tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2274987097756433491.post8254829938784229335..comments2024-03-05T11:26:21.204-06:00Comments on All the World's Our Page: Research: when it's enough, already!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2274987097756433491.post-74204273461695878332009-11-12T09:04:20.445-06:002009-11-12T09:04:20.445-06:00Tee hee, I SO did this, Rach. Man, could I go off ...Tee hee, I SO did this, Rach. Man, could I go off in a research tangent. Like, writing a scene involving the police in 1850's Chicago -did they have police? What did they dress like? Called? And where _was_ the police station anyway. Next thing I know two hour have gone by. :P<br /><br />Like others have said, I first remember seeing Diana using the bracket and it was a light bulb/big ole "duh" moment for me as well. Sooo helpful, those brackets!Kristen Callihanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01448274676402616525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2274987097756433491.post-26207733656321339672009-11-11T13:02:17.405-06:002009-11-11T13:02:17.405-06:00Oh, Jen, me too! The most inappropriate names come...Oh, Jen, me too! The most inappropriate names come so easily, and then I have to work at finding names that are actually suited to the era/age/character...Deniz Bevanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17134553551048836979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2274987097756433491.post-31240786269892742672009-11-09T23:23:37.890-06:002009-11-09T23:23:37.890-06:00Ah yes, the brackets. :) Thank goodness I don'...Ah yes, the brackets. :) Thank goodness I don't have to deal with a lot of them --given that most of my stuff is contemporary and doesn't require a lot of research. I DO have some brackets, tho--some that are still there, no matter how hard I try to fill them in. LOL. There's one in BTPM that's been there for over two years. NO clue what to put in it...it's a song...not sure which one, yet. Silly.<br /><br />But yeah, using brackets is a great way to get past sticking points. I use them A LOT when I don't know the name of a character. i.e. [] stepped forward and saluted the captain. Blah blah blah. Names are hard for me for whatever reason--even Gabe and Drew were []'s at one point. LOL. <br /><br />One thing is for sure, tho. I'm not sure I'll ever have quite the research bug that y'all have. (g) It's NOT my thang. At all.Jennifer Hendrenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01239194419535919631noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2274987097756433491.post-3105619341457592502009-11-09T00:20:31.100-06:002009-11-09T00:20:31.100-06:00Hi guys, I'm another believer in square bracke...Hi guys, I'm another believer in square brackets and again it was Diana that said it. It makes such a difference. Thanks for reminding me. I'm stuck in a police station not knowing what people's ranks would be and the scene has stalled here for months. I'll just square bracket it now and move on.Jill McCawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2274987097756433491.post-80351824854909461622009-11-08T18:05:40.324-06:002009-11-08T18:05:40.324-06:00I got the square bracket thing from Diana too, and...I got the square bracket thing from Diana too, and it saved my life! Before that, I would just keep writing and writing, which was fine - until I got to the editing stage, and then had to stop every two seconds and question myself "did you look this up? are you sure this is right? better check again!" Now, with the square brackets, I know exactly where to direct my research, since I try to have most of the story written before starting in on real research (it's hard to stop myself from Googling random things every few days). I haven't tried it, but I'm afraid that if I do extensive research before even starting a story, it'll affect the way I write. So far so good - I haven't hit any major inaccuracies that force me change entire story arcs. Knock on wood!<br />I like Helen's idea of putting many of the research details on one's blog - seems like a good way to ward off info-dumping. Though it's true, I do tend to start babbling about my research topics to the people around me. Yet I can't seem to brag about my books :-(Deniz Bevanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17134553551048836979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2274987097756433491.post-765875734172608142009-11-08T03:46:24.617-06:002009-11-08T03:46:24.617-06:00Helen R-S: You're right. Forward momentum with...Helen R-S: You're right. Forward momentum with the writing is so much better than hand-wringing over the details (as I have come to learn!)<br /><br />Helen: Ah, a girl after my own heart! (g) My poor husband is often forced to endure my excited ravings over some obscure factoid I've managed to unearth - he either rolls his eyes or feigns sleep. (g)<br /><br />Stephanie - Ah, yes, there is that. You do want your research to influence your writing, but not completely take it over! <br /><br />Lori - Ah, yes, it probably was DG. I also have a vague recollection of Eve Ackerman extolling the virtues of square brackets, too. The Forum is such a fabulous place for writers, isn't it?Rachel Walshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15406943046329566026noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2274987097756433491.post-60359026160615900562009-11-05T21:53:17.076-06:002009-11-05T21:53:17.076-06:00Rachel,
I got the square bracket habit from Diana...Rachel,<br /><br />I got the square bracket habit from Diana G. But I'm sure others have mentioned it too. As for me, I use 'em. The only time I halt the first drafting is when the answer to my research/historical question will dictate the direction of an important story thread. I can't write past that point, even if I'm pretty sure what direction the story will take, because I'll feel on too shaky ground. What if I'm wrong and I don't bother to check? It's happened before. And then I spent way too much time editing/rethinking/scrapping scenes. I need to know I'm on solid footing story-wise, historically speaking. But for little things, brackets are a writer's best friend!Lori Bentonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04714197239425827339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2274987097756433491.post-16965287077874734042009-11-05T20:03:17.603-06:002009-11-05T20:03:17.603-06:00Rachel,
I'm another one who adores research,...Rachel, <br /><br />I'm another one who adores research, and have had the same experience you described about the matches. Another pitfall of too much research on my part is that it seems to "color" what sort of my book I think I am writing. <br /><br />For example, I read the most wonderful memoir ever that came from my time period. Afterwards I began to consider how great the memoir form (a fictional memoir, of course) would be for my WIP. Sigh.Lottery Girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11171564761912007601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2274987097756433491.post-12434289935753659282009-11-05T16:29:15.964-06:002009-11-05T16:29:15.964-06:00Rachel
I adore research. I could spend my life 2...Rachel<br /><br />I <i>adore</i> research. I could spend my life 24/7 doing nothing but research. Finding obscure details makes me so happy! I'm like a rat in a rubbish bin when it comes to research. (Are you getting the idea how much I love it?)<br /><br />Unfortunately time spent researching is not time spent writing, so I have to ration myself. I make good use of the square bracket technique while I'm writing. I set up my blog <a href="http://helen-m.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">1841...and now</a> as the place where I can dump the fruits of my research and the strange places it takes me - that gets it all out of my system, generates even more interesting research questions by email from friends and family, and hopefully saves me from the ghastly info dump in the middle of my story.Helenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00136310244264394083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2274987097756433491.post-4964745367407386702009-11-05T05:48:54.926-06:002009-11-05T05:48:54.926-06:00Hi Rachel,
Square brackets all the way *g* It gen...Hi Rachel,<br /><br />Square brackets all the way *g* It generally doesn't make much difference to a scene so I usually just bracket the troublesome detail and move on. Looking up the finickity details just seems like Too Much Hard Work to me *g* I know, I know, I'll have to do it eventually...but in the meantime I have shiny writing to do.Helen R-Snoreply@blogger.com