How to Research What No One Knows: By Jacqui Murray

How Can You Research What Happened Before Recorded History?

Jacqui Murray Discusses Research

Today we have a guest post by Jacqui Murray, who tells us how she writes books about prehistoric times even though there’s no recorded information about those times.

Her technique could be applied to other types of fiction as well.

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Good Research Feels Like a Satisfying Detective Story

You have a mystery, how something did or didn’t happen, and follow the clues until the dots are connected. But as the author, how do you research what no one knows well enough to explain it in your story?

I’ll use my series, Man vs. Nature, as an example.

This multi-book saga explores pivotal points in history when man would either thrive or become extinct depending upon events. The first trilogy — Dawn of Humanity — is that era when the earliest versions of man were about as far from the alpha on the landscape as possible. The second trilogy, Crossroads, addresses the time when man conquered fire, discovered clothing, invented weapons, and the many other innovations that enabled them to dominate nature. The next trilogy, Savage Land, deals with a recent time in man’s history (75,000 years ago) when nature almost beat us.

For each, I had to research the events that made these happen without benefit of books, recorded notes, or even apocryphal stories, because the only clues were rocks and artifacts.

Where to Research What No One Knows

Richard Leakey, the most famous of all early man hunters (called paleoanthropologists), said:

“Archeology is a detective story in which all the principal characters are absent and only a few broken fragments of their possessions remain.”

Barring a handy time machine, if you must research what no one knows, extrapolate your truths from what you do know.

It sounds impossible, but a slew of brilliant researchers managed to reach believable and mostly accurate conclusions using that approach. Unfortunately, my task was more challenging. To write Lucy’s life for my most recent novel, Laws of Nature, I had to uncover what these brilliant minds couldn’t. How did Lucy conduct her everyday life? How did she handle illness? Solve problems she’d never before seen? I devoured a multidisciplinary assortment of scientists — paleobotanists, paleogeologists, paleoclimatologists — but still came up short. Where were the inevitable life and death struggles inherent in days and nights ruled by nature? Where was the emotion that travels hand in hand with making life and death decisions? Where was the drama integral to her existence?

Terry Pratchett says:

“…there’s nothing like millions of years of really frustrating trial and error to give a species moral fiber …”

Because my understanding still lacked the humanity I needed for my story, I studied primitive tribes, many driven to extinction by modern man. Project Gutenberg offered a treasure trove of free books, written long ago and no longer carried in libraries. When that still left holes in my story, I read everything available from Birute Galdikas, Dian Fossey, and Jane Goodall, leaders in understanding mankind’s closest primate relatives, the great apes, who share 99% of our DNA.

Unique Problems

A problem I had that most of you won’t is few people care about the topics that rivet me. Browsers like Firefox and Google index search results based on interest. If few search a topic, the resource is on page 500. Who gets as far as page 20 much less 500‽ I found it easier to research in academic libraries like the US’s Library of Congress (I’m American) and well-stocked university libraries like Notre Dame. I have fond memories of time spent in both of these.

Another problem is to know what you don’t know. I’ll give you an example: sitting. Sitting is an everyday action that didn’t hit my radar as needing research for a long time (one of the reasons why it took me twenty years to write the first in my series). I had my ancient people sitting when resting until I chanced upon an article discussing telltale divots and scratches where tendons attached to the femur, tibia, and ankle bone. This indicated our ancestors — as late as Neanderthals — squatted. They didn’t sit. When I researched this surprise, turns out sitting is fairly new, became popular about the time of chairs. If you think about it, squatting makes sense. It’s a more natural position for the body and quicker to get into and out of when danger arrives.

I did a find-replace and switched “sat” for “squatted” or “crouched.”

Conclusion

If the set of information available to you about your topic has holes, take that finite body of knowledge and fill the empty spaces with logical inferences that make sense. That’s a good first approach to researching what no one knows.

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Note: My newest prehistoric fiction book is out, Laws of Nature. I’d love for you to give it a look!

Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular prehistoric fiction saga, Man vs. Nature, which explores seminal events in man’s evolution one trilogy at a time. She is also the author of the Rowe-Delamagente thrillers and Building a Midshipman , the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. Her non-fiction includes over a hundred books on integrating tech into education, reviews as an Amazon Vine Voice, a columnist for NEA Today, and a freelance journalist on tech ed topics.

Find thousands of writing tips and word lists in
The Writer’s Lexicon series
and additional resources on my Facebook page.

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44 thoughts on “How to Research What No One Knows: By Jacqui Murray”

Diana Peach on Jul 30/21 at 8:26 am said:

How to discover what you don’t know you need? And how to research tidbits of information that aren’t available? A befuddling challenge. I sometimes can’t even find ordinary information. I can’t imagine trying to research a time period where information wasn’t recorded. Jacqui does a great job with her research and extrapolating from there. Excellent post, Jacqui. Thanks for hosting, Kathy.
- Kathy Steinemann on Jul 30/21 at 10:39 am said:
  
  You lasered in on the challenge, Diana. Agreed — Jacqui does do a great job.
  
