Wednesday, July 21, 2010

RESEARCH: A " Snapshot"

If I had taken a picture of my writing life yesterday (and I didn't) it would have included.

  • Bob Evans Restuarant
  • a cup of coffee
  • a plate of fresh fruit
  • a glass of tomato juice
  • Questions
That was on my side of the table.

Across from me?
  • A fruit parfait
  • Tall glass of iced tea
  • A friend from my book club who is Quaker by conviction and also a poet
  • A folder stashed with info about Quaker life today
  • Answers
Between us a lovely exchange of ideas about what my Quaker teen character might be like, how she has been influenced, and what she struggles with. Respect, lots of smiles.  Laughter.

What more can a writer want from research!?

Are you doing research?  What makes it exciting for you?  What unexpected or particularly interesting forms has research taken for you recently?

9 comments:

  1. This sounds so wonderful. What a great resource--the energy in the air must have been fantastic!

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  2. Oh, you just knew I had to answer that question! Research for my WIP is fun when I find a fact and or person that perfectly fits in with my premise. Like when I interviewed a 92-year-old WWII and Korean War vet and discovered that his timeline was the exact same as my character's father. That was fun. Makes me want to go interview someone else! SOunds like you had a fun interview day too!

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  3. Yes, Becky. The energy was awesome!

    Carol I do love interviewing and learning from people who've been there. It might be there very best part of research.


    So cool about your Korean War vet. On Sunday I'll be interviewing a handful of 90 year old CO's. And boy am I excited about that!

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  4. The delectable turkey and spinach omelette would have been across from you if I had been there. Yummy research.

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  5. The best part of research for me - the places it takes you. For a biography, I went to Newport and Concord, Mass and my subject's home in NYC. For a novel, I went to a print shop at NYC's South Street Seaport and to my grandfather's village in Poland. And research isn't just primary documents or even interviews. I research with my camera--still and video--and a digital recorder.

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  6. I had so much fun writing a blog in response to this blog! Check it out! www.carolbaldwinblog.blogspot.com. Joyce, you inspire me in more ways than you can imagine!

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  7. I've been doing research of a different kind, ladies. Spiders. I love being surrounded by books that give you a backache when you carry them. And online research--oh, my! It's like a chocoholic being locked in a Hershey's factory.

    The more I read the more fascinated I become.

    I take my camera with me everywhere and photograph anything that I think MIGHT be interesting to research or to blog about.

    My spider research all happend because of photos I took of a nation of spiders that set up housekeeping in my garden one summer. When my little grandson said, "Yuk! Spiders," I knew I had to find a way to make him fascinated by them.

    Looking forward to chatting with you Sunday night, Joyce!

    Jean

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  8. Jean, Cameras are such a help with research. Spiders are cool. Kind of. If they aren't too close to me. And yes, the internet is immensely helpful!

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  9. Barbara, I agree about the places research takes you. I love travel and connecting with amazing people along the way.

    And Poland is just awesome! So glad you could visit your roots.

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