Hit Google With All You Have

Well. Apparently Tuesday’s post went up and then came down and is now up again. I apologize for that. Not entirely sure what happened, but I’m trying to figure it out so I can make sure it never happens again.

For now… you’ve made it past the hump! Good for you! Me, I only barely made it… but today should be fun. We’ll see how it goes. There’s always so much to do, you know how it is.

That’s how I picked this month’s topic. I wanted to talk about something that we tend to forget about, this time of year. For me, and for a lot of the writers I know, writing (and everything to do with it) goes out the window during the month of December. There are so many other things going on this month that we generally have to push something to the backburner, and unfortunately, writing tends to be that thing. That’s what I’m trying to fight, with this series. And I have two topics left! Next week, our series ends with the final thing I want to remind you to do, before the holidays hit my house in full swing.

But for today…

Research Day

Yeah, I know, it’s not the most glamorous part of writing, but you know what? It can be one of the most fun parts, and it is the part that I can sit and do for an entire day, without realizing how much time I’ve spent on it. I love it. It’s also the part that can make you wonder if the FBI is watching you, because you’re researching how to kill people and get away with it… but we’ll leave that for another day.

Today, I want to remind you to take the time to do your research, even in one of the busiest months of the year. As a writer, it’s important that you know what you’re doing. You can’t just go off writing all willy-nilly. Find out the things you need to do. Do some research into the things you might need to know for your story. If it takes place on Earth, research the area where it’s taking place. If it takes place on a planet we know about, put the time in to research that planet (yes, I’ve done this).

Point is, you can’t just write. You need to know what you’re talking about. Both your writing and your readers will thank you for putting in this time and effort.

So, take some time to do the research.

Sit down in a quiet place, or maybe a loud one if you’re into that, and hit google with all you’ve got. Research, research, research.

Take notes, save your links, work with your outline and your edits to find out what else you might need to know, what you might need to check on, and put the time in. Don’t rush it: go slow, be methodical.

This is the one time when I am indeed suggesting that you take at least half a day for this. I don’t know about you, but once I start researching, I have a really hard time stopping—so make sure you have plenty of time, when you plan to do this.

But definitely make sure that you do it.

It’ll be a treat. It’ll be a lot of fun. And both you and your writing will benefit from it.

[love and Merry Christmas]

{Rani Divine}