Making up a draft is easy when the writer just writes with no regard for facts. The problem with that comes when the book is out to readers who quickly spot all the mistakes. Before doing the final draft, doing research is vital.
That much is obvious, I suppose. My problem is that I spot all the places I need to be doing research while I am supposed to be writing that rough draft. And I don’t get the writing done.
Most people would say doing research isn’t a problem. Just Google it.
Except it is a problem for me as I live in a dead zone which officially does not exist. I can’t ‘just Google it’.
I do have one advantage. I’ve lived in many places and done lots of things. Each place, each job, every person and happening from my past is a source of information.
Memory can play tricks. And times change. So, I may use the past to write the draft. Then double checking by doing research is a good back up.
In my present novel this has come into play. I have one character who carries all his financial information with him in a briefcase. What information needs to be in the briefcase?
My past experiences with finances, good and bad, let me come up with a credible list. I went with that to write that chapter. Then I asked a professional and got confirmation of my list.
The next hurdle will be beyond my experience. I will write the scenes from what little I know to start with. This will let me know what questions and information I will need. Then I will ask a professional.
I suppose I could ‘just Google it’ and get the information. Asking a professional takes the guess work out of the equation. And that is the point of doing research.
Sometimes the research requires drawing a map as for “Capri Capers“.
