Research According to J-Dash

That's right. I've made up a gangsta name for James Dashner. That's how you know you're in the Inner Sanctum. I make a gangsta name for you. Anyway, I went to listen to J-Dash talk about his new book, THE SCORCH TRIALS, last week. Someone asked him if he had to do any research for the book.

It wasn't even me, and I sort of shuddered like this arctic wind had just blown through the bookstore. No joke. And get this: He said he looked at a map! And maybe had to look up some brain diseases for like, "10 minutes."

Now, I'm sure he did more than that. But I so related to this kind of research. The difference is that I don't even look at maps. Or find out about brain diseases. So yeah. (And for the record, later on he said he'd drawn a map of the maze for THE MAZE RUNNER. Which is, sadly, more than I've done for my book. Or will ever do. I typically don't read books with maps at the beginning. Seriously. If you need a map...okay, never mind. That's a whole other blog post. And this is the longest parenthetical ever.)

But it was great to hear someone else talk about research in the way that I would. Because, let's face it, most of you out there are some sort of genetic mutation that actually likes researching. Go ahead, admit it. I don't let things like that color my judgement. Very often. *wink*

Oh, and go get THE SCORCH TRIALS. You won't be sorry. By the way, we're discussing THE MAZE RUNNER every day this week on The League blog--go check us out! I'm up on Friday.

How about you? Do you look at maps whilst researching? Do you like research? What would your gangsta name be if you could pick your own? And what would you choose for mine?

The Dreaded R-Word...

...yeah, you know it...if you know me at all, and you do. You totally do.

The Dreaded R-word = Research.

Kat asked these questions (She must hate me or something.): How do you do research for your settings, your story and your characters' quirks? What interesting tidbits about yourself and the world you live in have you learned along the way? (Michelle answered them before me, and Annie will talk it out tomorrow.)



Oh crap. My secret is out. I, uh, don’t "do" research, just like I don't "do" running and stuff like that. Well, if big dogs are involved, I can move pretty fast. Otherwise? No running.

I actually dislike researching so much I break out in hives if I have to do it. So you wanna know how I research for my settings and story and quirks? *whispers* I make them up. I might pick a place (the setting) that could be anywhere. Then I don’t have to know street names and stuff. I’m writing a novel right now that requires the characters to go to the beach. So I know it’s in California. But I don't know what city. I don't care what city. The setting is not that integral that I need to know what city. Or the name of the high school. And if I did, I'd simply make them up.

I did need the name of a beach. So I asked my friend Christine for sweet beach in SoCal. Research, over and out.

Seriously, the book I’m querying right now? Dystopian. Setting = made up (Well, okay, I know where it takes place in the US. But the "country" is made up. I do have to know the terrain and stuff, but I already did. No research required). Research = very little.

Story = made up. Research = very little.

Character quirks = made up. Research = very little.

My stories require very little research because I don’t write what I don’t know. For example, I have to know how long a sunburn takes to heal, but that can come from my real life knowledge. If there is something I don't know, like what symptoms someone would have coming off inhalants, I just ask someone smarter than me. (Thanks Carolyn!) Another reason I think I can get away with minimal research is because I write speculative fiction. You know, with magic and powers and made up places. Thus...I can make stuff up!

Most of the research I do for characterization comes from watching people. I carry a 6 x 9-inch notebook in my purse. When I see some guy at the post office wearing a cool hat, I write it down. I jot down notes about people I know. Like, my BIL talks in his sleep. A lot. So I put that in a novel. I've gushed over people's names in the grocery store and stuff. It's a bit embarrassing, but Walter-the-checkout-guy liked it. I know he did.

What have I learned about myself? That I’m lazy? Ha ha!

But seriously, I think there's something to be said for writing what you know. Sure, I could research 17th Century England (if I wanted to die) and then I would "know" about 17th Century England. I just choose not to, cuz I am not a fan of the R-word.

What about you? Firmly camped in Research Central? Love the stuff? Hate it? How do you do research for your settings, your story and your characters' quirks? What interesting tidbits about yourself and the world you live in have you learned along the way?

Am I really lazy? Wait. Don't answer that.

Goth, Anyone?

I'm no good at research. Well, it's not that I'm not good at it, it's that I loathe it with every fiber of my being. I actually start to shake if I think the word "research." *shudders* I've typed it twice now, and I'm starting to break out in hives.

I'll do the r-word if I have to, don't get me wrong. I mean, what kind of writer would I be if I didn't verify my facts? I can nary write about NYC if I've never been there (which I haven't) and don't know a single thing about it.

So sometimes research is a necessary evil. But I've come to something that I've actually enjoyed learning about. Are you ready for this?

The Goth subculture. Those are Wikipedia's words.

See, I'm sort of fascinated by the whole Goth scene. Not really the white-painted faces and weird piercings (although the piercings are kinda cool, just not for me. I have a little, okay huge, phobia of needles and all things pain-related). But the wicked spiked hair, the dark black dyed look, that kind of thing.

My DH says it's because I'm obsessed with vampires. Like all vampires are Goths or something. Which, by the way, I'm obsessed with neither. I just find other people fascinating. I like to sit back and watch what they do and say and more importantly, why they do and say what they do. It makes for interesting character-building inside my own head.

Sadly, I am not well-acquainted with any people who are involved in the Goth subculture. In fact, I don't know a single person who is. Thus, my reliance on the interwebs. And believe me, you can find a lot on there.

So I found out that Gothism (my word) emerged as a sort of "post-punk" era in the United Kingdom. I like punks, too. Anyway, I discovered that not all research is bad. I actually liked learning more about the whole Goth culture.

And it was important research, because I'm going to attempt to write a glam-Goth paranormal/ghost story. It's something I've been stewing over since last summer. And Adam Lambert's glam-Goth look on American Idol has only been fanning the flames of my inner gotta-write-Goth desire.

Anyway, this post has been sort of rambling. But I guess I was wondering how you all research. Do you stick to what you know? Or are you like me, and have to do a little bit of searching to find out more in order to make your novels authentic? Do you like the research aspect of writing? Or do your cells quiver at the thought? What are you researching right now?

General Randomness

Let's get the serious stuff out there first. The most spectabulous post of the week: Michelle McLean blogs on research. Check it out.

Slightly less serious: I wrote a series on Writing the Query Letter on the QT blog. Check it out if you're getting ready to query. It's starts with a hook...

Way down on the serious scale: It occurred to me that I cycle through things on a fairly regular basis. The most noticeable of this trend is the music I listen to. Often, there is one song I want to set on repeat, all others disregarded. This month's song? I know I have you on the edge of your seats. I'm gonna go all Bob Barker on you and make you wait. I first heard this song on Pandora, which I swore to my principal would change her life. I'm not sure if she actually went to the music site and listened, but if she did, trust me, her life was changed. Yours could be, too. Anyway, I was writing or surfing or editing or something and had the headies on. This song came on. You guessed it. iTunes earned 99 cents in less than five seconds. I loved it. It's my "happy song" now. I listen to it--really loud--because it makes me happy. Love it.

So what song is it? Here (In Your Arms) by Hellogoodbye. It's my song of the month. I have others I could name from past months, but I won't. Whenever Here gets recycled to the bottom of the playlist, I'll let you know what replaces it. I'm sure you'll be anxiously awaiting that day. *snarfalicious, baby*