Today was an important step in my writing process. It was a vital day in my journey to complete a creative project. It was the crowning pinnacle of the writer’s journey!
It was…It was…
Research. Bone dry research. And very little in the big writing process is more important.
Research is the time we spend plodding through the web, dusty encyclopedias (remember those?), or the local library. It’s the time we take to mark up index cards, scribble on the whiteboard, or fill gaps in our story. Research makes an e-learning course better, a novel more coherent, and articles sparkle.
Here are a few ways I’ve climbed that mountain, both professionally and in my personal writing life:
1. As an e-learning writer, I had to write a short introductory course on conflict minerals (a rip-roarin’ good time if ever there was one!). Of the 24 work hours I allotted to the project, at least eight hours were devoted to initial research. A whole work day of research on a brief course! Some topics, however, like HIPAA, took even longer. But here’s the secret: once the research was done, the course basically wrote itself.
2. For a work of historical fiction I once created, I spent months researching the following: the topography and climate of the Silk Road, camels (one hump or two? Inquiring minds…), Persian emperors, Christian theology, Hindu mythology, the history of Eastern and Western philosophy, graveyards, dogs, architecture, Roman military tents, fire, and dates (the fruit–my research on actual dating came to a halt because I spent so much time researching alone in my office). I researched all through the writing process and the editing process. The manuscript is finished now, and I still find myself poking through research materials to see what I can add.
Remember these things as you climb the research mountain for work or personal writing:
- If each assertion of fact you make for articles or work product has research behind it, you’ll be able to better defend your writing when a client or editor questions your accuracy
- In personal writing, if your characters are set in a historical context (assuming you are going for that and aren’t creating a new world or alternative history), give them what history gave them–accurate clothes, food, and shelter
- In both personal and professional writing, research does half the work for you–if you know the trail map inside and out, the peak is already close!
Research, my friends. Climb that mountain. The air is much clearer and the sky is much brighter at the top.
How do you approach research in your own writing projects? Do you love it? Hate it? Have any tips? Let us know!