  Thanks for reading and commenting.
- Jacqui Murray on Jul 30/21 at 1:28 pm said:
  
  It is. I would realize something was missing because what history recorded couldn’t happen, and then set out to find it. In the end, it really makes sense, so much that I feel pretty sure I know how our earliest ancestors survived.
Jan Sikes on Jul 30/21 at 7:47 am said:

Such an interesting post, Jacqui. I cannot even begin to fathom researching something I don’t know and yet you managed it. Thank you for sharing this part of your journey, and thank you, Kathy for hosting!
- Kathy Steinemann on Jul 30/21 at 10:40 am said:
  
  Thanks for stopping by, Jan, and for taking the time to comment.
- Jacqui Murray on Jul 30/21 at 1:30 pm said:
  
  I started with what history recorded, as simple as our 4.5 foot tall, thin-skinned, clawless and fangless ancestors thrived. How the heck did that happen? And I built from there!
Michael on Jul 30/21 at 2:14 am said:

Thank you for this very interesting explanation. I’m usually not that interested in history. But this makes me really curious about the latest book. xx Michael
- Jacqui Murray on Jul 30/21 at 7:59 am said:
  
  Thanks, Michael. I do that with the Westerns I devour. I end up researching events to see how close to truth they are! I hope you try this series!
- Jacqui Murray on Jul 30/21 at 8:02 am said:
  
  And thanks for sharing this on your website!
- Kathy Steinemann on Jul 30/21 at 10:41 am said:
  
  I’m with you on reading Jacqui’s books, Michael.
Carol Taylor on Jul 29/21 at 8:07 pm said:

Fascinating post, Jacquie…sitting v squatting caught my eye as squatting is what most people do here..I am often the only one standing in a queue everyone else is squatting…lol…I need to perfect my squatting(in) private before I join that queue…old bones…sigh x
- Jacqui Murray on Jul 30/21 at 8:06 am said:
  
  That’s interesting. Didn’t know that. I think you live in Thailand (I browsed your About Me tab). I suspect you have to get used to it but once you do, it’s a quick in and out. Not like sitting!
- Kathy Steinemann on Jul 30/21 at 10:43 am said:
  
  Thanks, Carol. You’ve shared information that could help writers. Who knew‽
Liz Gauffreau on Jul 29/21 at 6:22 pm said:

This was a fascinating discussion! I thoroughly enjoyed it.
- Jacqui Murray on Jul 30/21 at 8:07 am said:
  
  Thanks! Figuring out how to research what no one knew was one of the (many) reasons it took me so long to publish the first in the series. Now, I’m on it!
- Kathy Steinemann on Jul 30/21 at 10:44 am said:
  
  I did too, Liz, and I don’t know how Jacqui finds the time to do what she does.
  
  Thanks for your comment!
Robbie Cheadle on Jul 28/21 at 11:33 am said:

An excellent post about how Jacqui conducted her research into early man. There is some information available here in South Africa because of the Cradle of Mankind and the famous Mrs Ples and Little Foot skulls at the Sterkfontein Caves and Maropeng here in South Africa. I think it is a fascinating subject and I have a few stone age tools that I managed to procure during my touring of the caves.
- Jacqui Murray on Jul 29/21 at 8:12 am said:
  
  South Africa has amazing remains of early man. I have read a lot about them, including those you mentioned. The caves surprised me. I got lost touring them for hours! Virtually, of course.
  - Kathy Steinemann on Jul 29/21 at 9:12 am said:
    
    For a second, I thought you had toured the caves on foot, Jacqui. Isn’t technology wonderful? (When it works.)
    
    Thanks for dropping by, Robbie.
    - Jacqui Murray on Jul 30/21 at 8:08 am said:
      
      That virtual stuff is amazing. I would tour it on foot if I can ever make my way to South Africa.
Sally Cronin on Jul 28/21 at 2:59 am said:

Fascinating Jacqui and again demonstrates how labour intensive writing books in certain genres can be. Having enjoyed all your books and looking forward to Laws of Nature, I appreciate how detailed your writing is. Thanks for taking us behind the scenes and to Kathy for hosting.
- Jacqui Murray on Jul 28/21 at 8:05 am said:
  
  I really enjoyed writing about this topic. Kathy suggested it and it fits my genre so well. Thanks for visiting, Sally!
  - Kathy Steinemann on Jul 28/21 at 8:57 am said:
    
    Thanks, Sally for your thoughts, and to you again, Jacqui, for agreeing to share your wisdom.
DGKaye on Jul 27/21 at 7:16 pm said:

Fantastic post by Jacqui. I give her kudos for writing such a pre-historic series and having to dig deep for research. Hugs 🙂
- Jacqui Murray on Jul 28/21 at 8:06 am said:
  
  I love the research but you can never rest. Their lives aren’t facts to be read in books. I have to find the pieces and how they connect, not unlike a puzzle. That is fun for me!
  - DGKaye on Jul 29/21 at 3:50 pm said:
    
    I totally get it. 🙂
- Kathy Steinemann on Jul 28/21 at 8:58 am said:
  
  Interesting approach, right, Debby?
  
