Research: The Devil is in the Details

July 9, 2020

When you write a novel, you're going to run into research. Whether it be about diet or hygiene of a certain era or mythology and religious texts, doing your research will add a layer of depth to your world building. Hopefully, you won't go into detail to the point of boring just to show how knowledgable your are about the 19th century toilets.

I'm doing research on Satan or the concept of a devil in relation to the three Abrahamic religions for the Eastside (Sub)urban Fantasy series and I'm fascinated with what I've found.

I needed this research because I realized I was writing with the bias of my own knowledge sourced from the book of Genesis, the books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and the poem Paradise Lost, and of course what I was taught in CCD when I was a Catholic and when I dipped my toes in the Jehovah's Witness version of Christianity for a few years in my twenties.

The devil as a character has been featured in poetry, literature, movies, comics, and television. Lucifer Morningstar or Lucifer on Supernatural likely popped into your head. Anne Bishop did a version of him in her Black Jewels series.

I don't want those influences in my head when introduce His Creepiness and his demonic minions in my series. So, I'm going to spend a little time researching and writing backstory with a little of my own mythos added in to make the unseen antagonist a formidable, yet relatable one.

Back to blog