That Dreaded 'R' Word.

There is one thing I dread more than anything while working on a WIP, and this is...RESEARCH.

I hate researching stuff for a book. Absolutely loathe it. But I insist on doing it to the point of wanting to pull my hair out. I read every article and interview I can get my hands on, watch every documentary on YouTube, and even go to the lengths of buying a text book on the subject I'm trying to learn about. By the end of my process I could probably earn a Doctorate in whatever thing it is I'm studying.

Currently that subject would be forensic archaeology. One of the MC's in my book is a forensic archaeologist. She breaks up her time doing many different jobs including being a professor, sitting on a committee, and assisting with ancient dig sites. But mainly she spends her time with the police and FBI, helping them to solve homicides.

Before you ask, yes this is a real job. Law enforcement, especially those is large cities with the budget to do so, often receive the help of those trained in the forensic sciences; which includes anthropology, psychology, entomology, pathology, odontology, toxicology, serology, and of course archaeology. Whew, that was a mouth full :).

I chose forensic archaeology because it is one, if not the least common of them all. A forensic archaeologist will typically be called in to survey a burial site and assist the police on removing the body and all other important evidence at the scene that only a trained eye like theirs would find critical. Here is the dictionary definition to make it a little clearer:

Forensic archaeology, a forensic science, is the application of archaeological principles, techniques and methodologies in a legal context.

An expanding branch of archaeological investigation in which the methods and approaches of archaeology are applied to legal problems and in connection with the work of courts of law.

Most commonly this involves the reconstruction of a chronology and sequence of events from the deposits found within and around graves and burial sites for homicide cases and investigations into the violation of human rights.
-Oxford Dictonary

Now, where I'm trying to get at with all of this is it takes years to be an expert in this field. Countless hours in school, the lab, and out doing field work to become the type of scholar that my MC is. This is where the research comes in. And I want to ask you, where do you draw the line with research? Should your character be as close to real life as possible, or is it okay to take some creative liberties with their job?

In my opinion, I model myself after authors like Kathy Reichs and Patricia Cornwell (who happen to be experts in their forensic fields), so I believe that if it takes two pages to explain a technical forensic procedure, then you take two pages to do so. I enjoy reading those things in their books and hope people will enjoy reading it in mine.