To be perfectly honest, most of the time I see research as a necessary evil.

Reality is one of those pesky details that frequently gets in the way of a good story.

I have a few stories, mostly historical mysteries, that are sitting around in some incomplete form because I’m not motivated enough to do the research necessary to make them authentic and realistic.

Research would be more interesting if it involved traveling, but most of the time, my research is limited to what I can find on the internet. I don’t get to go to exotic locations, though hanging out at the local museum and doing history fest I like to count as “research.” I even dress in as much period costume as I can.

Still, while pouring over books or browsing sites and trying to decide if they’re trustworthy or not, there are still fun ways to do research.

For instance, I’ve been asked to do a story where I change a part of a well known plot. I don’t really know how I’ll do it. Not yet.

But the movie has been remade three times, and guess what I get to do for research?

Oh, yes. I get to watch.

That’s my kind of research.