Today, 3/1/18, is the first instalment of a new series of posts; Writing Advice Wednesday, where my advice to new writers will be shared once every two weeks.
It is important to remember that my opinions are not law in any way, shape, or form! Not everyone has the same experiences as I do in this field but it is valuable to share opinions on topics to try and help others!
Today's topic is RESEARCH and how much research is TOO much research!
Okay! So let’s begin! How much research do I personally do?
When I am drafting a story I do absolutely no research! None! Zilch! No research whatsoever, but only when I am making the first draft and moulding it into something legitimate. I do not start conducting research for my works until the second draft is complete and then I only look into what I am aware may not make sense, like a character being in a medically induced coma for ten years and being fully capable of running through the halls to find their comrades. This does not actually seem plausible and therefore I conducted research into the impacts of long term comas
I personally think that once you have three sources giving you insight of the same POV into a topic you will be able to understand a subject well enough to write about it! But sometimes you can’t find that and that’s okay! So here is my advice on how to dictate when you’ve done too much research
Tip One: Try To Remember The Specifics
What was it you actually needed to know specifically? Was it something basic, like “Can adrenaline stimulate muscles after long-term sedation?” Which has the poetential to have a simple ‘Yes or No’ answer, or was it something more complicated like “How long does physical therapy take for a double amputee” as that is a lot more subjective and case sensitive. If you can remember what you originally needed to know you ca work out if you’ve answered your question or try to use the information you have acquired to actually answer the question.
Tip Two: Ask YOURSELF If You Know Enough
How does asking yourself help? When it came to writing a genderfluid character in a story of mine, I found myself doing primary research by talking to my friends who had the same identities. I found that through interacting with them on a one to one basis I was able to learn how they felt about their identities, pronouns and being misgendered. That helped me so much that I figured I wouldn’t need to know much more so just got writing!
Tip Three: Try To Write An Essay On What You Are Researching
Yes, this one sounds RIDICULOUSLY counter-productive but I found that it personally helped me when I was struggling to determine how much I knew about something in my story so I decided to test myself and try and write an essay about the topic because I was too ansty to wait much longer to write. It generally astounded me that I knew so much about the topic and it motivated me to get a move on and actually write!
Thank you for reading! I hope I helped in one way, shape, or form!
And remember:
Per Ardua Ad Astra!
- Imogen. L. Smiley
No comments:
Post a Comment