Writing Tips: Research and Outlines

Hey everyone! Back for an all new writing tip this week. So without futher delay, here we go.

TOPIC: Research and Outlines

It is probably a safe bet that many people cringe at the word "research" in relation to writing. After all, if you're writing, aren't you just making things up as you go? Sorry to say that no, you are not just making things up as you go.

The level and depth of research all depends on what type of story you are trying to tell. For fantasy and sci-fi, you can check back to my blog post about Fantasy that makes sense. Even with fantasy, you may want to spend some time exploring societal structures that may mirror those in your work. Basing pieces of your world in reality always makes it stronger.

For those who aren't playing with dragons and fairies, the research stage is more about bolstering your believability. Setting something in the "real" world takes just as much energy as creating your own new place to play. You are confined to the way things actually work and where places actually are. Trust me, readers are perceptive and if they know the location where you've plunked your characters down, they may be none-to-pleased to see you put the Starbucks where the Dunkin' Donuts should be.

Of course, the above example is a rather silly one, especially since they are often on opposite corners of the street. Let me share with you a bit of research woe I encountered not too long ago. My next project is a piece of contemporary women's fiction set in Boston. I know I want my characters to be believable and real so I spent quite a bit of time researching businesses and neighborhoods where my characters would be interacting. One of the key places in the story is a yoga studio. Initially I'd found an actual studio (yay for authenticity) but then I realized for legal reasons it might be better to create my own. Yes, I know I said earlier you don't have to create new places in the "real" world. Well, I lied. You can indeed create your own businesses and restaurants and banks, etc. But here's where the research comes in. In trying to find a place to put my made up yoga studio, I had to look up places where there are actually gyms. That way, someone reading the manuscript would say, "yeah, there could be a yoga studio there".

Google is a good place to start if you don't know exactly what you're looking for. Once you've narrowed it down, you can do a more targeted search for the business or organization you want information on. Remember, when using real places, if you're going ot use them for less than savory aims in your work, it may be best to create your own.

Another good place to look for some world building material may be your nearest Barnes & Noble (or other bookstore). You can browse for hours in there without getting weird looks. The library works too if you don't have a bookstore nearby.

Once you've done all of your research, the next step is outlining your work. Don't run away! It's not as hard as it sounds, I promise. Outlines can mean many different things, including character development, chapter outlines and character arcs.

The first kind of outlining deals with character development. This is what it sounds like. You develop your characters. Give them family hisory, birthday, anniversary, a job. Just for kicks, give them some hobbies and dislikes too. The more you know about your characters, the more well-rounded and real they wiill appear on the page. The important thing to remember with charcter devleopment (or background) is that not everything you write down about the character has to show up in the novel. Suzy's dislike of lime jell-o may have nothing to do with the storyline, so there's no need to include it.

Getting into the meat of the story, there are two ways of outlining. The first is the traditional notion of the outline where you map out each chapter in the book. This works for some people. A chapter-by-chapter outline allows the writer to figure out exactly what needs to happen and when. This method can be extremely time consuming and so many people shy away from this step of the process. I know for a long time I skipped right from the idea hitting me to writing. I find now that taking the time to set goals, research and outline makes the story stronger from the beginning.

The second type of outlining is mapping individual charater arcs. This is an ideal method when you have multiple main characters. You'll want to sit down and write out what happens to that specific character at each stage of the story and how it affects those around them. You won't necessarily have a chapter-by-chapter map for your story, but you will know the important points to hit with each character at each point in the story.

I hope you were able to find some nuggets of useful information about doing research and outlining before you start writing. Check back next week for an all new writing tip.