The Mighty Pen Writing Club discussion

How do you research for your stories? Do you research at all?

Any interesting facts or tidbits that you happened across while brainstorming for your stories?

some of my favorite "research" books I've put in the bookshelf section.

Personally, when I give out reviews, I definitely can tell which authors took time to research. Even if you write fantasy, I still kind of think you need to know what you're talking about. But sometimes it can be hard, because depending on what particular "supernatural creature" you're writing about (in the case of fantasy writing), there are different portrayals per culture, so then it's like, which do I use? Ever been stuck like that before?

Well my problem is that the few "faerie authors" I've read have pretty much put so much of a spin on the faerie lore, it's just unbelievable. Like I am so tired of outrageous, gross, amoral faeries. I really don't see anything in my research that makes me think they have absolutely no conscience. They're tricksy, but maybe that's just because they don't like humans, you know? I'm meaning the Seelie Court - supposedly the nicer of the two courts... and 2 of my WIPs are faerie stories, but they aren't related to each other. I'm trying to mix a little Celtic/Scandinavian together and add my own bits here and there.

I can already tell that I will DEVOUR your faerie story XD
Mine are similar in that regard--but the "good guy" are just that...good.


I just made a "breakthrough" discovery the other day, when I was interviewing an author, that you may have already known, but elves and faeries, traditionally, were the same creatures. I mean, they varied a little by culture, but it's not like they were two separate supernatural groups. The words are different languages, but they have the same basic meaning. Breakthrough!

That kind of reminds me of Tolkien. In the Middle Earth world, the elves (the fay of the series) are the good ones and the humans are shown as the weaker, more corruptible race. I follow that mostly, too!

The story im writing now (a fantasy-Detective mystery) i had to do research for.

So far ive studied the streets of London and Paris, and also I have done research on police and forensic science.

Oh, one fantasy book where the author has *clearly* done a lot of reaserch is Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks.

Its a pretty good book, and Jinks has clearly done a huge amount of research into computer, science and psychology.

if it's a story that has real things in there then i will do my research. LIke i said that i like to write stories about CIA and FBI, well those would require some research because you want to be acurate

Okay, this topic is even more relevant to me because the book I'm reading right now - I love it because it's fun and interesting, but I just get this feeling that the author got a little "too" creative and didn't research enough. First of all, her spellings are weird, and I don't know if it's because she's trying to be original, or just is misinformed.

But I'm doing a lot of fairy/elf research now and I'm really not seeing what other authors see, I guess. My faeries are going to be so different in character that what is normally portrayed. My friend called it the Twilight of faerie stories :P

So I guess I'm saying: research!

Uh, well, my guilty conscience says that I should confess the fact that I note down (mentally mostly) things I should do some research on but I rarely remember...

I'm always surprised just how much research I do. I (unfortunately) spend hours...and never get around to the story.
I agree with Evil Genius. That book is researched so heavily, but you never get the feeling the author is just trying to show off her knowledge. It fits Cadel.

I love reading books by an author who is obviously intelligent. I hope that makes sense, but some authors, you can just tell that they're smart and that they took the time to get everything together.

For example, Lisa Mantchev is extraordinarily brilliant, and that's evident in her writing style (she writes the THEATRE ILUMINATA series).

Sometimes my drafts look a little "text book-y" because I feel obligated to explain everything, but I'd rather over-explain something and have the reader just skim than to have the reader be confused about whatever it is that I'm saying in the story.

I use my my research inconspicuously.
I dont sit down and write out information for my stories.

Its what the characters do.
i wrote a scene when the two main characters arrived at the scene of the crime-then used the procedure to analyze it.

What they did during that scene was a lot of research taking certain samples and who does what in regards to evidence.

I think my research trends have been influenced by college, but I really get into my research. A lot of times, I'll look for multiple sources on the same thing, just to make sure everything is as factual as it can be. Then I make notes over what I read :P

Well, I usually make research on the social rules (when I choose an era) and about clothes because being Greek I often don't know the English words for certain things.

that's a good idea

thanks :)

My brainstorming consists of me in my bed with mt ipod and my notebook open. I write down the main plot and then i force myself to go from tgere and pretty soon, voila! A new novel to start!

