Research

Cleaning up some things at the library I stumbled upon an old manila folder that held a long dead author's historical research notes for a young adult book. That's the short version. The long version is that it took me a lot of reading to figure out what the research was for.

Amazing! Fascinating! Some notes were typed pages, some were handwritten and it included sketches of clothes and maps. She wrote about events, both small and large (and some anecdotal), and added notes about how to weave characters into them. The attention to details was impressive.

And the point is? Her research was so extensive that I could practically see the historical novel emerging. And the detail! Not here's an idea, let's go with it, like I do. She was fleshing out her world before she wrote one word. She did enough research to get that time and place clear in her mind then she inserted her characters and told the story.

Very impressive. I am now wondered how research could aid me.