I must admit my browsing history isn’t what it used to be, for several reasons. The first is I use a VPN and The Onion if I need to access information that is a little bit dodge, and I’ve been doing that for a long time. The other reason – I have more people I can talk to about things that I used to need to research via the internet and sometimes an actual conversation is a better option. I do also have a fairly comprehensive wee library of my own. Books are wonderful things. I can check something, then verify it however I choose, or I check something and have a jumping off point to look for more updated information. Also, never underestimate the knowledge held by friends.
Why am I thinking about research and being tracked?
Because I am writing the SEVENTH Veronica Tracey Spy/PI book. (It’s titled [Foxtrot Foxtrot Sierra].)
Because Ronnie, Crockett, and Ben need to find themselves a group of people with knowledge in a lot of different fields. Ronnie finds the people she thinks are going to be the most helpful on a social media platform checks their locations and reaches out to them all.
And yes, I am having fun with this new story despite not really wanting to start this one until next year.
Stories have a way of forcing their own timeline onto the unsuspecting writer.
If you’re a writer, how do you approach research?
Are you a planner and have it all sorted before you begin or are you fluid in your approach (a pantser)?
I never know what my story is about until I’m writing it so I don’t research prior, I just get on with it and tackle research as it crops up.
I know a few authors who don’t research at all. They 100% say it’s fiction and will just make shit up left right and centre. Yay for them but I’m not that type of writer.
I am from the ‘People learn from fiction faster than non-fiction’ camp, therefore there are certain things in my stories that are absolutely real and there are things that could be real (or that will be soon). Then there is creative licence to make something real for my characters or to juggle geography a bit for the stories sake.
That’s it from me today. I gotta scene a to write. 🙂
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Cat Connor 
Ah, research! For me, anyway, it’s often a lot of fun and I have met some very cool people in the process. I’ve found, too, that people are often really happy to give you the benefit of their expertise. And now I’m quite eager to read {FFS] (As if I weren’t already!)
I think for the new writers it’s harder to approach people and ask them for their expertise. Bit easier for us authors who’ve got back list to point to, you know? I love research weird and wonderful topics but I have noticed it’s a kin to cramming for an exam … I know all the things when I need to only to be forgotten completely when I move onto the next story!!
Ha! I do the same thing, Cat. If I don’t make notes to myself, all that wonderful expertise melts away into the ethosphere. And I think you’re right about the difference between new authors and those who have some experience under our belts. Not only do we have more confidence (and we know what questions we want to ask) but also, I think, we have a better sense of who would know what we want to know. And yes, a bit of a catalogue helps!
Ah, good point about knowing what questions to ask! I have a Ronnie Tracey ‘bible’ for the snippets of research I know I’ll need again. (Plus word choices and so forth.) Super handy!