Day 12
30 mins gathering books + 30 mins reading + 30 mins planning
+ 1 hr planned writing
Today, we are looking at the “imaginative transformation of simple fact” — aka researching your fictional world.
Jacqui begins with the observation that no matter the fictional world, it is our grounding in it which matters. We can conjure far-flung exo-planets in another realm of physics, but we need to have a world which make sense on its own terms.
Research helps us create and make sense of the world, so that the reader will believe us, however fantastical the scenario. An alien world, a different period, a modern sub-culture . . . We need to inhabit the surroundings, understand the characters, and hear the dialogue.
Jacqui points out that research alone is not enough. It needs to be transformed. It must filter through our imaginations and come out as malleable material, rather than a block of fact. It must be invisibly blended with the story. We need to take it in, ruminate on it, and then re-use it as we see fit.
In practice, this means:
- developing a research routine: know when to do background v specific research
- reading regularly: keep discovering
- sleeping on it: let your subconscious work
Background v Specific research
Although we are not required to get into research for these 30 Days, Jacqui explains the difference between her background research (reading before you start a project) and specific research (reading to achieve detail during the writing of a project).
I think this is a useful distinction to make. While I often feel that I need enough research to get a “sense” of a world, trying to uncover or remember all the specifics is a hindrance to starting. (For that reason, I suspect it’s also a procrastination tactic; the perfectionist in me pretends that I need to know everything before I can begin.)
Jacqui’s advice for these 30 Days is to write without research; use your writing to uncover what you’ll need to know to take it to the next level. Write without knowing the answer; guess, and come back later.
Exercise
- Buy or find some books relevant to your project, and gather them together in a place where you will start to read them
- Try reading one for 30 mins
- 1,000 words: Continue work in progress
or
- 1,000 words (I added the usual 30 mins planning): Guess the ending of your novel – write as if it were the first chapter.
My response
- My story is partly set in Russia, and main characters come from there, so I gathered every history and fiction book I have. Turns out, that was quite a lot already. Also turns out, a lot was quite sombre, as you might expect from the history.
- I read for 30 mins from a collection of Russian fairy tales. It felt non-committal, which is what I’m after when just dipping into something.
- I thought that guessing the end of the novel sounded fun, and like it would give me a break from trying to keep my “made up as I go along” narrative coherent, so I went for that option. I was listening to some Russian ballet music while working, so for want of better logic, decided to set the end in an outdoor performance of the ballet. It allowed for some fun movement, aesthetics, and a chase montage. I interpreted the instruction “as if it’s the first chapter” to mean “as if it could begin a new story”, so I went for a sense of intrigue and unresolved questions. Perhaps this is good way to end anyway.
all course content copyright Jacqui Lofthouse thewritingcoach.co.uk