As I just mentioned in my previous post, I'm working on a historical piece. I've never attempted historical fiction before (well, I've written fantasy based in the Middle Ages, but I'm not counting that) so I found myself overwhelmed by the research part of the process.
When the kernel of the idea "popped" back in November, I set out to research the era in which I was going to set the novel. I checked out nearly every book in my library system that dealt with the Victorians. I searched websites and digital libraries. I took page after page of notes.
But then I stopped.
My story started writing itself, in a way. I just started writing the scenes as they came to me (see previous post on this). I knew enough about the era to not make any blatantly obvious mistakes, so I just wrote.
Over the course of the writing, I've tried to go back to continue the research. However, I've found that it's far too easy to drown yourself in the details. As writers, we're perfectionists. I want my story to be historically accurate, right down the street names of the town in which the story takes place (Wilmington, North Carolina). But worrying about such things overwhelms me, stifles me, makes me doubt that I can do this.
So I'm stopping. As with my story, which is emerging "pop by pop", I'm going to do the research as it needs to be done. If something emerges in a scene that needs to be researched, I'll dig out the pile of books. But I'm going to save the fact checking, the tiny historical details that add authenticity, for the end. For the second draft.
As I've mentioned before, I've never written a historical novel before. And I've never used this writing process before. I've also never used this research method before. And yet, it's all working. I'm not drowning myself in the details, and so, the passion of the story has stuck with me.
Do you have a similar story? Have you ever found yourself focusing so much on the little things that you end up taking your eye off the target? Have you ever drowned yourself in the details?
Showing posts with label Process. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Process. Show all posts
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Pop By Pop
I'm currently working on a historical novel set in the late 19th century. It's a story that first came to me years ago, but it was just a kernel of an idea then. A kernel that stuck with me. Then, this past November, a fellow writer and I were talking about her novel-in-progress--a Gothic piece set in the Victorian era--and that's when it hit me: my idea, my "kernel", needed to be set in the 19th century.
And from there, my kernel became an entire bag of popcorn--the initial idea "popped", setting of a domino effect. Before I knew it, I had a story. A story that's being written pop-by-pop.
As an image/scene comes to me, I write it down. Sometimes, I write the entire scene. Other times, I just write a summary and then write the scene later. Sometimes, I don't even know what's going to happen in the scene--I just write and see what emerges. It's almost as if my narrator is standing on my shoulder, telling me what to write. At times I feel like this isn't even my story, that I'm just a conduit for my narrator.
I've never written in this way before--pop by pop, waiting to see what emerges. In all my past writing endeavors, I painstakingly plotted my story. I would start with the initial idea, then dive into my characters' lives. From there, I would come up with the entire story, starting at the very beginning and plotting along chronologically. This never worked out--I always gave up mid-story, so bored with my original idea that I just couldn't stand to be with it anymore.
This new method of writing is one I have heard about before, from other writers. I was just always too afraid to try it myself. I'm a librarian, after all--I like order (to an extent) and so that's how I tried to write. But this pop-by-pop way of doing it seems to be working better--I've written more and I'm not bored with the idea.
Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever stumbled into a way of doing something that ended up working out great? A way you never tried before?
And from there, my kernel became an entire bag of popcorn--the initial idea "popped", setting of a domino effect. Before I knew it, I had a story. A story that's being written pop-by-pop.
As an image/scene comes to me, I write it down. Sometimes, I write the entire scene. Other times, I just write a summary and then write the scene later. Sometimes, I don't even know what's going to happen in the scene--I just write and see what emerges. It's almost as if my narrator is standing on my shoulder, telling me what to write. At times I feel like this isn't even my story, that I'm just a conduit for my narrator.
I've never written in this way before--pop by pop, waiting to see what emerges. In all my past writing endeavors, I painstakingly plotted my story. I would start with the initial idea, then dive into my characters' lives. From there, I would come up with the entire story, starting at the very beginning and plotting along chronologically. This never worked out--I always gave up mid-story, so bored with my original idea that I just couldn't stand to be with it anymore.
This new method of writing is one I have heard about before, from other writers. I was just always too afraid to try it myself. I'm a librarian, after all--I like order (to an extent) and so that's how I tried to write. But this pop-by-pop way of doing it seems to be working better--I've written more and I'm not bored with the idea.
Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever stumbled into a way of doing something that ended up working out great? A way you never tried before?
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