I’ve had a few thoughts about research rummaging around my head lately, and thought I’d turn them into a blog post, but it turned out to be way too long, so I thought I’d try a series, instead.

There’s a cozy mystery by Alisa Craig with a character famed for writing historical fiction, whose “research” involved randomly flipping a reference book open, sticking a pin into the page, and inserting whatever factoid it skewered into her book. She couldn’t be bothered with real research, she just wanted a few, random things to make it look like she knew what she was talking about.

I think we can all agree that research can be important for writing. Fiction or non-fiction doesn’t matter.

If you’re dealing with facts, they need to be right.

Inaccuracies reflect badly on us, the writers, whether it’s a statistic in a marketing piece, a quote in a blog post, or a historical fact gotten wrong in a piece of fiction. But, still, I feel there’s a difference between “doing research” and “gathering background.”

If I’m writing a piece on air purifiers, I need to know some facts about how they work. I need to know, in general, what they do, why they’re beneficial, and why you should have one. That is not the same as talking about the specific air purifier I might be trying to sell, or what makes it better than its competition. It’s more background-gathering than real, heavy-duty research.

What’s the difference?

The objective.

Research, to my mind, has a specific purpose. You could be looking for the date a war ended, the year a gadget was invented, the name of a company founder, the causes of cancer. These may or may not be questions that have ready answers, but they are specific information needs.

Background, on the other hand, is more general. At what time did having a telephone in the house become common? What was life like in the 1500s? What sort of town was Bath during Jane Austen’s time? Why is going to the dentist important? Is marketing really that useful to my company?

No matter what you’re writing, there’s a certain foundation of knowledge you need to have.

If you’re writing a marketing piece to sell vacuum cleaners, you can probably assume that potential buyers already know what a vacuum is and why they want one—your objective is to tell them why they should by THIS one. But, if you’re selling something that you have no personal knowledge of (say, professional-grade harvesting equipment, Zamboni machines, obscure medical devices), you’re going to need some background first.

You need to have at least a general idea of what you’re talking about if you want to sound even remotely convincing.

If you’re writing fiction, you need to know all sorts of things that might not find their specific way into the text. A story set in 1860 Atlanta will have all kinds of things in the background—the outbreak of Civil War, slavery, Abraham Lincoln’s election, tobacco, the latest hoop skirt fashions, the scent of magnolia blossoms, the tart zing of lemonade, what a hot, Georgia summer feels like without air conditioning, what it was like to travel in a carriage on bumpy roads … you get the idea. Will all of these things have a role in the story? Not necessarily, but they’re THERE. They are things that even a character solely focused on bringing in his cotton crop knows is happening in his world.

Okay … that’s enough for this installment … please share your thoughts below!

Did you know that Writing has a lot in common with any good Fantasy? You know the kind, where a hero faces enormous odds to go on a quest to save the world?

• Skills and Talents: Obviously every good hero needs a skillset. In fantasy, that would be sword play, great strength, nobility of heart. In writing, we’re talking grammar, vocabulary, a talent with words. Before starting your quest, you need to make sure you have the equipment you need.
• Magic: The best part about writing—that magical moment when everything comes together perfectly and you get that “Oh, that’s good” glow of accomplishment. It’s one of the best feelings in the world, and only happens when all the pieces fall precisely into place.
• Wizards and their tricks: Have you noticed how many nifty tools there are for writers these days? We don’t just have just pen and paper, now we’ve got computers, and even they aren’t limited to basic word-processing any more. There are online dictionaries and thesauruses. There are timers to help you focus for blocks of time. There are spelling and grammar checkers. Voice recognition software for when you can’t type. Recorders on your MP3 players for interviews and random thoughts. Organization software to help you keep all your pieces in order. Plus dozens more that I’m missing.
• Quest: Every good fantasy needs a goal, and for writers, it’s that perfect document at the end of the journey. It might be a magazine article, a blog post, a novel, a poem, a piece of perfect sales copy, a spot-on web page … anything, really … but you want writing that is perfect. Strong, clean, noble, brave … all the things a fantasy hero needs to be.
• Apperances can be deceiving: You can’t always believe what you see, though. Just like heroes can look like small, incompetent weaklings, and villains can be handsome and strong, you can’t assume that what you find is what it is. Good writing digs past the surface to explore the true meanings.
• Luck: As important as skill can be, don’t underestimate the importance of luck. You might keep your sword meticulously sharpened, but it’s not going to help you fight a battering-ram. Sometimes, all the skill doesn’t matter if you don’t have the luck and wits to think on your feet. Keep your eyes open to possibilities.
• Danger: Look out! There are distractions trying to pull you from your path! Time-sucks eager to delay you and keep you from your goal! Don’t let yourself be deceived by the innocuous distractions, the ones that make you think, “I can always finish this later. What’s wrong with a little recreation?” They could be evil, trying to prevent you from reaching your goals. Beware!
• Determination will win the day: The only way to successfully complete your quest is if you don’t give in, you don’t give up. Keep your eyes focused on the prize and don’t let yourself be distracted. It’s the only way to win the day.
• Happy Endings: The best fantasy stories always have a happy ending. The article gets published. The book hits the bestseller list. The sales piece sells a million units. The trick is to traverse the dangerous path to get there, but if you’re brave and strong and focused on your goal, you will succeed. That’s what happy endings are all about.
• Sequels: Don’t forget the sequels. Always be ready for more … this could be an actual sequel, as in another piece to follow up the writing you’ve done, to continue the story. OR, it might be an All New Adventure … publishing. If your successful quest is finishing your piece of writing, the obvious next part would be the quest of getting it published so other people can read it.

