In which I try to teach you some things about writing and story-telling that I've learned over the years.
DISCLAIMER: Contrary to the punny title I've chosen (which is meant to be just that: a pun), I don't believe the way I write or the tips and tr...
Ουπς! Αυτή η εικόνα δεν ακολουθεί τους κανόνες περιεχομένου. Για να συνεχίσεις με την δημοσίευση, παρακαλώ αφαίρεσε την ή ανέβασε διαφορετική εικόνα.
In school they teach you how to write research papers and how to properly cite things and what sources are trusted and reliable and all that. I'm not the best member of the academe so when I do my research, I do away with all of that (for the most part) and get my hands on whatever I can find about the topic. School tells you you can't rely on Wikipedia, but it's a good starting place. Not everyone has access to university libraries or journals, but if you can get your hands on those, even better.
I do most of my research on places I want to set my story in, if I'm not making one up on the spot. I do this by looking up the location and reading up whatever I can find, regardless if it's relevant to the plot or not. I can't claim to be an expert on places by the end of it, but I at least know enough to write something believable. If I can, I try to find someone who knows or who lives there to review my work and tell me if I've missed anything. If I'm lucky, the setting becomes a character all on its own, and the work is infinitely better for it.
Research is vital to writing a good story. Much of what we take for granted in stories were thoroughly researched and thought-out, from the society in your favorite fantasy series (sociology, psychology, and anthropology, anyone?) to the nuances in the language being used in dialogue that stems from that character's culture. Setting is equally as important, because it's where everything happens! A romance about two people who meet on Tinder set in the 1800's doesn't make much sense, unless it's a tale about time travelers who want to bone people from history.
Much of what makes a work feel unrealistic or tone deaf is when the author failed to do their research, thus resulting in a work that's so far removed from reality, it becomes a pain to read. This especially shows when they set their stories in real places. Why? Because the characters are un-relatable, their decisions seem to serve the plot and have no connection to their personalities, people don't talk like that in that place, yadda yadda yadda. The list can go on and on.
Even fantasies aren't exempt from research. The best fantasy writers world-build and research extensively, and I know this because one of my closest friends in my course is crazy amazing at world-building and fantasy and research is one of the main things she tells me that she does in order to do all that.
A lot of fantasy is still rooted in reality, so even if it's set in space with no humans in sight, that alien character of yours still has a life and a history that's shaped them into who they are now. They still have to come from a place, even if it's a black hole or a star. I can't even begin to get into the philosophical side of things, but the point is this: pick an appropriate setting that fits the story you're trying to tell, then do your research. Please. It will pay off in the long run.
Ουπς! Αυτή η εικόνα δεν ακολουθεί τους κανόνες περιεχομένου. Για να συνεχίσεις με την δημοσίευση, παρακαλώ αφαίρεσε την ή ανέβασε διαφορετική εικόνα.
