Researching is an important skill for writers, whether you write fiction or non-fiction. While there are many resources and services available to the writer for research, today I'm just going to talk about doing research on the internet.
The internet is an amazing research tool, but one has to use it very carefully. Since it is unregulated, anyone can post anything, so research can require quite a bit of sifting through the noise.
A good place to start is Wikipedia. Seriously. Most of the time the articles are pretty good and will give you a basic overview of your subject. The thing is, you can't just use Wikipedia. Wiki articles should list references at the end, and those references are also a great place to start delving in deeper. See if any of them are available online or through your local library.
A browser search can net you some interesting results, especially if you are just looking up a word or phrase to find out if it fits your setting. Check several sites to see if they agree with each other, but beware of sites that have the exact same wording as other sites. There are a lot of sites out there that just go out and copy the text from other sites, and therefore do not really count as verification. Similarly, beware of sites that have the exact wording of another site, but with all the adjectives changed.
Don't be afraid to go several pages deep in your browser search. The sites with the best information may be written by folks who don't know very much about SEO (search engine optimization).
Google Book Search is an invaluable tool for the internet researcher, as it gives you access to many books that are no longer available. For example, I was able to find building maps and photographs of a particular site of London's Bedlam asylum in a small press book from the early 1900's through Google Book Search, where I would not have had access to this book through local booksellers or the library system.
Research your sources. Do a search to see if a particular source has reviews or comments from knowledgeable people. Do they think it's a good resource, or do they have criticisms? If a particular source is biased, it may still be worth reading in order to find information that would be worth looking up elsewhere.
Have fun with your research. You never know when you'll come across a great story idea.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
100 Words About: Rain
It’s been a rainy week, which is a bit of a change since it's been a fairly dry summer. And of course I see people complain about how grey and depressing it is. Granted, I'm a little bummed that with all that rain we couldn't get one thunderstorm. But I like rain. I love the soft sound of it against the windows, the hiss of the cars on the wet pavement outside. I love looking out the window and watching the water run down the hill and the happy feeling I have that I'm snug indoors. So shush y'all, and let me enjoy my weather.Photo courtesy of Christian Southworth and www.freedigitalphotos.net.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Tuesday Tip: How to Write Every Day
Most aspiring writers have come across the sage advice "Write Every Day." It goes along with the almost-as-often given adage about "if you write one page a day, in a year you'll have a novel." One hears it often enough that one sort of wants to rebel. It sounds so simple. If writing were that easy, wouldn't everyone do it?
Simple, yes. Easy, no.
The problem with writing every day is that it requires a huge amount of discipline, which is something most people are sorely lacking. We all have busy lives, and squeezing in an extra hour or whatever in every day can seem almost impossible.
No one method works for everyone. Experimentation is required to find the method or methods that will work for you. But if writing is important enough to you, you can find ways of making time to write every day.
Why should you? Because the adages are true. If you write every day, and write to the purpose, you will get things done.
First, set a daily or weekly goal. (Make sure it's reasonable and achievable!) Some people do better with a time limit, others with a word count. If you know you can work for the entire time limit, great. If you know you are apt to spend a lot of time thinking and not actually writing, the word count may be the best choice.
Here are some methods for making time to achieve your goal:
Figure out what you think you can reasonably do and set your goals accordingly. Nothing will derail you faster than never achieving your goals because you set them too high.
Here is an example of how this can work:
Last year I had an idea for a non-fiction book. I pitched it to the publisher. They liked it and asked me how long I needed to write it. Panic! Suddenly I had to commit! I had absolutely no idea how long I would need. I was working full time and our busiest season was just starting. Finally, I came to my senses. I sat down and figured I could commit to 500 words a day, roughly half a page. I needed 32,000 words. That's sixty-four days, but I already had a good start, so I gave myself two months for the actual writing, and another month for revision and holiday delays. By sticking to my word count goal (and exceeding it when I could), I was able to turn in my first draft two weeks early. For me, that concrete deadline was motivation enough--I would have been mortified if I had been late.
I used a similar motivator to finish revising my novel--I signed up for a pitch session at a writing conference a month away. I was determined that I would have a finished novel that I could pitch with confidence, and I succeeded. (Of course, I've made more revisions since then, but really, when do you ever stop tinkering with an unpublished piece?)
For me, word count goal plus external deadline equals productivity. Find out what your formula for success is, and get writing!
Simple, yes. Easy, no.
The problem with writing every day is that it requires a huge amount of discipline, which is something most people are sorely lacking. We all have busy lives, and squeezing in an extra hour or whatever in every day can seem almost impossible.
No one method works for everyone. Experimentation is required to find the method or methods that will work for you. But if writing is important enough to you, you can find ways of making time to write every day.
Why should you? Because the adages are true. If you write every day, and write to the purpose, you will get things done.
First, set a daily or weekly goal. (Make sure it's reasonable and achievable!) Some people do better with a time limit, others with a word count. If you know you can work for the entire time limit, great. If you know you are apt to spend a lot of time thinking and not actually writing, the word count may be the best choice.
