On Research: When Enough Is Enough

Since my forthcoming book, My Secret to Keep, is historical, I thought writing an essay on when to stop researching would be fun. This is pretty bold of me since I’m still researching a book that was published two years ago. But here goes.

When Enough Is Enough

But before I start, I want to say two things. 

First: I hosted a book club a while back and invited an author to join the meeting. When it came time for member discussion, the first person to raise his hand was the only man in the room.

“So,’ he asked, fairly trembling with eagerness to put the author in her place. “Do you want to know what you got wrong?” 

The room went silent. Women looked at each other, but no one looked at the author. Or the man. I looked for a rock to hide under then quietly apologized to the author. She smiled and addressed the man and his question. “No, I don’t know what I got wrong. Please tell me.” 

Let me add here that her response was totally without sarcasm. Possibly she’s a better person than I am.

What she got wrong was less than a paragraph about defense contracts. Defense contracts are what this man did for a living before he retired. So he knew everything there was to know about defense contracts, and he wanted to point out that the author didn’t know enough.

How vital were defense contracts to the story? Not very. The husband of the protagonist worked with defense contracts. There were (maybe) four sentences in the entire novel about what the husband did for a living. But those four sentences stopped that reader cold. 

Sure, we all try to get it right, to create a story where the facts are correct. But we’re not perfect; sometimes we miss things, and someone is always willing to point those things out to us.

If we make mistakes, I think it’s more important that we remember that while we hope we get all of the historical events correct and the facts straight, we also recognize that we are writing a story and not a history lesson.

No matter how far we go in our attempt to ‘get it right,’ we sometimes get it wrong. And we have to be okay with that. Otherwise, we will drive ourselves crazy.

The second thing I want you to know is that I’m Italian. If this were a panel about how much food is enough, my answer would be simple. “There’s no such thing as too much food.”

But we’re talking about research today, so I’ll be honest and tell you I research too much. 

My Secret to Keep starts in 1948 and continues into the 1980s, and in this world, that makes it historical. Which, I guess, makes me historical. Maybe we won’t go there today.

What I learned:

The little things are essential. They help the reader ‘feel’ the atmosphere. I wrote a scene in My Secret to Keep where Maggie’s brother was trying to call the doctor’s office because she was in labor, but when he picked up the phone, he heard the person who shared his party line talking. “Get off the phone, Marge,” he shouted. And a little later muttered, “damn party lines.” That was all that needed to be said to let the reader ‘see’ the scene. 

Of course, I verified that party lines were in use in Central Pennsylvania in 1949.

In another scene, I wrote how Anne (a significant character in the book) taught Maggie to drive. The car she would use to learn to drive—a beautifully restored 1949 candy-apple red Buick Roadmaster convertible – required some research. Luckily I live in an area where antique car shows are a ‘thing.’ There’s even an antique car museum not far from where I live. 

I researched colors and interiors. I studied the console so that I knew where the lights and windshield wipers were located and how they operated. I learned how to put the top down on a convertible. All so that I knew how to write the dialogue.

I even learned how the engine was accessed because Anne believed if you were going to learn to drive a car, you darn well should know how to fix it when something went wrong.

Two thousand words later, I had a beautifully crafted chapter, including some great interaction between Maggie and Anne. My editor loved this chapter. 

Next month I’ll share that chapter with you.

BIO

Barbara Conrey is the USA Today Bestselling author of Nowhere Near Goodbye, her debut, published on August 4, 2020, by Red Adept Publishing. Liza Fleissig represents her at the Liza Royce Agency. Her sophomore novel, My Secret to Keep, will release on August 23, 2022

Barbara is an active member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, Women’s National Book Association, and Author Talk Network. She also moderates the online book club for the Facebook group Bookish Road Trip.

Travel is her passion, along with reading, writing, hiking, and exploring antique shops. Her greatest love is Miss Molly, her rescue beagle. Barbara lives in Pennsylvania, close to family and friends.

FB: http://www.facebook.com/baconreywriter

IG: http://www.instagram.com/barbaraconrey

Web Site: http://www.barbaraconreyauthor.com

BookBub: Barbara Conrey Books – BookBub

MY SECRET TO KEEP

When Maggie Bryan works up the nerve to tell her parents she’s pregnant, they immediately disown her. Later that night, her boyfriend is killed. In desperation, she turns to her brother, Sam. Against his wife’s wishes, Sam brings Maggie to his home in rural Pennsylvania.

While Maggie awaits the birth of her child and navigates the tension in her new home, she decides to finish high school. There, she meets Anne Phillips, a volunteer educator and full-time architect. Over time, Maggie becomes drawn to Anne in ways she doesn’t understand, but she knows enough to keep her feelings hidden.

After a devastating loss, Maggie tries to move on, but secrets and betrayals keep her from living her fullest life. Beginning in the late 1940s and spanning decades, My Secret to Keep portrays a woman at war with society, her family, and herself.

“MY SECRET TO KEEP is a powerful story of courage and acceptance, an emotional journey through the life of Maggie Bryan, a strong but conflicted woman who, according to society, finds love in all the wrong places. Or does she?” Barbara Claypole White, bestselling auhor of THE PERFECT SON and THE PROMISE BETWEEN US

“Both heartwarming and heart-wrenching, MY SECRET TO KEEP is a poignant and stunning tale of secrets, lies, and betrayal that examines the choices we make about family, friendship, and love. Told thrugh a compelling narrative, Conrey’s writing is stunning. Readers can’t help but fall in love with Maggie and Anne. I was hooked from the first page.”
-Kerry Lonsdale, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post & Amazon Charts Bestselling Author

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