by Becca Kinzer, @BeccaKinzer
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia. What is that? It’s the fear of hippos who present as giant squid monsters. I think. Or is it the fear of long words? Hmmm . . . can’t remember now. And unfortunately, I’ll never be able to tell you, because I have a different type of fear. The fear of research. Which is why I’ve never wanted to tackle writing historical fiction.
You’ve heard the horror stories.
An author bleeds her very blood on the page to craft a glorious tale brimming with vivid characters, page-turning drama, and an Elizabethan setting so real readers can taste the wine a character drinks from a decanter on page 243—only to be notified by a reader that the decanter mentioned on page 243 was not an accurate portrayal of decanters during the Elizabethan era, and this reader should know because he’s written an entire thesis on the influence decanters had on the socioeconomic infrastructure of the Elizabethan era, specifically decanters during the year 1603, in which this story was set, and in which the author would have known if the author had done a little research.
Bleh. No, thank you. To avoid emails like that I decided to stick to writing contemporary stories that required zero research. Which was working well until one of my characters decided she wanted to go to South Africa.
South Africa? Oh honey, no. I don’t know anything about South Africa. How about somewhere else? Somewhere like Dubuque, Iowa?
Nope. She wanted to go to South Africa. And before I could talk her out of it, the little punk boarded a plane and flew to South Africa. Then had the gall to demand I create a realistic story world after she landed.
So I did. Sort of. I googled a couple of things, enough to put a roof over her head and introduce her to some of the locals. That ought to be enough, right?
Sure. Maybe for readers who’d never been to South Africa. But when my editors kindly pointed out that someone from South Africa may read my story, I knew I had to up my research game. As in, actually do some research.
But it scared me. Why? I don’t know. Maybe that’s why the phobia definition includes the phrase irrational fear. What’s so scary about research? I love books. I own a library card. I know how to read. The internet is bursting with information about everything. What was the problem?
The problem was I wanted to talk to a person. A South African person. And I didn’t know a single South African person. Which meant I was going to have to reach out to a stranger. Tell them I was writing a story. Ask if they minded answering some questions.
And it scared me.
Why? Because it turns out, I don’t have a fear of research. No, what I have is a far more common condition that can strike writers at any stage without warning.
Imposter syndrome.
What if I do all the research and still don’t get it right? What if my debut novel somehow becomes the laughingstock of South Africa? What if this person I’ve reached out to doesn’t consider me a real author because my first book hasn’t been published yet, so I know there’s no way she’s ever heard of me, and she probably doesn’t have time to answer a bunch of questions from someone pretending to be a writer, and maybe I should just send another email right now to tell her never mind and I’ll never bother her again and . . .oh wait. She responded.
And wow, she doesn’t hate me. In fact, she’s answering all my questions. Happily. She just signed up for my newsletter. She thinks I’m a real writer. Oh that’s right, I am a real writer.
And now that I’ve shushed up the warped whispers of imposter syndrome, I think I even love research. Who knew?
Maybe my next book can be a romantic comedy set during the Elizabethan era. We’ll call it The Decanter.
Becca Kinzer works as a critical care nurse in Illinois. When she’s not taking care of sick (and preferably heavily-sedated) patients or reminding her husband and two kids that frozen chicken nuggets is a gourmet meal in most countries, she spends her time making up lighthearted stories with serious laughs. She is a 2018 First Impressions Contest winner, a 2019 Genesis Contest winner, a 2021 Cascade Writing Contest winner, and all-around champion coffee drinker. Her debut novel releases in early 2023. Enjoy two free novellas when you connect with her at beccakinzer.com.