Kate Larking's Blog: Anxiety Ink, page 77

Research II: Adding That Extra Layer of Depth and Credibility with Book Sources, and Other Tips

I apologize for the repetitiveness but I want to start this post the same way I started Research I.: I cannot tell you when you should stop researching, and I cannot tell you what enough research is. You can ask anyone in the writing world, that’s ALWAYS the answer. What I can provide you with are some tips and tricks from a former university student who has completed a self-directed research project and someone who enjoys the challenges of hunting down information.

My last post was concerned with online resources, now I want to focus on the rest.

1. Not everything you read in a book is true. Check out the publisher and the publication date before you take it at its word. History changes dramatically every once in a while, so watch out. The best publishers I can recommend are Norton, Oxford, and Broadview. Anything referenced in their texts or affiliated with them is probably golden.

2. Don’t bite off more than you can chew research-wise. Think about what you need to know for your book or story. Do you need to know everything about everything? Or everything about just a few things? Tragically, the rumours about the research iceberg are true, you usually only have a few details in your work picked out of the pages of information you have. But if you have a wonderful base of information those details are going to rock your readers’ world. Seriously.

For example: I wrote a story for my thesis about a family living in Alberta during the early 1910s. Here are a couple of things I knew initially about living in Alberta at that time: the white settlers were mostly of Germanic and Eastern European descent in the prairies here, of course there were French and English and all sorts of others here; there was tension between the settlers and Native Tribes; Christian missionaries would be present; and, it was the end of the Victorian across the pond, so clothing was likely to be similar in Canada.

I had to expand my knowledge because that was definitely not enough of an info base for me to write my story. There’s no way it would have been what I wanted it to be. So, I learned about early Alberta: when it became a province in its own right early in confederation; about the railway tracks at the time, chances were if my men had money they’d either be bankers or work at CPR; I refamiliarized myself with the famous five and the Person’s case because I needed to know what kinds of rights my women could have which would extend to their personalities inside the home. Just to name a few.

Maybe 3% of what I looked up went into my story. But it was worth it. I love my story, and I’m confident in its information and its message.

Here’s what I wanted you to get out of that example aside from the iceberg element: although it doesn’t look it, I went very specific. I learned about one province’s early days in confederation –not about all of the Dominion of Canada in the 1910s. I didn’t learn about farming and ranching because my farmers had very basic livestock, goats and chickens, so I didn’t need to go into wheat and barleys and cattle drives. I didn’t worry about all the feminism and activism going on at the time because most of it wasn’t in Alberta; the province had its own women fighting their own battles.

3. Films, mostly documentaries, are amazing sources of information too. Biographical films aren’t bad either. I don’t necessarily work this way but I can’t let books and the internet take all the credit. Movies are also easy to find on YouTube and Netflix.

4. Don’t be afraid to pick up that phone. There are legit experts out there that live to talk about what they do and/or love. If you’re like me and have some slight phone anxiety, find your most charismatic pal and flutter your eyelashes at them, maybe they’ll help you out. if you want to challenge yourself, my two biggest pieces of advice are a) learn the fundamentals of what you’re going to ask the expert, showing an interest in something another person loves is an excellent way to get people to talk about it, and b) be polite! Writing questions down ahead of time is also really helpful.

5. If you’re getting overwhelmed STOP! If you’ve moved so far away from your main ideas and you don’t like it step back and let your brain process. Don’t waste your time sifting if you feel like you aren’t going anywhere. Your subconscious is your best ally in the writing biz, it can better process and piece info together if you give it time and space. Take a day or two off, even a night’s rest can be refreshing.

And that sums up my list of research dos, don’ts, tips, and tricks. I hope it helped you in some way. More than likely I missed something so post or email away, we Inkette’s know we don’t have all the answers –although it’d be nice!

NaNo Progress Report: Week 1

Holy moly, never before have I been so consistent with my writing –it’s exhausting! Sure, I’ve done it with papers for school weekly over the past four years but never in such huge daily chunks. As I planned, I have managed to hit my 4k word count goal without fail on my designated writing days. I’ve even managed to do it around social functions, exercising, eating, and sleeping. At least so far. My November is bloody busy! And it’s still early.

