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necessarian) wrote2018-01-01 07:17 pm
necessarian) wrote2018-01-01 07:17 pm
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[Archiving] On Research
Originally posted: 5.5.'16
let’s talk about research.
there’s this kind of myth of research as a bogeyman of writing, that you can get too bogged down in details and lose sight of what you’re really doing, which is telling a story. that you should be able to put aside that voice that says, “but what if it’s not accurate?” and just enjoy what you’ve written for itself. respectfully, i disagree.
here’s the thing. ideally, when you read well-researched writing, you shouldn’t be able to tell that it’s researched. think about this for a moment—lots of very good writing is highly detailed, but it’s true that too much detail can be distracting from the story. when you read about a character walking down the high street, do you want a comprehensive description of all the shops they pass, or do you want to know what they’re thinking about, where they’re going? in general, stories focus on conveying people, not places. details can embellish your storytelling, but it becomes a different kind of story when it’s all about the detail. this is what i mean when i say you shouldn’t be able to tell a story is researched: your story is still going to be about whatever it’s about, not about your research.
a trick i use is to know more than i need to write. when i was writing my regency AU, i would look up things like clothing fashions and furniture styles, the fine details of life. even though none of this made it into my story in anything more than passing remarks, i felt more comfortable in my writing just knowing it. all the details that make your fictional world richer are worth knowing as an author. it’s impossible to know everything, of course, but i’m an advocate of making a solid effort.
of course, not everything is going to be a grandiose historical/fantasy/whatever AU, but there will always be little details that you want to know. if you’re writing something set in a foreign country, take a moment to check the exchange rate so you can get a rough idea of what things cost, even if no-one buys anything. if you’re writing something set in a forest, familiarise yourself with the kinds of trees and plants your characters will encounter, even if you never describe it as anything more than “green.” if you’re writing something set a few years in the past, find out what was playing on the radio, even if your protagonist fundamentally hates music.
does this seem daunting? it shouldn’t. there’s a misconception that research is the boring part of writing. if you’re consistently finding it boring researching a setting or other mechanism that’s relevant to the story you’re telling, it might be worth reconsidering whether this is really the story you want to tell. research doesn’t need to be hours in front of a laptop—it can be a minute snatched in between sentences, just to check that the word you want to use has the right implications. it can be getting your phone out on the train to scroll through pictures of 70s fashion.
when you think about research, maybe you think about tedious high school essays and citing sources. that’s not what research for writing is like, nor should it be. writing research is about immersion, about gathering facts and surrounding yourself with them. journalling is a good habit, especially for worldbuilding and original fiction, but you don’t need to write things down when you research. it’s okay to look something up again if you’ve forgotten it, or even if you haven’t, just for a refresher.
and if you’ve read all this and thought, hold on, this doesn’t sound like boring old research! this is what i do already!—then, congratulations. you’re a researcher. you’re taking steps towards making your story more authentic. don’t think of it as “getting it right,” think of it as “making it feel real.” and most importantly—don’t think of it as just something you have to do before you start writing. think of it as part of the writing process, with all the highs and lows that come along with that.
there’s this kind of myth of research as a bogeyman of writing, that you can get too bogged down in details and lose sight of what you’re really doing, which is telling a story. that you should be able to put aside that voice that says, “but what if it’s not accurate?” and just enjoy what you’ve written for itself. respectfully, i disagree.
here’s the thing. ideally, when you read well-researched writing, you shouldn’t be able to tell that it’s researched. think about this for a moment—lots of very good writing is highly detailed, but it’s true that too much detail can be distracting from the story. when you read about a character walking down the high street, do you want a comprehensive description of all the shops they pass, or do you want to know what they’re thinking about, where they’re going? in general, stories focus on conveying people, not places. details can embellish your storytelling, but it becomes a different kind of story when it’s all about the detail. this is what i mean when i say you shouldn’t be able to tell a story is researched: your story is still going to be about whatever it’s about, not about your research.
a trick i use is to know more than i need to write. when i was writing my regency AU, i would look up things like clothing fashions and furniture styles, the fine details of life. even though none of this made it into my story in anything more than passing remarks, i felt more comfortable in my writing just knowing it. all the details that make your fictional world richer are worth knowing as an author. it’s impossible to know everything, of course, but i’m an advocate of making a solid effort.
of course, not everything is going to be a grandiose historical/fantasy/whatever AU, but there will always be little details that you want to know. if you’re writing something set in a foreign country, take a moment to check the exchange rate so you can get a rough idea of what things cost, even if no-one buys anything. if you’re writing something set in a forest, familiarise yourself with the kinds of trees and plants your characters will encounter, even if you never describe it as anything more than “green.” if you’re writing something set a few years in the past, find out what was playing on the radio, even if your protagonist fundamentally hates music.
does this seem daunting? it shouldn’t. there’s a misconception that research is the boring part of writing. if you’re consistently finding it boring researching a setting or other mechanism that’s relevant to the story you’re telling, it might be worth reconsidering whether this is really the story you want to tell. research doesn’t need to be hours in front of a laptop—it can be a minute snatched in between sentences, just to check that the word you want to use has the right implications. it can be getting your phone out on the train to scroll through pictures of 70s fashion.
when you think about research, maybe you think about tedious high school essays and citing sources. that’s not what research for writing is like, nor should it be. writing research is about immersion, about gathering facts and surrounding yourself with them. journalling is a good habit, especially for worldbuilding and original fiction, but you don’t need to write things down when you research. it’s okay to look something up again if you’ve forgotten it, or even if you haven’t, just for a refresher.
and if you’ve read all this and thought, hold on, this doesn’t sound like boring old research! this is what i do already!—then, congratulations. you’re a researcher. you’re taking steps towards making your story more authentic. don’t think of it as “getting it right,” think of it as “making it feel real.” and most importantly—don’t think of it as just something you have to do before you start writing. think of it as part of the writing process, with all the highs and lows that come along with that.