A writing tip; kind of!
Now, i'm not a huge fan of deep involved research.
I'm too impatient and just want to write the damn story and fix details later. But i will look up stuff if i know it's going to be quick and won't detract from my writing time.
Seriously, my drafts are littered with notes saying "research how to make bath salts", or "find out the history of...".
It's funny though, because i'm a stickler for detail, and perfection. It's taken a long time to let go and just write the first dirty draft without agonising over the correct word to describe. Yeah i have notes for those too :)
Because when i sit down to write, that's what i want to do. I don't want to get bogged down with trawling the internet for the exact right stuff. No, that would be called Research Time.
Recently i have spent the last two of my writing sessions in research mode. I sat down and told myself that if i want to get any further with my writing, i actually need to know a bit more information. So it was research time.
Guess what? I love it!
I got so involved that i've ended up with pages and pages of history relevant to my fictitious Principality, trade routes, flight paths, politics, pictures of villages, castles, roses... lots of stuff.
I have a friend who loves to research and we have always joked that she can do the research and i'll do the writing - for the both of us! But we both sat there on Friday and researched together. It was great bouncing off ideas (which of course sparked more research!), and i really think our writing is going to be the better for it.
Readers are sticklers for details too. I take that from my own personal experience as a reader ;)
Don't get me wrong, if i come across something that needs more research whilst during 'writing time', there is a note/comment in the ms. I'll go back to it during 'research time'.
My plan is that will help flesh out the story, without detracting from my creative flow. Because that's what the first draft is for, right? Getting the story down so you have something to work with later.
What are your thoughts on research? Do you find it encroaches on your writing time, how do you work around it? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Hi Kerrin. Good post for everyone especially those NaNo-ing. It is the topic I've posted about on L'Aussie this weekend. I love research and the novel I'm penning for NaNo this time needs a lot of research to even get into the storyline, so I've had to do quite a bit before the fog started to lift. I also do what you do - write 'find out about...' when I'm in the groove and don't want to stop.
ReplyDeleteHave fun writing.
Denise
I tend to research before I start writing chapter one, otherwise I can get so caught up in the story that I write anything, including the factually incorrect! I do like research because it tends to trigger new ideas and helps the planning process. Good to hear you've been enjoying it so much! Good luck with your WIP :)
ReplyDeleteI love to research - of course with writing a fantasy novel it's more about hypothesise ;p But still, fun!
ReplyDeleteI started writing novels after my first child was born as well, and have been writing ever since. There's nothing like plotting a good suspense. Just stopping by to say hi on the blogfest.
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