On March 29th, staff writers Tara Terranova and Alison Hog assisted a Columbia School of the Arts Creative Writing Lecture led by novelist and journalist Hari Kunzru on the delicate relationship between research and fiction writing.

Hari Kunzru’s photos of scattered Post-it notes on his desk and boxes overflowing with files can attest that the behind-the-scenes work of creating a novel isn’t easy. The British award-winning author of six novels delved into the research process in a lecture given at Columbia’s School of the Arts this past Wednesday. Soon after being seated with a plate of delicious (and free) hummus and pita, Kunzru began his talk, titled “Research as Creative Practice.”

Using his own books such as Gods Without Men and White Tears as examples for the research process, or what he nicknamed the “nuts and bolts” of writing. When Kuzru initially started developing the story for the latter book, infused with obscure 1920s jazz blues, there was one major challenge—he didn’t know anything about music. “I realized if I was to write about music, I had to kind of have a vocabulary

In order to gain the vocabulary needed for his novel, Kunzru talked about the process of immersing himself in new experiences. From visiting an anechoic chamber in Berlin that the famous composer John Cage used, to entering the strange subculture of vinyl collectors, Kunzru’s dedication towards educating himself and garnering an intimate understanding of what he’s writing about is clear.

Kunzru transitioned into discussing the important role technology plays in research. “We live in a golden age to vacuum up cultural material,” he said, pointing to his iPhone. After a brief admission that he recently discovered the ability of the Notes App to scan hand-written documents to text, he encouraged everyone to record everything that interests us. After all, we have at our fingertips all the tools to do so.

Kunzru then delved into the details he looks for when conducting research as a fiction writer. He is “looking for texture,” for facts that would not normally be interesting to historians. To explain his point, he used his first published book The Impressionist, a historical novel, as an example. Set in the 1920s in India under the British colonial authorities, Kunzru had to go through boxes and boxes of paperwork, trying to identify the material that would allow the reader to feel as if they were really in that precise moment in space and time. Because of the volume of material, a lot of what he does as a fiction writer is to follow his instincts about what is interesting and useful to create this immersive world on paper. In The Impressionist, for example, Kunzru focused on investigating one very small, particular state. “Research somehow generates material, generates atmosphere and rites of passage,” Kunzru claimed. For him, research generates ideas useful in miming reality, but also in changing and distorting it.

Kunzru then offered assistants some research tips to succeed in the world of fiction writing. First, stand there if you can. He insisted that going in person provides writers with the opportunity to fully take in their surroundings and use the information to carefully craft their fictional worlds. When visiting these sites, writers should take boring pictures. Why? To illustrate this rather particular tip, Kunzru proceeded to show a series of photographs that may seem, precisely, boring to anyone’s eyes. However, each of these pictures that superficially portrayed mundane scenarios, from a door’s lock to a dimly lit table, told important scenarios. While “boring”, these pictures can be very useful to the writer by vividly bringing to life certain details that may get lost in the process. In fact, later in the event, Kunzru openly admitted that he tends to use photographs as sources more than written documents.

Kunzru, nonetheless, recognizes that it is not always possible to investigate in person. Having previously mentioned his fascination for recent technology and its usefulness for research, Kunzru encouraged writers to simulate the journey if necessary through tools like Youtube and Google Street View. With all of this information, the writer can then successfully integrate their research into their writing. If well done with enough details and texture, the reader can feel as if they are really situated inside the piece.

While, of course, integrating one’s research into the writing itself is very important, Kunzru was also quick to warn against using the facts just for the sake of it. While some details are important for the author to know for the writing process, this does not necessarily mean that the reader also needs to. In this sense, one must carefully select the information presented.

It is paramount to remember that one must not write simply to show off their knowledge, but to create a well-crafted literary world for the public, with every small detail adding texture to the piece.

Image via Columbia Website