geri_chan | Research

I was trying to think of meta topics to write about, and it occurred to me that sometimes I get a little obsessive about doing research for a fanfic--spending way more time than I need to on it. And I was just wondering if other writers also spend almost as much time researching the fic as they do writing it.

The best example of this is my still-in-progress (and not yet posted) post-DH plot bunny in which Snape runs off to Japan to try and forget about Lupin. (Snape, Lupin, and Tonks all survive the war, and Lupin and Tonks are still married.) Snape would be living with the tengu (the half-human, half-crow shapeshifters who show up in my Always series), and helping to heal the ailing leader of the tengu clan. So I researched both tengu and real crows on the web, and borrowed books on Japanese legends and folklore from the library. The tengu are warriors, and in my universe, have a culture based on the samurai of the feudal era, so I borrowed books on the samurai, life in ancient Japan, and Japanese weapons, and made copious notes. I also watch samurai shows on the local Japanese-language station, which is for pleasure and I would still be watching them even if I wasn't writing this fic, but I do make mental notes when I see some interesting bit of information that might be relevant to my fic, or "cast" actors in the roles of characters in the story. (The lead actor in Furin Kazan looked so tengu-ish to me, that I ended up creating a character for the story based on his appearance.)

I had planned a scene where a tengu patrol battles a band of ninja, so naturally I had to do some research on ninja, which led to this post on how ninja use aconite.

Snape's tengu love interest, Kuro, has a childlike hero-worship of the legendary Japanese warrior and tragic hero Yoshitsune. This came about partly because I watched and enjoyed the NHK TV series Yoshitsune, and also because one of the legends about Yoshitsune is that he was taught swordsmanship and military strategy by the tengu as a child. All I really needed for the story was his basic biographical story, but I ended up borrowing and reading several historical and fictional books about Yoshitsune, including The Tale of the Heike (all 500+ pages of it), which chronicles the war between the Heike and Yoshitsune's clan, the Genji.

I also watched and taped a PBS special on the crafting of samurai swords, which is full of fascinating information--most of which will never make it into the story.

Of course, I am rather selective about the type of research I become obsessed with. I know that there are HP writers who keep strict track of the canon timeline, and research what the weather was like on the particular day that that their fic takes place, or what phase of the moon it was, etc. But I'm not interested in being that realistic, so I fudge it and chalk it up to artistic license. But I am fascinated with Japanese culture, and I love watching samurai TV dramas, which I guess is why I got carried away with the research for the Snape-in-Japan fic.

I also admit that there's probably a bit of procrastination involved, considering that I've been working on the damned plot bunny for more than a year. (Although it's also because I kept putting it off because I was working on various fic and meta challenges for Snapedom and

lupin_snape.) The research part is fun, and it helps put off the actual work of writing the story. Not that writing isn't fun, but I'm sure that all fanfic writers know that it can also be a struggle at times.

I actually have written a couple of complete chapters, plus various bits and pieces for future scenes. So I've resolved to start posting it before the year ends, and that will force me to work on it, since I have resolved never to leave a WIP unfinished, since it drives me crazy when I get hooked on a WIP and the author abandons it.

So if anyone on the Friends list is reading this and wants to comment, how far do you go with your research, and what kinds of things do you like to research? Is it something you enjoy, or is it just a necessity of the writing process?