Through the years, we’ve had a strange sort of holiday tradition where I put up a Christmas wreath on the door and Christmas candles in the windows and call the outdoor part of the decorating done—and the children ask for a Light Show Spectacular.
This has gone on for the last 10 years. Each year, I’ve said, “We’re really not the outdoor lights sort of people.” And each year the kids have grumbled under their breath.
This year, my 13 year old son called me on it. “What does that mean?” he asked. “ ‘Not the outdoor lights sort of people.’ ?”
It means that we’re the sort of people whose blood pressure goes up with tangled lights cords. It means that we’re the sort of people who don’t have enough extension cords. It means we’re the sort of people who worry about fire hazards.
But…this year I felt pressured into giving it a go. And it was exactly the sort of disorganized headache I thought it would be:
I went to Walmart (a headache in itself)
I got ten boxes of lights
That wasn’t enough lights.
My son and I put net lights on the bushes. They tangled.
When we plugged them in, we’ found I’d gotten 2 different colors.
We discovered that we could only light the bushes on one side of the house. I ran out and bought an extension cord at a hardware store.
I went back to Walmart and they were out of the kind of light we had most of.
I drove 30 minutes to another store. They were also out.
I decided to light only the bushes directly in front of the house.
I discovered that several of my usual decorating standbys, the Christmas candles, were broken.
The store I drove to didn’t have any left.
The second store I drove to had a different kind than the one I had.
I called the third store, across town. They said they had them and I drove there…but the clerk had misunderstood. They didn’t have them.
I drove 35 minutes to another store that said they had them. They didn’t have enough of them—and they were way too expensive. I bought them anyway.
They actually weren’t the right kind.
You can see why I told my children that we weren’t lights people.
For me, research is like lights. I go to many different places, looking for a very specific, particular thing. Sometimes I can’t find it, sometimes I think I’ve found the right information, but it’s actually not what I need.
And—it’s time-consuming. And frustrating.
This is why, if at all possible, I put off research until after I’ve written my story. I’ll put notes to myself in my margins in Word’s Track Changes that I need procedural information, etc. Then I’ll rewrite those parts in the second draft.
I also have tried to find as many primary sources as possible. Sort of like one-stop shopping. If I can call and ask a source directly, then just verify that information, it does save a lot of time.
I’ve got a new project to work on and it requires a good deal of research. I think, though, if I research while I’m writing the mystery, then I’m going to get that crazy, stressed-out, time-consumed feeling that I got from driving all over town looking for Christmas lights.
I know, though, that a lot of writers have made peace with research and like to research while working on their book—and some genres, like the historical genre, it would be hard to piece together even a basic plot without research.
What’s your research technique? Save it until the first draft is over? Research as you go? If you do research as you go, how do you quickly find the information you need—without getting distracted or going off on tangents?
Elizabeth – I love your “How do you approach this writing task…” questions! They make me think and they make me question my own assumptions about writing, and that is a good thing.
I try to do some research before I write; I think that’s because of my academic background. When you write academic papers, you do the research, then you write it all up. But for my fiction I research as I go. That’s because I don’t want to spend too much time researching for something that may not end up being in the story. When I get to something in a story that I don’t know for a stone-cold fact, I look it up or ask. I love the Internet for those moments…
Now I have a headache…fortunately, my husband is the outdoor kind of lights person.
I prefer to research while I’m writing, but that does lead to hours of wandering off topic as things unrelated snag my attention. Fantasy is a little easier. If no one else has been to my made-up planet, I’m free to plant my flag and make stuff up.
Think I got the point, Elizabeth:
1. Stay away from Wal-Mart (no problem, we don’t have Wal-Mart here)
2. Skip extensive out-door lights.
Outdoor American-style light decorations are not very common where we live now. It was different when we lived up north, beyond the arctic circle. Apperently the people up north enjoy stuff that lights up their homes in the polar darkness >:)
Cold As Heaven
Oh, Elizabeth, I hurt for you. I am not an outdoor lights person either and your story has just solidified my position.
Unless I know I can find the info I need quickly and easily, I put it off until later, usually after the first draft.
Outdoor lights? Would that be my tree displayed in the window of my sun porch? I have a seasonal flag, that counts right?
Work research- I did it before I started this time and I have local folks with answers they’re glad to share for a Seattle’s Best or lunch at most.
I draft and bullet point, then go back and research as I go along. I skip around a lot. That’s just me. It’s a bit haphazard but it works and as long as I’m getting something accomplished I’m happy.
Although I write fantasy, I have to do quite a bit of research for my novels.
