Have you ever written about a location, time period, weapon, society, etc. that you know absolutely nothing about?
Are you a curious person and want to learn as much as you can on a variety of subjects, but don't want (or can't afford) to take classes on all of them?
Do you find yourself often short on time and unable to learn all of the things you want or need to?
...So you're like me.
Oh, and I almost forgot: Does the word research scare you?
Definitely like me.
It's time to overcome our fear.
Over the years, I've realized more and more the usefulness and importance of research. Accuracy is a key element in school papers, work documents, non-fiction, and, yes, even fiction writing. The less you know about something, the more it will show. And let's face it, no one wants to read a book that's set in a time period or location that the author really knows nothing about. Even fiction writers (including C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien) knew their fictional story worlds.
Perhaps you're not researching a specific detail for a specific project. Maybe you just want to learn about some broader topic that might affect future writings.
In any case, you need to know how to research.
1.) The Search Engine
I do most of my research on the internet. There are no purchase costs, no waiting lists, no late fees, and tons of resources. This has become the most common method of research for many people, especially our generation. Most of you have probably used a search engine at some point (Google, Bing, Blekko, Dogpile, Yahoo, Baidu, Safari, etc.) and know how to use it.
Tip: If you know specifically what you're researching (including technical names/details), the more specific your search is, the better, more specific results you'll get.
For example: Say I'm describing a room and I want to create a certain ambiance. Let's go with “revenge”. I could search, “How to create revenge ambiance”. I'll get a whole lot of random results that really aren't useful to me. But let's say I want to zero in on the heavy drapes that cover the many windows in the room. I could then search, “Colors associated with revenge” or “Different materials used for drapery”. I'll still get some random results, but there will be many more helpful results as well.
2.) The Bookmark
Since I'm being so specific in my searches, won't it take forever to go through all of those results? Answer: Yes. Thankfully there's this wonderful option called “Bookmark”. I love bookmarking. I love it with a severe passion. It saves all of my ideas, all of my templates, and all of my research. Whether I'm researching German stew recipes, medieval battles, or tips on entrepreneurship, bookmarking allows me to continue researching without being bogged down with trudging through every article then and there. It's also a good idea to sub-bookmark if you're doing research in different fields for the same aspect/portion of your work. For instance, my bookmarks folder might look something like this:
Bookmarks
>Research
>>Neuro-Physiology/Psychiatric-Science
>>Filmmaking
>>>Lenses
>>>Lighting
>>>Budget
>>>Audio
>>>>Capture/Engineering
>>>>Editing
>>>Directing
>>>>Film-vs-Stage
>>>Post
>>>Marketing
I could have anywhere from one to four-dozen articles in each of those folders and subfolders. But thankfully everything is organized in a way that makes sense to me, so when the time comes I won't be sifting through a hundred articles trying to find the one I need.
3.) The Info-Dump
Normally in writing we're told to avoid info-dumping. Not this time. I'm a very busy person. I work customer service at a busy grocery store, I'm a part-time student in college, and at any given time I'm usually working on at least one production – up to 40 hours a week! That doesn't leave a lot of time for research.
Thankfully life gives me breaks every now and again. Unless it's unavoidably urgent, I save most of my research for one of those few moments of “free time”. If there's a day (or even a morning or afternoon) I don't work or have class or any other plans, the laptop comes out and the bookmark folders open up. Researching the same thing in different forms in a condensed period of time can help you a.) retain the information, and b.) gain a deeper understanding of the subject. You might have to do a quick search to refresh your memory on occasion, but soaking in all you can on a subject can prove to be very helpful. You might even be able to catch up on your research on a number of different subjects or sub-categories.
I know this method of research isn't the best option for everyone, and some people will find it doesn't work at all for them, but hopefully there's someone out there I've aided with the posting of this article. Research shouldn't be scary, and it shouldn't be a bore. If you're interested in or passionate about something, you should be able to pursue it without worrying about a time constraint or a fee. We live in an age in which the articles of the world are at our fingertips...and we get to take advantage of that!
Happy researching!
~aKn (Onnie@ARIS)
Are you a curious person and want to learn as much as you can on a variety of subjects, but don't want (or can't afford) to take classes on all of them?
Do you find yourself often short on time and unable to learn all of the things you want or need to?
