Q&A with Annam Manthiram discussion

Annam, could you speak a little bit about your research process? Were you relying on what you already know (your reading, your personal experience, etc.), and/or did you find that you needed to do research before you could finish a specific story?

Hi, Rosalie. Some of the stories were slightly researched (like Pancake Race, for example). I think all of my writing is probably subconsciously at least based on something that has happened in my life. In terms of research, I do some or none depending on what I'm working on (After the Tsunami was heavily researched.) I am of the mind that too much research can stifle one's creativity, often leading to flat and dull prose. Like Bret Anthony Johnston says, write what you don't know. Lolita is one of my favorite books, and Nabokov was inventing and imagining. I am drawn to authors who can create a more real world than the world that already exists, solely through their imagination and creativity. Hope that answers your question?

Yes, thanks. I think a lot of "research" happens when we're reading for our own interest, before we have any idea of using it in our fiction.

I definitely agree... I love letting ideas percolate for a few days, and then it seems like things have worked themselves out, long after I've stopped thinking about them.