A writer must love to research, but also have a passionate desire to write or one can get wrapped up in re-search.
Oh the joys of Wikipedia's knowledge and Google Search with links and images--love it! Researching for me is similar to being sidetracked by bright and shiny objects where I'm constantly yelling "Squirrel!" I must rein myself in, kick myself or just plain turn off the internet so that I can write and get my story done.
Links are called links for a reason. Last week I researched submarines for one of my novels. I needed basic knowledge such as whether or not a sub has stairs or ladders, how the bunks or berths were situated and I wanted to find types of subs and specifications. I needed knowledge about the life of living in a submarine that could be drawn into my writing so my reader would feel the tight confines and realities of the quiet spaces or the fear of the dark. Two days of research later I woke myself up from yet another link--did you know that drug cartels use Narco-submarines to stash their substances in a clandestine effort to bring them around the world? Yeah, fascinating stuff! But I found myself chained to my chair by these unending-push-a-button-links.
I had written almost a paragraph--ok only a sentence--in two days--maybe three.
Unless you have an uncanny and amazing ability to stay on task and you also have an innate mind, capable of ALL knowledge and understanding of absolutely EVERYTHING, you have experienced the above--at least once.
We need to know when to say stop! And write! Whether you set a timer for your duration of research time, or write a certain number of pages daily before researching the details and then insert them later, we must write or our books do not come to fruition.
Another basic thing to keep in mind if you spend days on research is what type of items you've spent days researching. After I explained my new knowledge of submarines and warfare to my husband and told him how fun it was to research, his one comment to me?
"You've just been flagged by the NSA."
I hadn't thought of that. But if so, I may be on to something real for my book, descriptions that would resonate with my readers and bring them in and hold them spellbound, and that is what I truly desire.
Now to put pen to paper or NTPPTP!
January 23, 2014
January 3, 2014
This Year I Turn 50!
This is the year I turn 50!
I'm coming to grips with this "advancement" slowly. For example, this past month I realized that when I comment to strangers, randomly, while in line at the grocery store when I forgot something vital on my list and mention it must be due to my up and coming age of 50, they no longer say, "Really? Fifty? I never would have guessed."
Instead they're nodding--in pity.
There must be a reason for these pitiful nods. This past week I decided that my 16x magnification Makeup mirror with its bright light may magnify my wrinkles to such proportion it renders them out of existence to my eyes. So I put on my new reading spectacles and glanced into a "normal" mirror. It was a good thing my voice box was hoarse from my two-week flu virus or my scream might have scared the neighbors. But the macrocosm of hoarseness that sounded like a semi-truck reducing its gears did scare Cuteness, my Yorkie. I haven't seen him for days.
With that said, and after deciding the cold medicine I took to dry out my flu symptoms had not created the cracked desert look appearing under my eyes, I'd stop competing with time and use my time more w-i-s-e-l-y.
We've all heard people say that 50 is the new 40. I'm actually hoping for the new 30, because I have lots of "stuff" to do with this wiser use of my allotted time and would enjoy the youthful feeling of having an extra 20 years. Stuff such as complete the last few classes for my college degree, find an agent, an editor and a publisher for my books, keep up in my blogging and writing, find the names of my husband's great-great-grandpa's parents, exercise, and become more competent in French. Whew! I guess it's a good thing that the man of my dreams, who I married over half-my-life-ago, and I will be empty-nesters in a few months.
This year of turning 50, I challenge myself to banter with more fun and enjoyment, to blog several times a week as an outlet away from the strict confines I usually put on myself and write with no worries. My time commitments are limited for my posts, but extensive for my manuscripts and submissions. This is a wise juggle of my time because I can have both the kudos of writing more posts and the accomplishment of getting another novel completed. Of course it would also be nice to find one of my manuscripts published before the big B-day!
Using time wisely is a give and take. To take time from things most important and highly valued like family gives me regret. To take time from less important things, for me this could be searching the internet or watching television, gives me the time to accomplish the worthy goals that I choose of spending time with family and on those goals listed above.
This is a great time of year to write out goals, and with the big 5-0 on my horizon I feel even more committed and driven to focus and accomplish them. Time will tell.
Happy New Year to you and may you receive much enjoyment from writing and accomplishing your 2014 goals. Oh…and feel free to comment on how extremely vibrant and young I look!
I'm coming to grips with this "advancement" slowly. For example, this past month I realized that when I comment to strangers, randomly, while in line at the grocery store when I forgot something vital on my list and mention it must be due to my up and coming age of 50, they no longer say, "Really? Fifty? I never would have guessed."
Instead they're nodding--in pity.
There must be a reason for these pitiful nods. This past week I decided that my 16x magnification Makeup mirror with its bright light may magnify my wrinkles to such proportion it renders them out of existence to my eyes. So I put on my new reading spectacles and glanced into a "normal" mirror. It was a good thing my voice box was hoarse from my two-week flu virus or my scream might have scared the neighbors. But the macrocosm of hoarseness that sounded like a semi-truck reducing its gears did scare Cuteness, my Yorkie. I haven't seen him for days.
With that said, and after deciding the cold medicine I took to dry out my flu symptoms had not created the cracked desert look appearing under my eyes, I'd stop competing with time and use my time more w-i-s-e-l-y.
We've all heard people say that 50 is the new 40. I'm actually hoping for the new 30, because I have lots of "stuff" to do with this wiser use of my allotted time and would enjoy the youthful feeling of having an extra 20 years. Stuff such as complete the last few classes for my college degree, find an agent, an editor and a publisher for my books, keep up in my blogging and writing, find the names of my husband's great-great-grandpa's parents, exercise, and become more competent in French. Whew! I guess it's a good thing that the man of my dreams, who I married over half-my-life-ago, and I will be empty-nesters in a few months.
This year of turning 50, I challenge myself to banter with more fun and enjoyment, to blog several times a week as an outlet away from the strict confines I usually put on myself and write with no worries. My time commitments are limited for my posts, but extensive for my manuscripts and submissions. This is a wise juggle of my time because I can have both the kudos of writing more posts and the accomplishment of getting another novel completed. Of course it would also be nice to find one of my manuscripts published before the big B-day!
Using time wisely is a give and take. To take time from things most important and highly valued like family gives me regret. To take time from less important things, for me this could be searching the internet or watching television, gives me the time to accomplish the worthy goals that I choose of spending time with family and on those goals listed above.
This is a great time of year to write out goals, and with the big 5-0 on my horizon I feel even more committed and driven to focus and accomplish them. Time will tell.
Happy New Year to you and may you receive much enjoyment from writing and accomplishing your 2014 goals. Oh…and feel free to comment on how extremely vibrant and young I look!
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