Well I recently (today) realised that my only way not to get confused is to make a plan for the story... But the only reason I did it really was because my friend was aleep and I couldn't leave the room without waking her up... >_<

Haha i always plan if i dont it gets super messed up

I read a blog post several weeks ago about how research can be procrastination. The author of this post suggested you don't do all your research and then sit down to write, but that you research as the topics come up. I think there are things you need to research before, like setting if it's placed in the natural world, but I think that's good advice to wait on research until you need to know something specific.

That's a good point. I never really thought of it before.

For me, I like to do my research on the front end, because it helps me "get in the zone."

For example, one of my WIPs takes place in New Orleans, and it's been a few years since I've been there, so I opened up Google Maps while I was writing, just to kind of help me get the geography straight. I personally think setting is of extreme importance in books, and a lot of times it's ignored, so I really like to take advantage of my setting. There's also a lot of history in my two WIPs that I'm currently working on, and so I go ahead and do a little bit of research now, then save it for when I need it. :P

I agree, Amelia. A lot of authors don't get into a setting when it can become its own character in a book. Historical fiction is going to take a lot to.. You can tell when an author takes his/her time to research and I always appreciate it. I recently read a book (Bel Canto) that was not researched and it irritated me that the author didn't bother learning the setting of her historical fiction. Sometimes you do need to do a lot of research up front. It's amazing though how much research you have to do while you're writing too, even with dystopias and fantasy. You never know until you get into a project about all those little things.

That's why I have to write on my laptop. I know a few girls who like to write in spiral notebooks or legal pads...but I like being able to open up a window and do a quick search if I need to. Also, spell-check is nice!

I do LOTS of research for a short story, but I don't research at all in the novel I'm currently writing. Probably because there is nothing to find..

Jo wrote: "I think google is the most useful tool for research. I also sometimes use yahoo answers to try and find people that know more about a subject than i do. My only problem with google is you can't alw..."

Wasn't there some study done that Wiki is more reliable than the Encyclopedia? (I LOVE yahoo answers!)

Jo wrote: "I have no idea! Does anyone still use an Encyclopedia? We had a massive one when i was younger. I guess there is an online one now right? How old do i sound?! I love yahoo answers too but sometimes..."

http://news.cnet.com/Study-Wikipedia-...
published 2005, but still.
I hate that sometimes your answer is never answered. Right now I have a plea for help on a video game (Avatar: Into the Inferno if anyone knows how to get past 4.1 ;) and no one's answered yet.

Hmmm, I'll have to try that!

and of course, it helps with brainstorming to read other books in the genre you're writing

Right now I'm on a dystopian binge :)

im over my head with research about Scotland Yard, criminals, police and forensic science.

hahaha wow that's very sciency.
Way out of my league!

I find tht a story cannot be written without a plan, you can tell when an author has sat down and written out the story before he or she starts. It is so good for when you need to look back on something that you cannot remember like a character that isn't a main character. The story then starts to flow more, it isn't forced or a big jumble of letters and words.

Amelia (Imagination in Focus) wrote: "hahaha wow that's very sciency.
Way out of my league!"

Science. *shudder* i hate it.
But forensice science doesnt count. SOme of its fairly interesting.
But the best research will be done in September, when i finally get to visit London, and see all the places my story is set!

When I'm planning on writing/working on a novel I tend to read books in the genre I plan on writing in to see what's been used over and over to try and avoid it. Sometimes it's hard to avoid but it also lets me see how other people weaved their world.

Depending on the story (for instance writing about angels/fallen angels/demons/vampires) I tend to research different things, such as the bible and online encyclopedias for names and developing personalities and also for events I plan on referencing in my story.

I also do the whole planning thing. It helps me prevent writers block and keeps my stories from going on unnecessary tangents :)

I never plan like anything. I like to just write what I feel. It's soooooooo much easier!

but tht takes soooooo long. if u just write it down spontaneously than the events will flow naturally

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I'm a stickler for details. I can't stand it when books get facts wrong, so I try not to do that in my own writing. I research everything. In my romance series, which centers around a rock band, I've probably put in more research time than I have writing time (which is saying a lot). In one case, I read several books on touring to work out a couple of paragraphs - plus, I sent the books to musician friends to ensure I got the details I researched right. I probably still got things wrong... sigh. I also used the internet (reading bad blogs, magazine articles, etc.)for research on those books.
For my fantasy series, it's all personal invention, so I predominantly use the internet to research names (every name should have applicable meaning) for places and people.

Cool Kristen! Thanks Laura! I'll be sure to check it out!