel. Placing queries on a number of these produced very useful and sometimes surprising results. Some had previously unpublished images. Others were willing to be interviewed. One individual who had served as an officer on board a rescue ship in the arctic agreed to read those chapters and comment on how accurate they were.

One note of caution. Memories of events recalled decades later are often imperfect. Always attempt to verify information from other sources.

Archives

Archives are increasingly being digitized and made available online. However, you may find in some cases that it is necessary to visit in person. Whenever possible it helps to visit if only for the personal connection with subject matter experts. In 2005 I visited the archive at Clydebank library looking for information about the Clydebank Blitz. The reference librarian was extremely helpful and extracted a great deal of information and images for me to examine. I ended up licensing one of the images for the cover of the book.

Another advantage of being in-situ is that it sometimes enhances the imagination. During my archive search I discovered that I was sitting in the room that had been the Civil Defense headquarters during the blitz. In fact, a portion of the library had been damaged by a German bomb. Communications lines were cut and messages were sent to various locations in Clydebank using bicycle messengers. Imagine cycling through an air raid. I doubt that I would have known that otherwise.

It is important to be efficient in gathering information and keeping it organized. This allows you to economize on time and money. Technology exists to help with this. Before visiting archives I recommend putting together a portable kit. Some items to consider include a digital camera, a portable scanner, a laptop, portable digital recorder, iPad with keyboard. Some institutions may have rules that restrict use of particular devices but many are now recognizing that times have changed.

Putting it all together

The point of research (apart from achieving accuracy) is to breathe life into the story. In the case of Roses of Winter, we all know how the war turned out but the characters do not. For the story to seem real they must experience their lives in real time. It is important to provide just enough of the history so that the reader knows what is going on. I used actual newspapers and radio broadcasts as part of this process. But it has to be done lightly. The history must emerge in ways that fit the story and through the experience of the characters.

One challenge is to keep all the various stories lines straight while making sure the history in the background is correct. This is similar to the concept of continuity in movies. I find it helpful to construct timelines. In some of the more complex chapters, I inserted notes that I later removed. This helped me find and correct some continuity issues. Now I use software such as Aeon Timeline to achieve the same purpose. This allows a visual approach that combines various layers that can easily be compared. In my current project I have the real history as one layer, major story components as a second layer, and the time range for each chapter as a third layer.

Many of my projects require a great deal of research. My current story is set in early 19th. century Baltimore. The learning curve has been steep. Much of what I discover may never make it into the final book. What does must serve the story.

Murdo Morrison

I am a writer, podcaster and staff member at Podioracket.com.