I know I've said it before, but it was brought up again today. The great and prolific mystery writer, Patricia Cornwell, was interviewed this evening. She said she puts herself in the moment and believes that's why her stories are so believable.
I got a kick out of the extent that she goes to because she donated a 'crime room' to The National Forensics Academy. She spends time actually researching true cases to see if she can 'break' them. http://www.knoxnews.com/videos/detail/crime-novelist-patricia-cornwell-donates-22-millio/
So once again my dear friends, I strongly encourage you to research (not down to the tiniest minutiae) but pretty tiny, and then write away. I do the same thing with emotions, too. They can make or break a story.
I go to web sites for my 'hands-on' research. I can't afford trips here and there to avail myself of the knowledge I need 'NOW.' But it suffices. In fact, it works even better, I think, because I get a kick out of finding what I need and seeing it from all angles. (Love google maps world view).
Now - I think I might be finished with Chapter 40, but I want to go over it again for this draft. Ch. 41, as I've said, if half done as if Ch. 42.
My eyes are closing on me. Didn't sleep well last night. Gonna do some tightening/relaxing exercises tonight and hope it helps.
Life is nodding.
Research is awesome! It's vital to story writing and it really helps you get in the moment, whether it's because you understand a process or you can write with authority about an emotion or an illness, or you are able to visualize a scene in such a way that you can describe it as if you were there. It's also loads of fun, IMHO! Even if you don't actually use details of what you learn in your research, the fact that you learned it shines through in your writing and gives it a stronger foundation. It's one of those intangible things that's hard to explain, but I see it all the time.
ReplyDeleteI knew I was preaching to the choir on this one, Margaret. *g*
ReplyDeleteI love what you say about a strong foundation from research. Yes, indeed!