So, you have a great idea for your next novel. A thriller based in a hotel in England. Once you have an idea for your novel, the next step will be creating interesting and engaging characters that the reader can believe in. Every novel has a protagonist or a main character, and their journey will be the force that moves the story forward. They are, in general, the most compelling character, although without an interesting supporting cast of characters, the story will become two dimensional.  Your next stage of the writing process will be sitting down to write the first draft of the novel. Then the realisation dawns on you. You do not know the first thing about the running of a hotel and you have never set foot in England. What now? This is when you realise the importance of researching your subject matter. You need to discover what types of characters work in a hotel, what are their main personality traits, what are their goals, what are their deepest held beliefs that reveal themselves in their behaviour? By answering these questions, your novel will come to life.

General Character Research

The most important thing a writer can have in their toolbox is a general character trait list that they can always use when they are creating a good back-story for their characters. You can easily build your own toolbox by people watching, and noticing if they have any odd or distinguishing behaviours or mannerisms. Another way is to study family members or friends. Do you remember how your grandmother always used to make that silly expression with her mouth when she was trying to make a serious discussion point? Or how your friend always burst into song at the most inopportune moment? It is a well-known fact that writers never switch off their creativity and are notorious for watching how people interact with one another. Using these little details will bring your characters to life and make them more believable to the reader. If you are writing a novel about female friends, then you can draw on your personal experiences or ask female family members to give you examples of pranks or other funny tales of mischief. In fact, every major experience or fond memory can be placed in your character toolbox and used to flesh out a character.

Specific Character Research

A lot of experts will advise to only write about what you know, but I totally disagree. That opinion falls flat on its face when it comes to writing science fiction or fantasy novels, because I am not aware of anyone that has ever lived in the future, but also it is so limiting for the writer. I believe the enjoyment a writer can get from immersing themselves in a whole new world and environment is the sense of escapism that keeps us writing. So, what if we used my earlier idea of a thriller in a hotel? What if you are not familiar with anyone who works in a hotel? The revolution of the internet makes researching anything so easy. You could simply search for blogs, forums or groups relating to working in a hotel and you have all the ideas you need. You could even join some of these forums and begin a conversation with a few of the members and ask them for any memorable stories or unforgettable guests. A writer now has every piece of information at hand with a few clicks of a mouse, and without paying for a single piece of information. If you wanted to spoil yourself in the name of your creative art, you could always treat yourself to a weekend away and strike up a conversation with the hotel staff members. Once they know you are a writer, they will be more than happy to tell you their stories and experiences. The possibility that their story will make it into print some day will be a temptation many will find hard to resist.