IWSG: Research

Since it's the first Wednesday of May, it's time for another Insecure Writer's Support Group post. You can learn more about the group on their website and Facebook. This month's hosts are Michelle Wallace, Nancy Gideon, Tamara Narayan, Liesbet, and Feather Stone.

Before I get to this month's question, I want to follow up on last month's question, which asked if you'd ever used the A-Z Blogging Challenge to promote your work and if it was effective. Now that April is over, I can say that yes, I've seen an increase in downloads and sales. Some of that is due to paid ads I ran to promote sales, but overall April was more active than previous months.

For May, we've been asked the following question: What is the weirdest/coolest thing you ever had to research for your story? 

I don't want to match stories to specific research areas for fear of spoilers. However, I've researched IVF techniques; the physics of time travel; Victorian homes; and ways to kill characters with various poisons, diseases, and injuries. Other research I've done has actually been part of daily life or my own interests. For instance, my son's interests have led me to pick up knowledge of prehistoric cities and dinosaurs, which I've then used in stories. My own interest in the Beatles has influenced my work in obvious and not-so-obvious ways. I look at every non-fiction book or every new experience as a chance to research something for my writing. If I can't always be in front of the keyboard typing away, at least I can be accumulating topics for my work.

What's your approach to research? Feel free to share some of your research topics in the comments.