Researching the Big Idea
Another week, another assignment from the LitReactor class. This week's focus is to gather resources for my novel idea. Whether you’re writing fiction, research is an important part of the writing process. Not necessarily to make sure everything is completely accurate—unless you’re writing nonfiction or a historical drama or something—but rather, to make it feel real enough so that the reader suspends their disbelief and believes the world you’re bringing them into.
Typically, I do a ton of research prior to writing a novel or short story. Rather, I create a general outline for the route I want to take and then start to get words on paper and as I go, I’ll research. I work it this way because it’s easy for me to get sucked into a research rabbit hole. One thing article leads to another and another and before I know it I’m watching YouTube videos about how WWI soldiers got dressed. So to avoid falling into the rabbit hole, I use the Neil deGrass Tyson approach.
“One of the great challenges in life is knowing enough to think you're right but not enough to know you're wrong” —Neil deGrass Tyson
Once I’m able to sum up the info I’ve gathered in a few short sentences or found the answer to my question, I assume that I’ve learned everything I need to know and then return to writing. Of course, this may not always be the case. In many cases, I find that I need to go a little deeper on certain topics. But again, I wait until I reach that point in my writing and respond accordingly because I find that in the moment I’ll have a more concrete question I want answered and, in turn, be able to perform better research.
But for the sake of this assignment, I dove headfirst into the rabbit hole and organized my resources in a Goolge Doc. My main goal was to find resources that would give me visual references, as well as figure out the “touchstones” between Gabe’s world and our own. I often find that having clear understanding about how a world I’m making up overlaps or is similar to our own and having a strong grasp on what the world is going to look like will make it easier for the reader to slip into the world. Plus, it also helps me to decide what I’m going to flat out fabricate. Click the link below to check out the different resources I’ve gathered and if you have additional recommendations, I’m all ears!
