Do you spend too much time researching instead of writing?

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vadadagon
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Do you spend too much time researching instead of writing?

Post by vadadagon »

Hello,

Many times I find myself wanting to write and I'm chugging along and then come up on a scene (Horse Husbandry or healing herbs or Falconry) and I realize I know nothing about the subject.

Then I find myself spending about two to three hours on the internet researching (insert subject here) in order to be able to effectively write the story. Does that happen to you and how do you deal with it?
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moderntimes
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Post by moderntimes »

Spending a few DAYS researching the subject is fine. Just don't get carried away.

For example, in my newly finished 3rd mystery novel, I created a new character who will become the love interest of my private detective. She's very casually based upon a real British female cardiologist whom I was examined by when I was in the hospital for a checkup a couple years ago. She was a pretty blonde woman who whirled her stethoscope tube around her finger.

So I took this and turned her into a New Zealand gal, a redhead trauma surgeon. And she and my detective hook up. So I emailed a Kiwi pal and he supplied me with a couple of fictional bios for such a woman -- where she went to med school and so on.

And I wanted her to have a hobby of sailing about which I know nothing! So I really researched the net for info on recreational sailing and gave her a new sailboat and I read about how they work and put that into my novel.

I really in fact had about 40 times the info on New Zealand and sailing that went into the book but I really got some great feedback from others who thought the stuff to be very accurate. So I succeeded.

Researching topics is fine.

I review mystery novels for a website and I therefore read many mysteries. I'm also a certified "gun nut" (ha ha) and am very meticulous about getting descriptions of guns and how they work accurately. And I cringe when writers make awful gun mistakes, like putting a safety on a revolver (they don't have them) or "cocking" a Glock pistol (they don't cock -- you pull the trigger and bang).

I mean, you wouldn't have a medical thriller where the doctor didn't know what A+ blood type meant, or you wouldn't have a legal thriller if the lawyer didn't know what habeas corpus meant, right? Likewise you need to get gun stuff straight if your're writing a mystery thriller. Duh.

So yeah, research is necessary. Or ask friends for help. That works great. Either way, better to do the research and not have literary egg on your face with dumb errors in your book, right?
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Post by Skillian »

I think I get pulled into this inescapable whirlpool of research and/or brainstorming sometimes. I give a lot of credit for this to the internet. It is just so easy to find more and more information, and oh look another story! *CLICK* Next thing I know the day is gone. How I remedied this... I now have a desktop which isn't hooked up to the internet. That way when I'm typing.. I simply jot down what I want to look up later.. and then keep typing. Then I have research times set aside, and then the next morning I insert the section which needed more research. If it is something that would need to be researched for the entire book and not just a scene or two... it is really hard to put a number on how long is too long. It also depends on your deadline (assuming you have one set by publishers or just by yourself for motivation and organizational reasons). I am a pretty quick writer. So I spend about 50% time researching and outlining followed by 20% time writing first draft, then another 10% time further research... alternating until finished. And obviously if you have hit the max of research then the remainder of time is spend writing and re-writing. haha. With research for me it isn't the research itself but the sidetracking of information. I really have to cut myself off from going off on some tangent into an area of research I wont even end up using. You will figure it all out in time.. whatever works for you and whatever works for that particular project.
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Post by milliethom »

Yes, I love doing research and always spend far too long on it. I get carried away by what I find and end up following numerous threads. Most of them lead me to things quite unconnected to what I was looking up in the first place. I should have been a perpetual student, I think.
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Post by vadadagon »

moderntimes wrote:So yeah, research is necessary. Or ask friends for help. That works great. Either way, better to do the research and not have literary egg on your face with dumb errors in your book, right?
I agree I just don't know when enough is enough. Obviously if I am writing a novel which takes place in the middle ages setting I should probably know how to take care of horses and what they eat, etc. It just seems like I get lost in the research and gather too much sometimes.

-- 16 Nov 2014, 17:37 --
Skillian wrote:How I remedied this... I now have a desktop which isn't hooked up to the internet. That way when I'm typing.. I simply jot down what I want to look up later.. and then keep typing. . You will figure it all out in time.. whatever works for you and whatever works for that particular project.
I agree my problem is my computer is connected to the internet (in fact I don't think I own one single piece of technology that isn't connected) and when I come an issue I end-up wasting too much time. I have tried switching to analog (which is a great deal slower writing by hand) using pen and a pad but that can get a little frustrating sometimes (I might just get a typewriter).

Thank you for the tip and I'll certainly try to disconnect then jot down what I want to research and set aside a specific time to research that topic. I think that will work.
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Post by estelle »

This happens to me all the time.....I get caught up in all the researching I'm doing and then I never get around to doing the important part - the WRITING!
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Post by Nathrad Sheare »

Ugh! I find myself doing this all the time! It's terrible! Ha, ha!
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Post by vadadagon »

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one with this problem. Thanks for sharing makes me feel a bit normal.
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Post by SharisseEM »

Guilty. Every time I write, I try to study up on what I'm writing such as firearms, jobs, locations and historical stuff. It's what I like about writing. It's also why my bookshelf is full of an eclectic mix of books which gets me questions when people see them. And then there's my searches... Always very interesting. I can spend days researching so that I can make my book as factually correct as it can be with regards to certain things.
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Post by rssllue »

I have always loved doing research, so it is easy for me to overdo it at times. It was something that I learned that I enjoyed early on in school and still like to do to this day. It is like a mystery to unlock for me. :D
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Post by rajesh »

Yes . I make sure every piece of data is accurate
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Post by KS Crooks »

I find the need to do this on occasion, usually stemming around using the proper terminology for objects or actions. The trick is to get slightly more information than you think you need at the moment, yet not get drawn into searching every aspect of the topic. Always consider what the reader needs to know and simply try to know a hair more.
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Post by Intelligent_Cat »

I spend an overwhelming amount of time researching names... so I'm going to say yes! It helps to have everything you're going to need to know about a story written down before hand, but sometimes characters take over the page!
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Post by Amheiser »

It's very easy to get caught up in researching, but I would hate to write something that is inaccurate. I figure that it never hurts to sound as knowledgeable as you can about something, but I have read a couple books that have way too much information about something. So much so that the story almost gets lost in the descriptions of things.
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Post by Brandi Noelle »

I can get caught up in researching, but sometimes it's necessary if you're really trying to get a feel for a certain subject. I usually find if I'm focusing too much on the research it means I'm avoiding the writing. Maybe because I'm feeling blocked or unhappy with the work I'm producing. Research is a convenient excuse to not write.
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