Oh boy.

Needless to say, some days are harder than others. Yesterday, for instance, I found myself fighting for every word and checking the timer repeatedly during my sprint. At this point I don’t even think I’d be anywhere near my Week 1 base quota of 20k if I wasn’t writing in 15 minute sprints. And it has nothing to do with the stories either, because I’m loving them; I’m totally jumping out of my comfort zone with them and so far I’m liking the results. It’s just really hard to write that many words in a couple of hours.

Today is day 5 of my 4k goal period, which means I get to go down to 3k tomorrow. I’m really excited about this, those last two sprints are when the headache gets going and dinner is calling my name like an attention starved toddler. I have plans tonight and I’m trying to reach my goal before I leave but I feel like that isn’t going to happen, and I’m not sure if I’ll have enough energy after socializing. And my next 3 days are jam packed, so I’m worried about playing catch-up. But I will figure it out.

Here’s my Week 1 progress just before leaving the house:

19238 / 50000 words. 38% done!

And here’s a quick list of all the little things I have learned during my very first week of NaNo:

10 minutes is not enough time to get the 500 word minimum I want; 15 allows me to get much more than that sometimes, or to just barely make count
I cannot worry about the perfect wording, sitting and thinking about how to express is a time-waster; I’m going the stream of consciousness route which will create more trash than gems but I think it will also allow for a more organic unfolding
I keep trying to back track too, I yell at myself when I find myself editing as I go or after the fact because it’s not helping my count cause
I am doing zero research during NaNo time, I have a sheet of paper beside me and my comments function ready for notes and progress statements after my sprinting –November is all about words for me
On Day 3 I decided I should spell check while I know that the words should actually be instead of trying to figure out what I meant later on; I will be doing this after I’m done each session because corrections slightly affect my word count

A fun thing that happened: I was in the middle of a 30 minute sprint with a bunch of NaNo aficionados when my first story ended and I had to immediately start the next. This transition with absolutely no thinking time ahead threw me through a loop. Jumping from the minds of two characters into two others –not to mention a totally different genre and dynamic– that are absolutely nothing alike was mind boggling. But also kind of fun, so I hope it happens again.

Happy writing to all of you NaNoWriMotars out there!

NaNoWriMo Progress Post 1 – M. J.

This is not the novel I planned to write next.

See, I wanted to write a stand-alone book (with series potential, but stand-alone). I have the story, the world, the characters. I even have the first three chapters! Written ages ago, but they are some of the best first draft chapters I have ever written.

What am I working on instead? The second in a seven-book series. Why? Because my writer-brain is sado-masochistic like that.

Here’s the thing: I’m not doing NaNo. Not really. No account, no word count goal . . .

Granted, it’s hard to have a word count goal when I write drafts longhand and can only estimate.

But this is not a NaNo novel. I started it in October and do not expect to finish it this month. I am, however, ecstatic to be writing a novel in conjunction with NaNo. The energy, the enthusiasm, the motivation is a palpable thing, and this year I am feeding off it like a succubus. Without the sex.

For the sake of keeping track of progress (because that’s always fun), I’m estimating how many chapters this book will run and using that as my marker. This is how it looks this week:

 

 

6 / 30 chapters. 20% done!

NaNoWriMo Progress Post 1 – Kate

I have never been able to complete NaNoWriMo…in November. I have done it in February/March but never in November. The closest I’ve come is about 46K in November in conjunction with university midterms. Which I didn’t count as a failure because OMG 46K but it didn’t qualify as NaNo winner.

What motivated me this week? The thought of Laura Anne Gilman murdering me. Laura Anne is like the Jillian Michaels of the writing world. If she tells you to get something done, you fucking do it or you die. My novel is due into her November 15th and, I swear, I will make that deadline.

Progress as of Wednesday Night

15199 / 50000 words. 30% done!

15199 / 50000 words. 30% done!

If writing daily at an even pace, I am ahead of schedule (including all Nov 6th): 1666.7*6 = 10000 words. Therefore, 5.2K ahead of the game.

