No, I’m not going to talk about that, but it’s what I spent a recent afternoon googling. Piece of advice: if you’re squeamish, don’t do that right after lunch. I’m not. I usually eat while I’m watching CSI.
I mentioned in an earlier post that I’ve finally started to move forward on a fantasy story I’ve had kicking around in my head. Since I don’t have much time to devote to it, it’s going slow, but as often happens when I’m writing a story, my subconscious is always hard at work, even when I’m not. I now know the story in detail from beginning to end, something I didn’t know when I started. Now I just have to write it all down.
So what does this have to do with amputations in the 15th century? Well, research can be an important part of writing, including fiction writing. If you’re writing what you know in the sense that the main character has the same job as you, lives in the same town, and has the same hobbies, then you probably don’t have to worry about it (though if that’s what you’re doing, I’d suggest you scrap it and try to come up with someone who isn’t you).
If not, and you’re not very knowledgeable in an area that will inform a character, the plot, or the setting, it’s time to do some research. It’s annoying and immersion-breaking to read a story and think, “That’s not true,” or, “Oops. If the character tried that in real life, she’d end up splattered all over the room.” It may not kill the story for the reader, but why take the chance?
Now, some genres and stories will be more forgiving about this than others. If I’m reading a story with a superhero as a main character, I won’t be upset when the guy leaps into the air and flies (or uses a lasso to force people to tell the truth—go Wonder Woman!). When I’m reading speculative fiction, I’ll likely cut the story more slack than I would when reading a mystery set in the present day. As usual, let common sense and genre conventions guide you.
In my case, the characters in the story don’t live in the 21st century—I’m thinking 15th/16th, though that might change. One character is a healer. What knowledge would she have? How would she perform an amputation? What tools would she use? Would she know about the possibility of infection and how to prevent it? What medicinal herbs were in use at the time? Would she use the word “brain?” Beats me. Hence the research.
I’ve learned quite a bit already. In that time period, medicine was more advanced in some areas than I’d thought. At the same time, it’s dismaying to learn that some advances could have been made much earlier than they ultimately were, if not for superstition, politics, or religion. Makes one wonder if the same could be said of today. Probably. What will those of the future think when they read the history of medicine in the 20th and 21st centuries?
I always start my research on the internet, but I rarely stop there unless I’m only looking for basic facts. I can never be sure if the information is accurate. If I’m on a university site or somewhere like the Mayo Clinic site, then yes, there’s a good chance it’s accurate. Wikipedia? Not necessarily. There’s also a lot of duplicate content out there, drawn from article banks that people use to pad sites and blogs and get backlinks. One inaccurate article can be multiplied hundreds of times, sometimes lightly paraphrased. So you have to be careful.
Once I’ve completed my initial research, I usually buy a couple of books on the subject. Reading overviews on the net is never a substitute for a well-written 300-page book by an expert in the field. For some reason I’m never satisfied with just one book. I’m more likely to accept something as true if two sources state it, I guess, and often two writers will come at the same subject from different angles, which can offer additional insight. So last night I spent time book shopping (online). I’ve ordered three books, two about the history of medicine and one about medicinal herbs. Who knows, that last one could come in handy.
Now all I have to do is read them. I’ll have time; it will be a while before I get to the first scene that requires my healer to spring into action!
So, what I’ve basically said in a long-winded and self-indulgent way is:
- Don’t skimp on research.
- Don’t believe everything you read on the net.
- Buy or borrow books when you want to learn more than the basic facts about a subject.
- (optional) Impress your dates by launching into a detailed and graphic account of what you’ve learned about 15th-century amputations, just as the waiter is bringing over the main course. Hmm. It’s a good thing I’m already married.
Happy researching!
