Writing Research: The Research Rabbit Holes Nobody Sees

One of the biggest misconceptions about writing is that authors simply sit down and make everything up.

While imagination certainly plays a role, there is an entire side of writing that readers rarely see.

Research.

And sometimes that research takes me down rabbit holes I never expected.

If I'm going to write about a subject I'm passionate about, I'm going to make sure I understand it first.

That doesn't mean I need to become an expert in every topic I write about. It does mean I want the world, the characters, and the experiences to feel believable enough that readers stay immersed in the story.

Some of that research comes from personal experience.

Some comes from the people around me.

Some comes from books, documentaries, interviews, internet searches, and enough browser tabs to make my computer question my life choices.

For The Wreckage Series, I spent time researching vehicle manslaughter cases, sentencing, legal outcomes, and how those consequences might realistically shape a person's future. I wanted to understand not just the legal side, but the emotional weight someone would carry after an event like that.

For my hockey series, the research feels a little different. Hockey has been part of my life for years because of my husband. We've spent countless hours watching games, discussing players, learning terminology, and understanding the culture surrounding the sport. When I write those stories, I'm not just researching hockey. I'm trying to capture the atmosphere that makes people fall in love with the game.

Military themes often require another level of care. My husband served in the Marine Corps and lives with PTSD. While every veteran's experience is unique, those realities have taught me the importance of handling military themes, trauma, and recovery with respect.

Research in those areas isn't about collecting facts. It's about understanding people.

The same goes for medical settings.

When I was writing Echoes of Regret, I spent time researching emergency room environments, terminology, procedures, scheduling structures, and how nurses actually work. Readers may never notice whether a nurse's schedule aligns correctly with the events of a story, but I notice.

In fact, there have been times when I changed scenes because the timeline didn't work.

Not because anyone would necessarily catch it.

Because I would know.

I remember calculating dates, shifts, and schedules to make sure an emergency room nurse working three days on and four days off was actually where she was supposed to be when major events occurred. Most readers would never stop and check the math.

I did.

Because details matter.

One of the strangest parts of being a writer is realizing how unusual your search history can become.

One day you're researching hospital procedures.

The next you're looking up sentencing guidelines for vehicle manslaughter.

Then you're researching private contractors, cover-ups, organized crime structures, or trying to figure out whether a fictional character could realistically survive a particular injury.

And that's before we even get into writing romance.

Let's just say some research topics would probably raise a few eyebrows without the proper context.

But the deeper reason research matters to me isn't factual accuracy.

It's character accuracy.

The biggest thing that pulls me out of a story isn't necessarily a wrong fact.

It's unrealistic behavior.

Characters who act in ways that don't make sense.

Professionals who don't sound like professionals.

Communities that don't resemble the people they're supposed to represent.

The moment a character stops feeling authentic, the story starts to crack.

Research helps prevent that.

It helps me understand not only what people do, but why they do it.

Do readers notice good research?

Honestly, I'm not sure.

What I do know is that readers absolutely notice bad research. Bad research pulls people out of a story.

Good research disappears into it. When it's done well, readers aren't thinking about the research at all. They're thinking about the characters, the emotions, and the journey. And that's exactly where I want their attention to be.

Because at the end of the day, research isn't about proving how much I know.

It's about respecting the story enough to get it right.

Even if nobody ever sees the rabbit holes it took to get there.