Used to be I was filled to the brim with this message. I heard it directly at a writing conference or read it in chapter 5. Other writers just wanted my writing to be accurate.
 |
| Photo by: fotografeleen, courtesy of Flickr |
I was now writing what I knew.
I remember the time I needed to know what a train really sounded like coming into a station. Since I'd never personally had that experience, it was important for me to be accurate. So I did a google search and found a sound clip that really helped. That scene is in my book, Scrambled.
 |
| Photo by: informatique, courtesy of Flickr |
When I was writing, Conquering Your Goliaths: A Parable of the Five Stones, I wanted to know more about the city of Gath where Goliath was born. I discovered that the word, gath, meant wine press. With a bit more study I was able to write about it as if I'd been there.
A River of Stones, a young adult fiction book, came primarily from my head, but there were times when I didn't know of what I spoke of so I did some research. In the end I had scenes built from places I'd visited on the Internet and calls I had made.
When it comes to writing what you don't know, it's really only tricky if you haven't done any study at all. Even a little study is better than the guessing game. But a deeper study will usually do the trick and will allow the reader to feel as if the characters have really been there.
Some sources to get you started:
- http://www.write101.com/research.htm
- http://bubblecow.co/researching-your-novel-and-how-horrible-histories-can-help/
- http://www.originalimpulse.com/blog/inner-critic-hijack-book-research/
Kathryn
good info...
ReplyDelete