Writing requires research. It’s a nature of the beast and it doesn’t matter whether the work is fiction or nonfiction. Story relies on a strong foundation built from knowledge.
Sometimes we know the subject sufficiently to begin immediately. Other times we are creating a fictional world with fictional people. But it doesn’t seem to matter in the end. Inevitably we will need to ferret out some obscure fact to make our words ring true.
I am often asked why I don’t read ebooks more? Especially given my space issue with my large library. What can I say? I prefer paper. I want to hold the book in my hand and feel the pages as I turn them. I want to browse my shelves and pull books down to flip through old favorites and to search for my next adventure to read. Scanning electronic shelves is not the same. There’s no anticipation of seeing titles from across the room and remembering the moment I found it waiting in a book store for me.
Today’s blog is a bit of a rant about my library—my personal library. Now, I am the first to admit I own a lot of books. Just over 7,000 at last count. But that does not make me weird or a hoarder. I simply refuse to believe that books can be hoarded. A library is a treasure of stories, worlds and knowledge, not a pile of rotting papers moldering in the corner. There’s a difference.
Last week I shared my favorite gadgets and gizmos. This week I am focusing on programs. While I am not a huge user of apps, I do find a few helpful and have looked into other that I don’t use yet but plan to add to my capabilities.
I am the first to admit I am not enamored of all things electronic. I tend to be a bit old school, but I do have my favorite things, which I am going to share today.
The reason I am not fond of many gadgets and apps is that I find they confuse things and make them harder than they should be or at least more cumbersome. When it comes to research and writing, I like to keep things fairly simple, but that is not to say I don’t use technology. I do and the things I use I swear by. Don’t try to take them away from me. You will get hurt.
I run a small book club that actually reads the selected books. We are a tight group that loves books and sharing them, beyond our group reads. We have a page set up on Goodreads and talk about our lives, books and all things story in whatever form they exist. They are my tribe. The people who understand me. We may not always read the same books or genres, but we share a love of story and the feel of books in our hands. We are true readers.
It’s a new year and a new opportunity to write and read.
I have been adding to my to-read pile throughout the holidays and it is now so large I don’t know where to begin. There are more than 600 books on the so-called “short” list of what I want to read this year and that doesn’t account for new releases that will appeal to me. It is insane. There is no way I can hope to read a quarter of that, much less all of it.
It has been a busy season around here and I have been struggling to finish projects and get into the holiday spirit. Instead of baking gingerbread houses, I have been crunching deadlines and running errands like a crazy woman.
We finally got our tree up and decided that we needed to do something to find the spark that was eluding us. Hanging the stockings just wasn’t getting us there. So we did something that never fails: we turned to a book. Well, books. But not just any books–picture books.
Twenty tips to strengthen your research and add more depth to your stories. Research is the key to details that bring your writing to life.
Reading is my hobby, my passion and my obsession. I am not afraid to admit that I collect (hoard) books and have more than 7,000 books in my house. They are in every room, in every corner. My husband fears for the structural integrity of our floors on higher levels. He is not wrong to do so. Books are heavy.
I cannot stop buying them. Each one offers such possibilities. Will they become a friend or a mentor? Will they disappoint, but teach me why that is? Will they linger on my shelves for years waiting for me to open them knowing I may never catch up with my stack of books to read.
My library is a source of pride, happiness and anticipation. It feeds me and sustains me. It gives me comfort.
I am an addict.
A book addict.
When I can’t read, I turn to audio books. I love to listen while I use the treadmill or go on long solo road trips. For those short jaunts about town, I turn to audio short stories.
The great news is that there are plenty of places to get audio files for free, here are some of my favorite:
As with every shelf in my library, my writing books overflow their designated space. Some of the books packed on the shelves I have read intently and others I have skimmed or use as reference. Others linger should I ever need them for anything.
Over the years, I have found I return to certain writing books more than others. Here is my short stack: