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Let's talk about research for fic
I once had a teleplay writing class in which we each had to write a script for Law and Order. You had to research, not only your crime, but odd details dealing with biology or David Bowie or NYC. Up 'til then, I'd never really researched for a story. Right after that class I had a creative writing class in which we had to write a fiction short story based on a subject we researched. I noticed the research stories were significantly better than the stories we wrote first, which were non-researched based.
So, I'd learned my lesson. Research, even when you don't use it, can be felt. The weight of it can be there, making your story feel more real and you as an author more knowledgeable and thus, trustworthy. (The downside of it is research can be over-used, and the paragraphs about how chariots work feel like, "look I did research!". Or misused: spotty research on some stuff - good writing + sensational best seller techniques - making sense = Dan Brown.)
But apparently, I had not yet learned research = good for ALL writing. My first Jossverse fic was set in NYC, and although I did some spot-checking type research, my research wasn't thorough enough to make sense to . . . say, someone who'd actually been to NYC (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
alleynyc pointed that out and helped, and a2zmom still is). I've found since I've started researching for fic, though, that the research is almost as fun as the writing. Doing the canon research necessary just brings back my love for the shows, and doing other kinds of research makes me feel all smart and know-y. So I figure hey, maybe other people feel the same way. Or not.
I. Canon research. Return to canon, by watching eps, reading transcripts, and looking at various web sites about canon (such as the Buffy Dialogue Database and the Buffy Trivia Guide).
A. Refresher course. If I'm doing something like reworking a scene I always go reread the scene to remember what happened.
B. Dialogue snatching. Sometimes I use dialogue directly from canon. (I try to credit the episode when I do this).
C. Detail scoping. For times when you need a book on demonology or a pair of shoes Buffy owns. (This is when something like a trivia guide comes in handy).
D. Voice research. I almost always read transcripts right before I write dialogue so a character's voice is fresh in my mind. Sometimes I make note of how things are phrased (Faith uses a lot of cliches) or words that often get used (a lot of Willow's insults/ pet names feel out of the fifties) etc.
II. Misc. fact research. All the details you might or might not need to write a good story.
A. Voice research. Sometimes writing a character's voice requires knowing how they talk where they're from (for Faith I researched Boston-talk), their profession/passion (for Fred I'd look up some physics, Xander some comics), their style of speech (for Dru I read both the Bible and nursery rhymes).spiralleds had a cool post about researching pop culture references (for characters in Buffyverse. You can't write a good Buffy or Xander or Cordelia without pop culture references. Which is why Cordy's, "Who's Colin Farrell?" line is the MOST TRAGIC LINE IN THE HISTORY OF TV.)
B. Location research. Everything from where what buildings are (a2zmom continually beats me over the head on this one) to the flora and fauna in a city I don't live in. Then, if anything takes place in buildings I've never been in, like a jail or monastery or NYC's Macy's, I research those too (or get a2zmom to do on-site research ;o)
C. Translations. Latin, German, Spanish, Klignon. I can't speak 'em so I go elsewhere to find 'em.
D. Plot-level research. If a story hinges on something technical or medical, or a specific time period or place, I make sure to read up. This is the most obvious form of research, something that a lot of people do, I think. (Has anyone found out about Angeusl and Spike and the opium and CORSETS? kthx.)
E. Itty bitty detail research. Because sometimes you just need to know the average length of a penis (har har, itty bitty detail) or the tensile strength of a human hair. Once, I spent two hours searching for what restaurant plates are made of--you know those resaurant plates, the kind that feel both ceramic but the really cheap kind of ceramic? I wanted a technical word, a word that would pop! out at you, and "ceramic" wasn't doing it for me. (I never found a poppier word, though.)
III. Style research.
(all of these are mostly the same thing.)
A. Inspiration. For instance, I read this book where all the words felt new and really seemed to stand out, and I wondered how the author did it. I noticed that instead of just saying something like "fabric" or "cotton" he'd use a specific, almost technical word, like "faille". I thought it'd be interesting to try, so I spent hours looking for a more specific word for ceramic.
B. Instruction. If I were to write a piece with a lot of dialogue or meaning beneath the words I'd read Vonnegut's Long Walk to Forever or Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants to see how they did it.
B. Emulation. Sometimes I wonder if this is cheating. It's a more direct stealing then the two above. When I am writing a letter to someone important I want to sound official, but also dry, witty, and fun--so I go read Jane Austen and try to bring as much as her tone as I can into my own writing. To me this isn't any kind of plagarism, as her voice naturally becomes my own when I steal it for myself, as long as I don't take exact words and phrases.
[Poll #700205]
I'd love to hear more from you all. For instance, if you do what I'm calling "style research", what have you read to "get in the mood," and in order to write what? (For instance, in Bodiless Within the Bodies, I wanted the Tibet part to have long sentences, in a flowing style, with something distinctly Eastern in tone, so I picked up Hesse's Siddartha again and read a few pages. I don't think I was successful in capturing the tone I wanted, but I definitely think Hesse helped.) And what sites do you normally go to for canon research, besides Buffyworld and the ones listed above? What about translations, maps, details, pop culture, et al? Furthermore, how do you organize all these links? Do you keep them forever, create temp folders for the stories you're writing, or just flit through the sites and hope you'll never have to see them again?
Any crazy research story about spending hours trying to find what a restaurant plate might be made of? Any stories about how someone in fandom took you aside and said, "look kid, research?" Any stories about how much you love/loathe/fear research, and why?
That's it. Discuss.
So, I'd learned my lesson. Research, even when you don't use it, can be felt. The weight of it can be there, making your story feel more real and you as an author more knowledgeable and thus, trustworthy. (The downside of it is research can be over-used, and the paragraphs about how chariots work feel like, "look I did research!". Or misused: spotty research on some stuff - good writing + sensational best seller techniques - making sense = Dan Brown.)
But apparently, I had not yet learned research = good for ALL writing. My first Jossverse fic was set in NYC, and although I did some spot-checking type research, my research wasn't thorough enough to make sense to . . . say, someone who'd actually been to NYC (
alleynyc pointed that out and helped, and a2zmom still is). I've found since I've started researching for fic, though, that the research is almost as fun as the writing. Doing the canon research necessary just brings back my love for the shows, and doing other kinds of research makes me feel all smart and know-y. So I figure hey, maybe other people feel the same way. Or not.I. Canon research. Return to canon, by watching eps, reading transcripts, and looking at various web sites about canon (such as the Buffy Dialogue Database and the Buffy Trivia Guide).
A. Refresher course. If I'm doing something like reworking a scene I always go reread the scene to remember what happened.
B. Dialogue snatching. Sometimes I use dialogue directly from canon. (I try to credit the episode when I do this).
C. Detail scoping. For times when you need a book on demonology or a pair of shoes Buffy owns. (This is when something like a trivia guide comes in handy).
D. Voice research. I almost always read transcripts right before I write dialogue so a character's voice is fresh in my mind. Sometimes I make note of how things are phrased (Faith uses a lot of cliches) or words that often get used (a lot of Willow's insults/ pet names feel out of the fifties) etc.
II. Misc. fact research. All the details you might or might not need to write a good story.
A. Voice research. Sometimes writing a character's voice requires knowing how they talk where they're from (for Faith I researched Boston-talk), their profession/passion (for Fred I'd look up some physics, Xander some comics), their style of speech (for Dru I read both the Bible and nursery rhymes).
spiralleds had a cool post about researching pop culture references (for characters in Buffyverse. You can't write a good Buffy or Xander or Cordelia without pop culture references. Which is why Cordy's, "Who's Colin Farrell?" line is the MOST TRAGIC LINE IN THE HISTORY OF TV.)B. Location research. Everything from where what buildings are (
a2zmom continually beats me over the head on this one) to the flora and fauna in a city I don't live in. Then, if anything takes place in buildings I've never been in, like a jail or monastery or NYC's Macy's, I research those too (or get a2zmom to do on-site research ;o)C. Translations. Latin, German, Spanish, Klignon. I can't speak 'em so I go elsewhere to find 'em.
D. Plot-level research. If a story hinges on something technical or medical, or a specific time period or place, I make sure to read up. This is the most obvious form of research, something that a lot of people do, I think. (Has anyone found out about Angeusl and Spike and the opium and CORSETS? kthx.)
E. Itty bitty detail research. Because sometimes you just need to know the average length of a penis (har har, itty bitty detail) or the tensile strength of a human hair. Once, I spent two hours searching for what restaurant plates are made of--you know those resaurant plates, the kind that feel both ceramic but the really cheap kind of ceramic? I wanted a technical word, a word that would pop! out at you, and "ceramic" wasn't doing it for me. (I never found a poppier word, though.)
III. Style research.
(all of these are mostly the same thing.)
A. Inspiration. For instance, I read this book where all the words felt new and really seemed to stand out, and I wondered how the author did it. I noticed that instead of just saying something like "fabric" or "cotton" he'd use a specific, almost technical word, like "faille". I thought it'd be interesting to try, so I spent hours looking for a more specific word for ceramic.
B. Instruction. If I were to write a piece with a lot of dialogue or meaning beneath the words I'd read Vonnegut's Long Walk to Forever or Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants to see how they did it.
B. Emulation. Sometimes I wonder if this is cheating. It's a more direct stealing then the two above. When I am writing a letter to someone important I want to sound official, but also dry, witty, and fun--so I go read Jane Austen and try to bring as much as her tone as I can into my own writing. To me this isn't any kind of plagarism, as her voice naturally becomes my own when I steal it for myself, as long as I don't take exact words and phrases.
[Poll #700205]
I'd love to hear more from you all. For instance, if you do what I'm calling "style research", what have you read to "get in the mood," and in order to write what? (For instance, in Bodiless Within the Bodies, I wanted the Tibet part to have long sentences, in a flowing style, with something distinctly Eastern in tone, so I picked up Hesse's Siddartha again and read a few pages. I don't think I was successful in capturing the tone I wanted, but I definitely think Hesse helped.) And what sites do you normally go to for canon research, besides Buffyworld and the ones listed above? What about translations, maps, details, pop culture, et al? Furthermore, how do you organize all these links? Do you keep them forever, create temp folders for the stories you're writing, or just flit through the sites and hope you'll never have to see them again?
Any crazy research story about spending hours trying to find what a restaurant plate might be made of? Any stories about how someone in fandom took you aside and said, "look kid, research?" Any stories about how much you love/loathe/fear research, and why?
That's it. Discuss.
no subject
Dictionary of English slang (http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/)
Babelfish (http://babelfish.altavista.com/tr). Although I recommend finding a real speaker of the language for anything beyond the most basis one word translations. Ex: good=bueno
World Wide Weather and climate conditions (http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/EGLL/2004/5/19/DailyHistory.html?req_city=NA&req_state=NA&req_statename=NA).
Time Zone Clock (http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/)
I've got other links in my "research" folder, but most are specific to details I can't imagine would be useful for others.
Oh, I've done lots of things that make me shake my head in amusement.
I've rewatched a scene over and over, trying to figure out if Spike has boots on or is barefoot in a scene in S6, then quized my flist as well.
I've begged for information on the layout of the Summers' home and was sent a diagram form one kind soul and pointed to a S4(?) extra that was all about the layout of the house.
I've googled for the perfect grotto in Italy, only to decide it wouldn't fit my need, which morphed into googling for caves in Ireland, switching to a cottage, which I googled for a look at it (but did play fast and loose with the combo of quaint/modern day features). Then quizzed fannish friends who were into wicca, etc. about power points, which lead to research about ley-lines, which lead to reading about corpse roads. I then added in some stuff that tends to by symbolically true across culture/religion - that evergreens represent life, blah, blah, blah and blended it together with Day of the Dead tradition. And after writing, had friends with wiccan cred look it over for believability, etc. Oy. Talk about the long and winding road.
Currently I'm plotting out characters moving around various parts of England. I've got my "The Rough Guide to Britain" and Google and eventually finding a UK beta. It is fraught with uncertainty, since it is a country to which I've never been. Such as: Would a trip from London to Glasgow require an overnight? Does one need a passport to travel into Scotland from England? How come everything in the Buffyverse is set in Cotswold? (The Deeper Well, the Coven, and the Watcher Council retreat centre.)
But for all the research I can't help myself but do, I keep in mind that I do not need to reach perfection, which is hard for a closet obsessive compulsive. If I don't do less research that the writers on the show who made the canon did, then life will go forward. Because I could seriously nit pick the way they think a university residence hall is run. I know others who would complain about the wicca/magic usage. Not to mention British fans who can point to the whacked out varient of Britishisms used, particularly by Spike. And let's not get into the Buffyverse version of Victorian England. Their research was a mix of truth and fiction and best guess wiht a deadline. If it was good enough for the Buffycanonverse, it's good enough for me.
no subject
Not sure if you actually need answers to these questions, but as a Brit I can provide them.
Such as: Would a trip from London to Glasgow require an overnight?
No, you can do it in one day if you set off early from London. I guess it would take about 7 or 8 hours by train. There are sleepers for those who'd rather travel overnight.
Does one need a passport to travel into Scotland from England?
No. It's the United Kingdom, no passports necessary.
How come everything in the Buffyverse is set in Cotswold?
Okay, that one's a total mystery to me too. Maybe Joss really really likes the Cotswolds.
no subject
In my American centrism, I hadn't even thought about the possibility of trains. (d'oh) I'll check into routes and schedules and such. Thank you.
I was thinking that given it is all part of the UK, probably unnecessary, but I wasn't having much luck having anything spell it out, so again, thank you.
the Cotswolds
Ah, so someone British would refer to it as in the Cotswolds versus in Cotswold. Reminds me of someone saying "in the Hamptons." Good to know.
Again, thank you!
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www.gner.co.uk
Ah, so someone British would refer to it as in the Cotswolds versus in Cotswold. Reminds me of someone saying "in the Hamptons." Good to know.
Indeed we would. See this is the interesting thing with research, all the little idiocincracities of language and culture you discover that you'd never have thought of (-:
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Your research reminds me of me (and has me singing The Beatles, but that's neither here nor there)! It's amazing how far you can go, from wicca to evergreens to Day of the Dead. What surprises me sometimes is how much knowledge comes from it all--I learned more about the Beats generation researching for fanfic than I ever did in any lit class, and I'm an English major!
Looks like
I only do the research I feel necessary to write the fic. That leads to knowing a lot of odd things, like chemicals that are released into the blood stream when a small rodent like animal feels the emotion "fear," but not knowing something much more general like how long rodents generally live. But most of the time research requires that I learn a lot of general things before I get to the specific stuff.
So I guess I'm not so very obsessive compulsive about it. As you say, canon itself was unrealistic--vampires aside, you're damn skippy about Jossverse Victorian England. But while it had a lot of problems, I bet old timey costumes and muddy streets were enough to make SOME people say, "yeah, okay, 19th c. England." The point of research is, imo, to have the highest amount of people saying that as possible. It's to create a feeling. In fact, setting itself is to create a feeling. You just can't hammer all the details into service of the tone/theme/point that people start saying, "But you don't need a passport to get to Scotland!"
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