Researching Orphans and Orphanages

writeworld:

Anonymous said: Opinions on orphanages and/or orphaned characters? Cos I’m writing one but IT’S SUCH A CLICHE I’M DEAD

Well, don’t die. That’s the first thing. This is not even a little bit worth dying over.

I don’t know what time period you’re talking about, or where your story is set. That’s not so great news, since it makes helping you out very difficult. WriteWorld isn’t a research blog, but I’m willing to do a few Google searches for you because you seem a bit overwhelmed. In the future, please don’t ask us to do research for you. We’re not really into that.

As far as our opinion on orphanages and orphaned characters goes, I (C of WriteWorld) think that if you want to write about them and you can pull it off, then you should write about them. Orphans have always been popular in stories, especially stories aimed at young people for some reason, but just because an orphan is a popular sort of character doesn’t mean you can’t write about them. Popularity doesn’t necessarily indicate a cliche, though a popular trope can sometimes become cliche. Cliches arise when a lack of original or deep thought eats a hole through the heart of a particular subject, making it groan-worthy and/or disrespectful. You can read over the topics on the TVTropes page linked below and find clear examples of tropes that have become cliched. But I’ll leave you to that. For now, let’s talk research.

Where should you start? Well, how much do you know about orphanages generally? Did everything you know about orphanages come from stories in movies, TV, and books? Read these articles on orphanages, adoption, etc. to gain a very broad understanding of the subject.

• Orphanage from Wikipedia
• Orphaned Index of TVTropes
• How Adoption Works from HowStuffWorks

Do you know the difference between orphanages and group homes? Yahoo Answers user Wildgrl explains the general difference very well:

An orphanage is run by a private organization, such as a church, ministry, hospital, outreach clinic, etc. It provides long term care for children with no known parents, but also supports runaways as a safe-house / halfway house and shelter.

A group home is a facility that is jointly run by the states Dept of Family Services and the Dept of Corrections. They are often dual-use facilities in that they house foster youth and transitional kids that are coming out of a juvenile corrections center.

These aren’t the only valid definitions for orphanage and group home, and both are worth exploring more deeply, but I understand that you just want to know more about orphanages. So, on that note…

I’m just going to assume that you’re talking about modern-day, privately-run American orphanages for children with no living biological parents. If that’s the case, I recommend that you check out these articles and resources as well as do research on your own:

• The Modern Orphans of Mississippi from The Atlantic
  
• Foster Care versus Modern Orphanages from the NCPA (based on this article by Richard B. McKenzie)
  
• Don’t Misjudge Modern Orphanages from the Chicago Tribune
  
• A Place to Call Home: The Amazing Success Story of Modern Orphanages by Martha Randolph Carr
• Are There Any Traditional Orphanages in the US? from The Huffington Post
  
• Best Kept Secret of Something We’re Doing Well in America by Martha Carr
  
• IamA an orphan who grew up in crazy abusive foster homes, ran away from home, became a pro wrestler, military veteran, graphic designer and amazing dad! AMA!
  
• IAMA Orphan who has lived in over 30 group homes and facilities (and radical psychological treatments). AMAA
  
• Orphanages from FAQs
  

Or how about actually visiting the websites of modern-day orphanages?

• Maryville Academy
  
• Thornwell
• Mercy Home
  
• Jerkins Institute for Children
  
• Appalachian Children’s Home
  
• Boys Town
  
• Or just… You know what? Here. And here’s a list of Christian orphanages all over the world, including the US.

You could even look up an orphanage near you and volunteer! Ain’t nothin’ quite like going to a place and actually experiencing what it is like to be there.

And here are just a few articles, resources, and IAMAs on modern-day orphanages from around the world:

• Orphans’ Lonely Beginnings Reveal How Parents Shape A Child’s Brain from NPR
  
• An Orphanage Once Called Home from The Washington Post
• I grew up in a Russian orphanage, AMA!
  
• I live in and am employed by a Chinese orphanage. AMA.
  
• I run an orphanage in Nepal AMA

There are TONS more resources on this topic on the internet. You could also check your local library for resources on orphanages, group homes, adoption, foster care, etc. You could research experts on this topic and interview them. There might even be a few fellow writers here on Tumblr who could help you out, either with research of their own or from their personal experiences with orphanages and/or group homes.

Remember, you’re writing about real things that affect real people. Please do more research than this. Please. I’m begging you. I literally just pulled together some articles I thought were interesting from the first few search queries I made. That’s barely enough research to write a Tumblr post on this subject, let alone an entire book.

If you need some help learning to conduct your own research, check out our research tag. There are great resources there to get you started.

Thanks for your question, and I hope this helps!

-C