Here are some methods for making time to achieve your goal:
- Set a timer for 30 minutes. Do not allow anything to distract you during your 30 minutes if you can at all help it. Try to get in at least one 30 minute session a day, but you can do more than one session a day if your schedule allows.
- Have a special time during the day that is purely for you to write. Make sure your family/friends know this and are supportive of it so they won't distract you. This could be early in the morning before you start your normal day, or during your lunch break, or after you get home from work, or late at night after the kids are in bed.
- Reward yourself for writing. Some writers won't let themselves read for pleasure until they've gotten their writing done for the day. Others deny themselves TV or favorite foods. Find what motivates you and use it to your advantage.
- Set a deadline. Some writers do much better if they have a deadline. Some can get away with self-imposed deadlines, and some can't. If you have trouble with self-imposed deadlines, try having a friend or family member act as your deadline coach. Make sure they know about your deadline and how important it is to you. You don't want to have to tell them you didn't make it, do you?
- Have a place to write if at all possible. This will help you get in the zone. If your place to write is the kitchen table, try having a few "muses" that you put around you during your writing time. This could be specific music, or inspirational phrases on cards, or knick-knacks that help you focus.
- Plan your time. If you tend to let yourself get distracted by chores, make a list such as "I will start the laundry, load the dishwasher, and then sit down to write for 30 minutes. Then I will check the laundry and make lunch, and then I will write for another 30 minutes."
- Keep track of your writing time. Make a spreadsheet that shows what you accomplished each day in time and word count. Try to do better every week.
Figure out what you think you can reasonably do and set your goals accordingly. Nothing will derail you faster than never achieving your goals because you set them too high.
Here is an example of how this can work:
Last year I had an idea for a non-fiction book. I pitched it to the publisher. They liked it and asked me how long I needed to write it. Panic! Suddenly I had to commit! I had absolutely no idea how long I would need. I was working full time and our busiest season was just starting. Finally, I came to my senses. I sat down and figured I could commit to 500 words a day, roughly half a page. I needed 32,000 words. That's sixty-four days, but I already had a good start, so I gave myself two months for the actual writing, and another month for revision and holiday delays. By sticking to my word count goal (and exceeding it when I could), I was able to turn in my first draft two weeks early. For me, that concrete deadline was motivation enough--I would have been mortified if I had been late.
I used a similar motivator to finish revising my novel--I signed up for a pitch session at a writing conference a month away. I was determined that I would have a finished novel that I could pitch with confidence, and I succeeded. (Of course, I've made more revisions since then, but really, when do you ever stop tinkering with an unpublished piece?)
For me, word count goal plus external deadline equals productivity. Find out what your formula for success is, and get writing!
Monday, September 21, 2009
New Sale
Hi folks. Just a quick update.
I'm pleased to announce that my short story "The House that Pip Built" will be appearing in Torquere Press's upcoming Taste Test anthology "Scared Stiff" and should be available around Halloween. In this story, college freshman Caleb agrees to enter a haunted house in order to get into the frat of his long-time crush, Evan, but the entity in the house has plans of its own.
In other news, I'm still sick. Blah. I won't bore you with the details, but I will admit that it's making me a lot less inclined to write. I'm at least getting some good research time in, and I did do about a thousand words of summary writing on Friday. I'm hoping to finish the summary this week and start digging in to the novel prequel, as well as finish revising 1794 and get that sent out. I'm also poking at a few other ideas to figure out what word range they are likely to be, and I'll probably start fleshing out one of those too in the hopes of doing another mid-length piece in the 10k to 20k word range.
I'm pleased to announce that my short story "The House that Pip Built" will be appearing in Torquere Press's upcoming Taste Test anthology "Scared Stiff" and should be available around Halloween. In this story, college freshman Caleb agrees to enter a haunted house in order to get into the frat of his long-time crush, Evan, but the entity in the house has plans of its own.
In other news, I'm still sick. Blah. I won't bore you with the details, but I will admit that it's making me a lot less inclined to write. I'm at least getting some good research time in, and I did do about a thousand words of summary writing on Friday. I'm hoping to finish the summary this week and start digging in to the novel prequel, as well as finish revising 1794 and get that sent out. I'm also poking at a few other ideas to figure out what word range they are likely to be, and I'll probably start fleshing out one of those too in the hopes of doing another mid-length piece in the 10k to 20k word range.
Friday, September 18, 2009
100 Words About: Being Sick
I suppose it might be cheating, but I feel so miserable I might as well get something good out of it. As I was doing the read-aloud of 1794 I noticed I was developing a sore throat. This has since turned into a head cold, I think. It's been awhile since I had one. I have since discovered that while Sudafed and Vicoden will take care of the sinus headache, they will not let me sleep. So back to generic NyQuil I will go. Very disappointing. I would much prefer to be energetic and productive, but at least it gives me an excuse to kick back and read my research books.
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