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Research need not be homework
15 years ago
General
Research is a bit of a bugaboo; it comes up enough when discussing writing. It can be seen as a real roadblock to getting you writing. You may feel like you have to do all kinds of research before you start.
Well, I have something on that.
First of all, research is something that basically informs you the author, you digest that, and offer it in lean exposition. You use it to create atmosphere. But all of these things need not be done in your first draft. That's right. You can write your story, then do your research. If something's wrong in your draft, you can then go back and change it according ot research.
However, if you wait til later, you may not do it. So I have another suggestion.
First, write about something you enjoy. This way the research is enjoyable because it's on a topic that interests you.
Secondly, don't just look for concrete Real Life info. Wikipedia, first hand accounts, text books, documentaries or calling people on the phone aren't the only sources of research. I suggest reading fiction and watching movies relating to your topic. Many authors before you have done their own research and it will show in their books. Understand they may be inaccurate or change things to fit their own story, but it's still a source of info. If not direct, it at least gets you in the mindset.
Third, remember that research can be useful for more than one thing. I plan on writing a book where people create makeshift weapons a lot, as the tech level is Steampunkish. People need to be able to design non-Gunpowder weapons in an urban environment. Not to mention boobytraps. This has led me to look up info on spy weaponry and tools.
Conveniently, I had an idea for a spy novel yesterday. So the stuff I've started looking up about the first topic helps the second, and potentially vice versa. In the first book there's a con artist, and so I've been gathering materials on cons, and this will help me with a short story I also plan to write elsewhere. And so on.
Research can be enjoyable and useful. It need not be a chore.
Well, I have something on that.
First of all, research is something that basically informs you the author, you digest that, and offer it in lean exposition. You use it to create atmosphere. But all of these things need not be done in your first draft. That's right. You can write your story, then do your research. If something's wrong in your draft, you can then go back and change it according ot research.
However, if you wait til later, you may not do it. So I have another suggestion.
First, write about something you enjoy. This way the research is enjoyable because it's on a topic that interests you.
Secondly, don't just look for concrete Real Life info. Wikipedia, first hand accounts, text books, documentaries or calling people on the phone aren't the only sources of research. I suggest reading fiction and watching movies relating to your topic. Many authors before you have done their own research and it will show in their books. Understand they may be inaccurate or change things to fit their own story, but it's still a source of info. If not direct, it at least gets you in the mindset.
Third, remember that research can be useful for more than one thing. I plan on writing a book where people create makeshift weapons a lot, as the tech level is Steampunkish. People need to be able to design non-Gunpowder weapons in an urban environment. Not to mention boobytraps. This has led me to look up info on spy weaponry and tools.
Conveniently, I had an idea for a spy novel yesterday. So the stuff I've started looking up about the first topic helps the second, and potentially vice versa. In the first book there's a con artist, and so I've been gathering materials on cons, and this will help me with a short story I also plan to write elsewhere. And so on.
Research can be enjoyable and useful. It need not be a chore.
All in all, I think I've hit one case where research scuttled a planned story. Turned out that the original plot couldn't work, for various reasons... and the altered version that took those in account didn't work with the characters. But apart from that, it's only benefited me!
I think having broad interests is a good asset for a writer, though. I've often used my writing as a catalyst to actively research things I already had an interest in.
The only thing I would say is that reading others' work in a genre can sometimes cause unwanted results, like giving you preconceptions about the genre or setting. It pays to be able to sort your ideas from someone else's.
On the other hand, that's educating you about the genre. Preconceptions very well may be just tropes. If you want to write a Western, never seeing or reading a Western may result in you not being able to make the story feel like one even if you've set it in the Old West.
It's easier to knowingly deviate from a preconception for instance, then to shoot into the dark without a familiarity of how those things are presented.
I personally think recycling the same tropes for decades (or in some cases, centuries) can turn any genre stale. There have to be trope makers that stand alone, and authors willing to take that chance. When writing my low-fantasy story (The Goldenlea) I actually avoided being too familiar with the fantasy genre on purpose; I wanted a compelling story without it being mired in character and story tropes.
I'm not saying it's entirely bad to get familiar with the genre, though. I actually watched a marathon of films and documentaries leading up to "Basecraft Cirrostratus" that included everything from History Channel specials on World War II to movies like "The Rocketeer" and "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow."
But for instance, if you want to write a Detective novel, and you want to deviate from the genre, then looking at the genre will make you understand how to deviate. For instance, I've noticed that there are no Detective novels where the main character is, say, a Reporter. You can follow a similar formula, while still spicing it up and making it more varied than the typical. Another example of this is "Brick", which is a P.I. novel, but the story takes place in an American Highschool - all characters are teenagers. But it works and is excellent.
A good example of this is Firefly. Firefly is Sci Fi, space. But it borrows heavily from Westerns. In fact, the crew represents every Western trope of a town: The good and wise hooker, the good hearted sheriff, the bandito (Jane), the preacher with a past, the good doctor, the Troubled Girl, the Professional (Zoe), etc.
Come to think of it, I may have done that unconsciously in my medieval/low fantasy novel. In hindsight, the two protagonists and three most important supporting protagonists form a gang of five that functions very much like those in Japanese pop culture. When one of them is killed (slight spoiler there), it fractures the group and puts everything in jeopardy.
Further reading: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.p.....in/FiveManBand http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FourIsDeath