Research can be sooooo Frustrating!

So I'm at the point in my WIP my hero's former career is coming to focus. Up until this point, I’ve alluded to what he used to do, but now I'm getting into the nit and grit as he has the talk with the heroine on why he left.

I’ve found I know nothing about business and researching it is a bitch.

Funny thing is, I've done some crazy things in the name of research. For an MMA hero, I went to a training facility, watched them train, talked to the fighters and even took a few boxing classes--and I'm truly hooked on the sport. I also had a good friend who has fought amateur help with everything else. And I had fun doing it.

For Defying Convention, I went to a Sci-fi convention. Man, was that a weekend. I have geek friends who could help me with some of the more crazy scenes that happened--yes, a friend was checked out by a nun in an elevator. And I had fun doing it.

Now I'm faced with a business career, and not just any business, it's tycoon, mega-richie business. I'm completely tycoon stupid, people. The more I research, the more I'm like what in the hell have you done, girl? I've never felt like there isn't a career, setting or plot I can't tackle. But, boy, I'm teetering on that edge now.

I don't have any Donald Trump type friends. (I would kill for some of those, and not just for research. LOL) No one to help me make what he does authentic. I'm flying blind here. Reading about it only makes things even more confusing. What should I include? How deep do I need to go? If I leave this out will the reader question me? It’s frustrating.

So what has happened? I'm at a standstill until I'm certain I have a grasp on his career. So my question today, has one of your characters ever had a career that has been hard to research? If so, how did you get over that obstacle?

Esme
www.esmereldabishop.com

2 comments:

Natasha Moore said...

I can sympathize. If the occupation isn't crucial to the plot, I've been able to be pretty vague in some stories, especially if the character isn't actively participating at the time. Also, I've gone to the other character's POV during a scene, so they wouldn't necessarily know terminology, etc.
Good luck. I don't have any Trump-like friends either.

Vonda Sinclair said...

Great post! Sometimes researching careers can be hard. One idea might be to read a biography about or book written by a business tycoon.