The What and Where of Novel Research

Co-taught with Michele Genthon
As writers, how do we determine what information we need to build the world of our stories with realistic characters and settings? Once we know what we need to research, where do we find key resources to answer our questions? Claire Gebben and Michele Genthon will share tips and tricks for researching your novel. Claire Gebben’s novel The Last of the Blacksmiths, set in 19th century Ohio and Germany was released earlier this year. Her extensive research for the book has led to invitations to speak on topics ranging from genealogy to German food and wine to blacksmithing to travel in the German Rhineland. Michele Genthon writes about historical Venetian women and American women who achieved “firsts” as women. She incorporates her research into her blog-writing and presented a lecture on “Vivaldi, Venice and Vice” at the University of Washington.