  Thanks for your positivity and shares.
Lenny Lee on Jul 26/21 at 1:47 pm said:

Cool post! Reminds me of the tv programs Beyond the Unknown and Mysteries of the Unknown.

I like doing research, but have trouble getting started. Ack!

Thanks for helping me know how to know what no one knows.

Be safe!
- Kathy Steinemann on Jul 26/21 at 2:47 pm said:
  
  Thanks, Lenny. I’m sure Jacqui will stop by again soon.
  
  You stay safe, too!
- Jacqui Murray on Jul 26/21 at 3:39 pm said:
  
  Thanks, Lenny. I have trouble stopping! I will lose hours on one silly tidbit.
Vivienne on Jul 22/21 at 11:56 am said:

I stopped reading this post because of your continued use of ‘man’. In the past, I know this word was used as the generic for humans. But as I remember, it always had a capital letter, ‘Man’, to distinguish it from the word for the male of the species.
Nowadays, people are so careful about how they refer to gender, and try to use inclusive language so as not to upset LBGTQ people.
But not in the case of women.
Why is this? It’s not because words don’t exist. There’s ‘human’, ‘humanity’ and ‘people’ to name but three.
As a woman, when our species is referred to as man (with a lower case m, especially )
I feel excluded. Everything is not done by men. Similarly ‘man-made’. Some things are made by women. Synthetic and artificial are good substitutes.
- Jacqui Murray on Jul 23/21 at 8:47 am said:
  
  Man is an accepted term for the entirety of our existence–mankind. That may change and then I will change! I apologize for the unintended offense.
- Kathy Steinemann on Jul 26/21 at 7:34 am said:
  
  Hmm, Vivienne, are you aware that “human” and “humanity” are variants of “man”? Even “woman” is derived from “man.” Food for thought?
  - Jacqui Murray on Jul 28/21 at 8:14 am said:
    
    Thanks for sharing that. Good info, Kathy.
Connie Terpack on Jul 22/21 at 1:49 am said:

Great article, but I found your bit on sitting vs squatting quite interesting. I thought early man used rocks, vine swings, or low-hanging tree branches to sit on. I’ve always believed that those kind of little things make a story more real.
- Jacqui Murray on Jul 22/21 at 8:22 am said:
  
  My folks are 1.8 mya in the current trilogy and 850,000 years old in the second trilogy. I did originally have them sitting (cross legged style) until I ran across an article that got me thinking. That led to lots more research. It’s a memorable characteristic and I wanted to get it right.
  
  Thanks for chatting. I love this topic.
  - Kathy Steinemann on Jul 22/21 at 8:51 am said:
    
    The squatting vs. sitting info caught my eye as well. Scientists must use a similar approach when they analyze new data.
Rosi Hollinbeck on Jul 21/21 at 10:16 pm said:

What an interesting interview. Who would think that sitting wasn’t a thing ever! So fascinating. Thanks for this post. I will be looking for Jacqui’s books.
- Jacqui Murray on Jul 22/21 at 8:27 am said:
  
  I forget what tidbit of reading made me dig into sit vs. squat. Most paleoanthropologists say nothing about it! All part of ‘researching what no one knows’.
  - Kathy Steinemann on Jul 22/21 at 8:53 am said:
    
    With your analytical approach, you’d be a great addition to any archeology dig, Jacqui.
Jacqui Murray on Jul 21/21 at 8:50 am said:

Thanks for sharing this article. It was quite a conundrum to me at first, writing what no one knew for sure, but I realized that’s what our big brains are for. We collect data, connect dots, draw conclusions. It was fun to share this with everyone.
- Kathy Steinemann on Jul 21/21 at 9:15 am said:
  
  It’s fascinating to see your approach to the unknown, Jacqui. Fantasy writers can invent “facts,” but that approach doesn’t work for prehistoric fiction.
Kathy Steinemann on Jul 21/21 at 6:10 am said:

Thanks, Jacqui, for your valuable insight.
- Jacqui Murray on Jul 21/21 at 8:55 am said:
  
  I enjoyed thinking this through. My daughter once took an advanced math class that had no practical applications but would be useful for future inventions. It inspired her, and then me!

Comments are closed.