Monday Motivation - Keeping it Real

Research. According to Dictionary.com research is: diligent and systematic inquiry or investigation into a subject in order to discover or revise facts, theories, applications, etc. In fact, it comes from two French words, which mean “to search.” You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that makes sense.

Writers, especially authors of historical novels seem to revel in research. And I do love to learn more about a subject when I’m really interested in it. However, I am a victim of two things: A wandering mind and lack of patience! Even when I was in elementary school, I would be looking up facts for a report on an animal and I would inevitably start reading about some great writer, artist, statesman, an exotic place or beautiful plant in the encyclopedia. So many facts, so little time!

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These days I sometimes don’t ask the right question and this leads to frustration. When I want to pin down whether a certain product was available in 1900, but I can’t find anything exact about it’s history, I panic. Well, okay, I want to pound the desk, but doing that won’t make any difference. My impatience becomes visible. And I keep trying, but it may mean making a change in my story.

One of my favorite resources for research is finding good, but inexpensive used books online for studying my subject and having them sent right to my door. Often books, if they’re in the public domain, and are available for anyone to read right there online. And of course, don’t forget interlibrary loan. Then there are journals and historical books found in the stores of museums and historical sites, but they may be a costlier investment.

This week I’ll be tackling some rewriting, but I will also be spending time in research, journeying into the past to ancient Egypt. I’ll definitely be praying that the Lord leads me in the right direction to find some things I need to know.

If you’ve put a manuscript aside and you need some impetus to get back into your story, try setting aside some time for research this week. Get yourself back into the mood for working on your story and save time later by having some facts at hand.

Writing prompt: The archaeologist slid further down the narrow passageway into the Pharaoh’s tomb and became
wedged . . .

Take several minutes to explore how you might feel in the archaeologist’s place and how she or he might get out of this predicament!

Please share your favorite methods of research in the comment section below. Do you delve into research before writing? During writing? Or after the first draft is written? Which do you think saves the most time?

Monday Motivation - Three Rs

Three Rs:

Read, Relax & Refuel

Perhaps it was the first picture book your mom read to you, an old leather bound version of The Secret Garden you found at your grandma’s or a copy of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe you borrowed from the library which sparked your desire to write. Every fiction writer has fallen in love with real hard copy books while growing up. From the scent of fresh ink and paper in a brand new book to the softness of well-worn pages and the musty scent of being on a shelf somewhere for a long time, books speak to our longing.

The stories within help us to fall in love with words again, the power they have to create pictures in our imaginations and take us away from the pressures or boredom of daily life. To pick up a good book and read it for an hour can be like a mini-vacation.

There are days when we are discouraged or stuck, when we might even sit and stare at a prewritten outline and find every word we write a chore. While we might able to force ourselves to produce words for a deadline, there are times when we might feel empty and need to put fuel in the tank of imagination and emotion before we can write.

One day a few weeks ago, I was at the local post office, which is around the corner from the public library. So often I’ve looked up books I wanted for research online, only to reserve them and pick them up quickly to be time efficient. That day I decided to give myself the luxury of looking around the library for the fun of it, picking up books to look at . . . just because.

I may have spent only an hour and a half there, but the time relaxing and reading and soaking in the atmosphere of being around books filled me up again with new ideas, more creativity and a renewed desire to handle real books! Yes, I must confess, that I have a Kindle app on my Google pad and it’s wonderful for taking with me and for reading at night, so as not to disturb my light sleeping husband. Stopping to peruse e-book volumes and downloading new books may have the same effect as going to the library. However, that special time at the library helped me remember how I first fell in love with words and stories and books. 

When I still had children at home, taking the time to treat myself to a mocha or a caramel latte at a cafe, while writing in a notebook often gave me the time off I needed. Or I might take a book with me to read. This gave me the chance to refuel as well.  I have often felt that I can’t or shouldn’t take the time to read, relax and refuel.

The reality is that if we don’t take that time, even occasionally, the emotional energy we need to write isn’t there. Taking those needed times out can help you to become a more productive writer when you get back to your laptop.

 

What helps you to relax and refuel for your writing? Please share.

Writing Prompt: He carried the bag of garbage into the alley. Sure he was being followed, he turned and found . . . .

Write a few paragraphs and enjoy the fun of it, incorporating as many senses as you can.