On the front end, I research enough to get a feel for my novel’s time period. My current novel is set in 1348 in Aragon. I had a devil of a time locating research that wasn’t in Spanish! Finally I got some excellent resources. I have read four treatises, two histories, and a host of supplementary material for two lousy sentences in the novel. *sigh*
But I love it. I love doing research and because I work in a library, I get to do a lot of it.
I keep researching as I write because sometimes I get little clues that I can go back and add. For me, research helps me to immerse myself into a time period and my characters’ lives.
Oh you poor thing. I can see why you’ve avoided it. I’m a decorating fiend, so my house is lit up inside and out from Thanksgiving to New Years. But it can be a hassle even when I enjoy the results. Putting it up isn’t as bad and tearing it all down. One day I’ll convince my husband that Christmas year-round is a good thing.
As a fantasy writer, I do a good deal of research before I start writing, because I need to do my world building. Until the world is solid, I can’t put the story into it. After that, I only do it when I run into something I need more info about. (like I needed to understand smelting for my second book)
I actually have a stack of eight books on my shelf now that I’ll be reading as research for my next book. It’s all about the culture and region I’ll be using as a jumping off point for the world.
I research as I go. As for not getting distracted or going off on tangents…no comment. :-) (But there’s always the hope I’ll need it another time.)
Terry
Terry’s Place
Romance with a Twist–of Mystery
Hi Elizabeth .. now I know why I don’t have kids and am not married!?! but I miss the fun later on – but the tangled mess .. actually I remember as kids at home sorting the lights out and working out which bulb wasn’t quite tight enough – but those were the Medieval days?! Just hope they appreciate all your work? Happy Days at your achievement .. Hilary
Laura–That would be a very nice plus to writing fantasy! It’s alwasys so much nicer just to make things up. :)
Cold As Heaven–There is NO good time to go to Walmart. Be happy you’re not near one. If it’s quiet in there, then the line will surely be 15 people deep by the time I get to the registers. :) And–really? Somehow I wouldn’t have pictured folks up around the Arctic Circle being interested in doing Christmas lights. I was shivering the whole time and it’s not even very cold here!
Helen–Just say no to outdoor lights!
Mary–Yes! Your tree and seasonal flag count, for sure! You’re my kind of decorator. :) And–good idea to use local experts to help with your research. I think I’m going to go in a similar direction with my next book.
Margot–I wondered how you might answer the question, given your background! You’ve probably got more self-discipline than I do…I think if I hop on the internet then I might get distracted and end up on Twitter… :)
Stephen–I think your brain must be a lot more organized than mine is! I think I get more easily confused when I change course.
Teresa–I’d love to work in a library! And it really would be the perfect place to get all your researching knocked out. But still–all that research for a couple of sentences? It’s a lot like my Christmas light shopping! :)
Janice–Year-round lights would definitely make it a lot easier! Now I know who to call when I need help with lights… ;)
For fantasy writers, your approach really does make a lot of sense, Janice. I can see where you need to have your whole world set in place first, before you start plotting.
Hilary–Actually–we DID have a whole strand of Christmas tree lights that wasn’t working! We had to find the faulty bulb. :) I wish those days *were* medieval, though.
What a great story, you poor thing! I like to research before I even write the outline. I find that it inspires much more of the story and often results in chapters I didn’t plan on!
I do a little before and a lot more afterwards. Easier for me.
And I feel your pain. We put a wreath on the door. Every couple years my wife guilts me into doing more and out come bows and garland. But lights? No way!
Heather–Which is exactly why it’s good that writers have different approaches! When you put it that way, research sounds very appealing! :)
Alex–No lights! Just tell her no! :) My kids believe me now when I tell them I’m officially done with lights!
Terry–I’ve got a whole Word folder of stuff that I might need sometime! Dialogue…even characters. :) Makes sense that research could fit in well there, too.
I just had this very conversation about Christmas lights with my daughter. I live in an apartment and she wanted to know why I don’t put lights on the windows. I told her that the Christmas tree lights are enough and that electricity is very expensive. I am not spending my hard earned money because of peer pressure.
As far as the research, I do find that I research while I write and it takes me ten times as long to finish even one page of writing. Like you, I end up tossing info when I revise what I’ve written. Sad really.
I research off and on constantly. I find that if you do a lot of broad research before you need it, or when you don’t need it, you may end up answering questions not yet asked. More importantly, by diluting the frustrating search-for-this-one-answer research in a deluge of reading interesting facts, I find I can actually enjoy doing all my research.
Hi Elizabeth, it was as though i was reading a thriller!! superb story
Research Job Descriptions