Who Likes To Research?

I agree!
Conducting research continually keeps my mind working and I truly enjoy the things I learn.
How in the world did we get along before the Internet?
I love to check in with Wikipedea every day as the front page has a lot of great information (I don't care what people say, it's a fantastic source for information).

I'm a research junkie. I research just because I'm insatiably curious. I research things I may never write about...just because I MIGHT write about them.

I'm sure there is a twelve step somewhere for me, but I refuse to attend. It isn't a problem. I can quit anytime I want.

'Scuze me, but I've got a book on medieval castles calling my name.

I love it. It's my downfall, really. I dig too far. This is why I need to be back in school! Then I'll have an outlet for my anthropological geekdom.

I'm working on a novel set in Ireland and have loved researching all the old agriculture laws and poetry. *sigh* I just want to keep digging.

*raises hand*

I've found that the research effects the plot. I get exciting ideas from research which can sent me off in an entirely new direction.

I like a mix of Internet and books. The Microsoft Word highlighter function is me best friend. I just take notes on everything, then sift through later and see what I need.

Hello from the other side of the fence!

I despise research. I love learning, and I love reading, so even I'm not really sure why I tremble when the R-word comes up. You could say that I don't mind the act of researching; I just dread the whole concept of researching.

The problem with "sticking to what I know" is that I don't know very much. My experience in life is limited, and not very interesting (that's why I love to read and write). So although I dread it, I do have to research.

Most of my research is rather cursory. If I'm interested in a topic, I'll usually start with Wikipedia. It is obviously not the most reliable source of information, but most articles are good for gleaning general information, and the ones with citations will have links to other, more credible sources. I did that with "execution by burning" a couple of weeks ago, since I intended to burn one of my characters at the stake.

It's always good to have friends who have experience too. If I have a question about law, I ask my dad, who's lawyer. I'm hopeless with hardware and tools, so I can ask my brother about those subjects.

Oh, and Discovery Channel. I love watching Discovery Channel documentaries, mostly on history.

I didn't really care for research until I went to a lecture from a research librarian. It sounds like a snore, but it was really interesting. And she gave us a great resource list. I posted it here, on my blog, should you be interested.

Depends on what you call "research".

If you think that my 40-odd years of reading non-fiction, biographies and such because I've been curious about and enjoyed the topics is research, then I definitely am into it.

If you think that it's just looking up facts and tidbits of info for the current or soon-to-be currrent project is research, then I hate it. It's a great expenditure of time and effort whilst I'm writing and I'd rather pull something out of my butt that works for the story than interrupt myself to look something up. Unless I want to procrastinate, of course.

Totally depends on how you define it.

Wendy, great list! I'd like to add the Google books function, which allows a truly virtual degree of topic searching within their ebooks. Some presses like Forgotten Books link all their printings to Google books versions.

My job title is Research Associate. So, um, yeah research is my life. And I love it - just usually not the kind people pay me to do! Writing research = excuse to go buy/read cool books about stuff I never thought about before.

Wendy, thanks for the link!

I loooooooooooooooove research!!! I think back fondly to when I was about 14 years old, digging up every piece of info I could find about lobotomies. Just because it was freaky and cool. My favorite areas of "research" (otherwise known as learning cool stuff) are medical weirdness and biographies. Every once in a while I fall in love with some historical figure and read everything I can about him.

I'm with DeleyanLee. I love doing research the vast majority of the time. Quite often I think I should have been a research librarian, as I'm a queen of hunting down random pieces of information.

But when I'm writing, I want to write. I don't want to break off my writing to spend 30 minutes tracking a fact down that is used in one sentence. I'll research gladly for 40 hours before starting writing, but once I start, I just want to keep going. I'll fact-check later.

I'm an addict


a happy one

I have mixed feelings, usually because I put off my research until I'm actually writing the passage, then I have to stop and go look something up, or flag it for later. Once I start researching, I enjoy it. It's just motivating myself to start. And then I know something cool about some new subject.

This week's topic: anthropometric test devices (aka crash test dummies). Before the ones we have today, they used to use cadavers, live (consenting) humans, and animals, primarily pigs. Who knew?

Weird thing: I hate researching. HATEHATEHATE. But I love reading. Everything. I also have several knowledgeable people to speak to. So I have a wide knowledge of things here and there. I'm pretty familiar with the medical field, somewhat familiar with military ops (not in the military myself, but the rest of the family was,) and have also become familiar with the occult, internet culture, and various random bits.

The point? I work with what I know. I can't remember a time where I had to do extensive research for a book. Then again, I also write speculative fiction, means I can MIU (Make It Up). There's almost always someone for me to ask, or I can piece an idea together from fragments.

Some people call what I do researching. I call it pseudoscholarship. Maybe there isn't a difference between them?

In general, it's better to do a little too much research than a little too little. Good for you that you enjoy it. When you research, if something catches your eye, read a little more into it. Then branch out. I've started out with Japanese etiquette and, through various different subjects, ended up in Beijing, then in India.

I like research. I get to learn and, in my writing, I get to teach. I like interviewing people, too. You get to test theories, ask questions that make them think and that gives you a small idea as to the impact your book can have.

As if on cue, Amazon delivered me two research books I just ordered. Woo hoo! Between that, the Olympics and my recent unemployment, I swear I'm not leaving the house this week!

Alpha Echo said:

So my question is do you like to research? Or do you try to stick to what you already know, rather than venture out into the unknown?

If you do research, what's your process? Do you use the internet or the library? Interview experts in the field?

I'm just curious.

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I love doing research. Maybe too much as I always think I don't have quite enough information even with my desk piled high with books, pictures and computer print-outs. I prefer to tackle things I don't know and research them until they're familiar.
I don't think I have any particular process for doing research. I write historicals so usually I gather together as many books as I can from brick and mortar and online bookstores. Right now I'm researching ancient Babylon so have only found three books - one written fairly recently by Joan Oates and one I found online from a London library. I stumbled across the third one in my father's library. The interesting thing about my dad's book is that it was written in 1859, well before ancient Babylon was excavated. Speculation and fact are often very different. Online research provides conflicting information but lots of artwork and photographs so my wall is plastered with those along with many many diagrams of the city itself, the main gate, wall construction and temple layouts.
As far as experts go, IMO the only experts are those who actually lived in ancient Babylon so I have to be content with reading translations of cuneiform tablets written by Babylonian scribes.
Linnea

WendyNYC said:

I didn't really care for research until I went to a lecture from a research librarian. It sounds like a snore, but it was really interesting. And she gave us a great resource list. I posted it here, on my blog, should you be interested.

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Thanks again, Wendy. I always find your blog interesting and helpful. Inspiring, even.

Research? I LOVE research. I researched my current ms for three years, even traveling to England to go to all the places I wanted to use to set the scene.

The next book is about bees. England. Israel. Kidnapping. Trust me; I will tie this all together. It's very tekky, too.

And it's about genius children. Had to research them, cause I ain't one.

Another book is about Hollywood. That's going to be the MOST fun to research. I can almost walk there from Phoenix. Well, not really.

I want to play a DB on one of the csi shows to experience how they put the show together. Think I have a proverbial snowball's chance in hell for that one?