...So you're like me.
Oh, and I almost forgot: Does the word research scare you?
Definitely like me.
It's time to overcome our fear.
Over the years, I've realized more and more the usefulness and importance of research. Accuracy is a key element in school papers, work documents, non-fiction, and, yes, even fiction writing. The less you know about something, the more it will show. And let's face it, no one wants to read a book that's set in a time period or location that the author really knows nothing about. Even fiction writers (including C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien) knew their fictional story worlds.
Perhaps you're not researching a specific detail for a specific project. Maybe you just want to learn about some broader topic that might affect future writings.
In any case, you need to know how to research.
1.) The Search Engine
I do most of my research on the internet. There are no purchase costs, no waiting lists, no late fees, and tons of resources. This has become the most common method of research for many people, especially our generation. Most of you have probably used a search engine at some point (Google, Bing, Blekko, Dogpile, Yahoo, Baidu, Safari, etc.) and know how to use it.
Tip: If you know specifically what you're researching (including technical names/details), the more specific your search is, the better, more specific results you'll get.
For example: Say I'm describing a room and I want to create a certain ambiance. Let's go with “revenge”. I could search, “How to create revenge ambiance”. I'll get a whole lot of random results that really aren't useful to me. But let's say I want to zero in on the heavy drapes that cover the many windows in the room. I could then search, “Colors associated with revenge” or “Different materials used for drapery”. I'll still get some random results, but there will be many more helpful results as well.
2.) The Bookmark
Since I'm being so specific in my searches, won't it take forever to go through all of those results? Answer: Yes. Thankfully there's this wonderful option called “Bookmark”. I love bookmarking. I love it with a severe passion. It saves all of my ideas, all of my templates, and all of my research. Whether I'm researching German stew recipes, medieval battles, or tips on entrepreneurship, bookmarking allows me to continue researching without being bogged down with trudging through every article then and there. It's also a good idea to sub-bookmark if you're doing research in different fields for the same aspect/portion of your work. For instance, my bookmarks folder might look something like this:
Bookmarks
>Research
>>Neuro-Physiology/Psychiatric-Science
>>Filmmaking
>>>Lenses
>>>Lighting
>>>Budget
>>>Audio
>>>>Capture/Engineering
>>>>Editing
>>>Directing
>>>>Film-vs-Stage
>>>Post
>>>Marketing
I could have anywhere from one to four-dozen articles in each of those folders and subfolders. But thankfully everything is organized in a way that makes sense to me, so when the time comes I won't be sifting through a hundred articles trying to find the one I need.
3.) The Info-Dump
Normally in writing we're told to avoid info-dumping. Not this time. I'm a very busy person. I work customer service at a busy grocery store, I'm a part-time student in college, and at any given time I'm usually working on at least one production – up to 40 hours a week! That doesn't leave a lot of time for research.
Thankfully life gives me breaks every now and again. Unless it's unavoidably urgent, I save most of my research for one of those few moments of “free time”. If there's a day (or even a morning or afternoon) I don't work or have class or any other plans, the laptop comes out and the bookmark folders open up. Researching the same thing in different forms in a condensed period of time can help you a.) retain the information, and b.) gain a deeper understanding of the subject. You might have to do a quick search to refresh your memory on occasion, but soaking in all you can on a subject can prove to be very helpful. You might even be able to catch up on your research on a number of different subjects or sub-categories.
--
I know this method of research isn't the best option for everyone, and some people will find it doesn't work at all for them, but hopefully there's someone out there I've aided with the posting of this article. Research shouldn't be scary, and it shouldn't be a bore. If you're interested in or passionate about something, you should be able to pursue it without worrying about a time constraint or a fee. We live in an age in which the articles of the world are at our fingertips...and we get to take advantage of that!
Happy researching!
~aKn (Onnie@ARIS)
I write historical fiction, so research is really important for me. This post was really helpful, as far as organizing goes. I've got a question for you, actually: Sometimes I get frustrated with the internet because I don't know which websites are reliable. What do you do in that situation? Are there certain siteable websites you'd suggest, or ways other than not using Wikipedia much to make sure they're reliable?
ReplyDeleteGreat Post, I love researching stuffs. :)
ReplyDelete