So–what’s your writing fantasy?

How do you feel about deadlines?

Personally, I’ve never been a fan. Not of tight deadlines, at least. The thought of being a journalist working on a 24-hour cycle of researching and writing stories gives me nightmares. Even when I was in school, I’d write down the due-date for papers a day or two earlier than they were needed, just so I’d have a cushion built-in for catastrophes.

Deadlines aren’t all bad.

Still … even I have to admit that there’s something to be said for deadlines. They give you a reason, a time frame for getting things done. You need to get things ready for the printer to have time before the magazine goes to press. You need to get your copy to a client so he can get his marketing promotion out on time. An editor needs your work to show her publisher.

When you have no deadlines at all … “I’ll finish my novel someday.” … it’s amazing how long the work can be stretched. You take breaks to chat on the phone. You’re tired after a long day, so you decide to skip writing for now. You’ve got errands to run and decide they are more pressing. Suddenly, it’s been months, or even years, and you’re still working on the same thing, tweaking commas, nit-picking adjectives, and your manuscript is never going to be done.

Deadlines can provide incentive.

One of the reasons challenges like NaNoWriMo have become so popular is that they impose specific deadlines on the writers. Get a whole novel written in 30 days? Well, suddenly there’s no time for dawdling! You chain yourself to your desk chair and suddenly are amazed at how much you can get done when you actually apply yourself.

Sometimes the clock provides its own deadline.

Are you trying to get your article done before your toddler wakes up from her nap? Are you tapping away at your novel at 11:30, trying to squeeze out a few pages before your eyelids insist on shutting for the day? Or maybe you’ve got fifteen minutes before your train leaves and you pull out your notebook to draft out your next blog post.

Sometimes, the only deadline you need is the knowledge that your precious, free moments are ticking away. You’ve been frittering away your time on Twitter or Facebook, reading your RSS feeds, browsing websites, and you realize you’ve only got half an hour before you need to turn off the computer. Cripes! Hurry, you can get at least a few hundred words pounded out before then.

This is what happens to me, I find. I can dawdle my way through my day, wasting way too much time checking my email or curling up with a book, and then bound into action like a superhero at a cry for help, simply because the precious resource I’ve been wasting is almost gone.

(We won’t discuss the occasional slow afternoon at my day job, when I sometimes open up Word and type away, just because it’s stolen time and must be used as if it’s extra precious, extra valuable. Because, of course, doing that would be wrong.)

How do you feel about deadlines?

How about you? Do you love deadlines? Dread them? Find a difference between external ones from clients and ones you’ve given yourself?

This mailing is a solid example of, first, the importance of having your demographics straight.

I got this mailing from Sports Illustrated, offering me a subscription. Now, since I’m not exactly a sports fan, their number one mistake is that the odds of me deciding to take a subscription are pretty slim.

Of course, that doesn’t reflect on the actual quality of the mailing.

Right at the top, it says, “Sports Fan Savings Offer” and tells me what the cover price of the magazine would be, how much I could save, and what I would actually have to pay.

Then, it spells out the offer details–the subscription, a free NFL Game Day Jacket (pictured), various special issues, ending with the money-back guarantee promise in case I am ever dissatisfied.

The bottom is a straight-forward order form, recapping the price and giving me space to write my credit card number before mailing it back. There’s also room to specify the size jacket I’d like (choices of Large, Extra-Large, or Extra-Extra-Large only), as well as to specify the team jacket of my choice.

How do I specify the team? The insert that came with it was covered with stickers of different team helmets, so I can pick my favorite team for my free jacket. This is a nice little interactive touch.

Ultimately, I think this was a good mailing. It doesn’t play any tricks, it offers a nice free goodie. It’s personalized with my name–a touch that can be cheesy, I think, if used too much, but hey, this is MY order form.

The only bad part is … where on earth did they get the mailing list?