20 Ways to Research More Effectively
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.
Stories Read Aloud for Every Age
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:
The Fringe Benefit of Being a Writer
There are many perks to a writer’s lifestyle, don’t get me wrong. I love so many things about my career–making my own hours, working in my cozy home office or in a park, choosing what I write about (except when it comes to client work, where I choose to either take it or not), the joy of putting words on the page, that rush from crunching a deadline, the satisfaction of writing a good sentence. The list goes on and on, but there is one perk that comes before all others.
I became a writer because I wanted to learn. It was that simple.
My Writing Process
Since starting this blog, I have been asked about my writing process. In all honesty, it varies depending on the medium—scripts, articles, speeches, novels. The format drives some of my process, and yet there are a few things that remain constant.
My first step is to find the throughline of whatever I am writing. I have to know what is driving the writing.
Voice Is Everything
Writing is more than a collection of words strewn across the page. It has life and voice. We hear it when we read to ourselves. It speaks to us and takes on a life of its own depending on the author.
The voice of a story is what makes it come alive in the reading and it is the most important skill a writer can have. It’s what sets one writer apart from another—a Hemingway (short, short sentences) versus a Faulkner (who goes on and on), a Gaiman from a Melville. These are not the same voices. They sound different in our heads. The way these authors string words and sentences together creates different rhythms and cadences as we read along. They pull at us differently.
Below are a few examples of voice in writing. The first example is from one of my favorite authors.
Success Is In the Details
Writing comes to life in the detail. Get those wrong and watch out. Readers will revolt. They will spam your Twitter feed, your inbox and anything other avenue they can use to reach you. People love to correct mistakes. It’s in our nature. Readers most especially. They take their facts seriously, in fiction or no.
Don’t believe me? Try giving incorrect directions in a novel about Los Angeles. Readers will tear you up. There is something that drives people in LA to obsess about their roadways in a way that I have never understood. Read any story set in LA and you will find a jumble of numbers scattered throughout–the 5, 10, 110. Get one turn wrong and let the harassment begin.
The same reaction holds true for any specific group–military, law enforcement, medical professionals, lawyers, etc. Each group knows the verbiage particular to their trade and they know when people are posing.
Are Your Characters Motivated?
Writing requires motivation. It is that thing that requires caffeine, purpose and often a Herculean-sized will power, not to mention the real possibility of therapy.
Motivation is what propels action in both people and characters. It was what gets your butt in the seat and the words flowing, whether like creeping lava or a flash flood.
Motivation is what keeps you coming back day after day to write, even when you don’t feel like it.
The truth is there are days when sitting down to write is not easy, before the first word is even conceived. But no one said it would be easy. It’s not. It is also not the point of this article. We all know writing is hard. (You can talk about your personal motivation with your therapist or friends.)
Why I Became a Writer
My father was a master storyteller. Not by trade, but by personality. He couldn’t help himself. He refused to accept an average life and instead turned simple trips intro grand adventures. It was far better to live large.
Embrace Detours–They Make Your Story Stronger
“If everything goes according to plan, you have no good stories to tell.”
This is my motto in life and writing. Stories (and life) happen in the detours. Embrace them. Look for opportunities to explore and have an adventure.
My Short Stack: Books Writers Should Read
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:
In Defense of Eavesdropping
You heard me. I listen to people talking whenever and wherever I can. I tell myself I am just collecting examples of dialogue, but that is not always the case and I am not ashamed to say it. Sometimes I know that what I am hearing will never make it into a story, but it often piques my interest and gets me thinking, which is why I do it.
Face the Fear and Write
I think it is fairly common for writers to be afflicted with two simultaneous yet contradictory delusions—the burning certainty that we’re unique geniuses and the constant fear that we’re witless frauds who are speeding toward epic failure. Scott Lynch
Fear: that despicable thing that pervades our writing and creative endeavors. Fear is a pervasive part of writing, of any creative act really. I despise it, but cannot shake it. It is what causes me to bounce between the rush of excitement at a new idea and the despair that I won’t do it justice.
Why do we do this to ourselves?