Source: Nownovel.com

The good:

I had 9 hours, 40 minutes stuck on a transatlantic flight with no wi-fi and therefore no distractions. I managed 7K on that flight. And watched only 1 movie.

The bad:

I am now back to being at work which means my productivity is likely going to drop. I wrote 550 words before work today (still jet-lagged so I was up bright and early without the help of caffeine) and will write at lunch.

The totally beautiful:

I am Maid of Honour for a wedding on November 16th. I love the bride to death which means my desire to help her definitely tops my NaNo priorities. Will need to balance.

The Essentials of Writing Conferences – Post 4

In this series, I am going to write about the essentials of writing conferences. These are some of the most important things that I have noticed in my conference career (now entering my fifth year of 2 conferences minimum per annum).

If you are a writer and you are at the conference with a book to sell or want to network and learn, keep reading.

Part 10 of too many: Dining logistics

One of the most astounding parts of conferences is group meals. You start with one person and ask what they are doing for dinner. If not attending an exclusive event, ask if you may join them. Then, you meet up with the people they were planning to meet up with and the people those people invited with them and it results in a mass of 6-18 people going for lunch/dinner/what-have-you.

When dining out with a lot of people:

Carry cash, preferably a little more broken than solid twenties.
Sit at a table with an equal mix of people you do know and you don’t know. Or sit at a side of a table like this because, often, groups are so large that conversation is divided.
If you are vegetarians and it is a group meal of tapas or Chinese, sit together. It makes life easier to vegetarians and meatatarians alike.

Part 11 of too many: Be abreast of (inter)national events, politics, and health care.

Source: College broadcasters

When travelling, know policies or the places you are visiting and how they match up with your home policies. There is a lot of talk about healthcare, insurance, legal systems, and more.

There is usually an equal mix of talk about conference/writing and other random topics.

Part 12 of too many: Know what the different parts of the conference entail

Panels are interesting, but the attendees are mostly novice writers. The professional writers only attend topics that are more uncommon among all the other cons in the past. In the meantime, authors are in meetings or at the bar.

Readings. Authors go to support their friends. Novices are busy blind in the panels.

Parties. There are specific parties you are not allowed in and open parties (the Australians will be there and they will get very drunk). If a publisher party, be professional at all times.

Con Suite. Freebie food

Part 13 of too many: Parties go into the wee hours. Every morning.

I did not go to any parties. I’m not a party girl. Perhaps I should have tried but by the end of the day, my limited extroversion was completely exhausted.

But I did ask some people for tips.

Go up to the suite floor and go toward the noise. Like a moth to a flame, you will find yourself in trouble aka surrounded by progressively more drunken writers. Be at peace.

There are two places you can be for maximum gravitational pull. Number one is sitting on a couch area. People will come and go and you can talk while they are relaxing. This is for maximum rotation of people. Number two is by the air conditioning source. As the rooms warm up, people will come to you. And you will be cool (haha, pun!), calm, and collected.

On Collaboration, With A Side Of Shameless Self-Promotion

Collaboration is a funny thing. And by ‘funny’ I mean ‘tricky.’

To some extent, everything we write is a collaboration, informed as it is by our lives and the people around us. The old stereotype of the hermit-writer in his cave just doesn’t work for most of us.

But when it comes to conscious, creative collaboration, difficulties arise. Maybe one doesn’t contribute enough, leaving another to pick up the slack. Maybe one can’t relinquish control enough to allow the other(s) an equal share in the project. Much of it depends on the type of project.

Communication and flexibility are the key elements to any successful collaboration. If one, some, or all have different ideas as to what the project is — what it should look like — you will have problems. If you feel like maybe there’s a detail you’ve missed, or you suspect that maybe you and your collaborator have different definitions of terms, for the love of all that is holy, ASK. You are collaborating with an end result in mind. If you don’t ask, if you don’t get on the same page, you won’t make it. Even if the project reaches a conclusive end, it won’t be what you had hoped.

Also be flexible with your expectations. If a partner feels strongly about something and there’s not a damn good reason against it, try it out. See how it goes. Allow it, so that when you feel strongly about something, that consideration and respect is reciprocated. (If it’s not, maybe you need another collaborator.) Don’t set your expectations and tie yourself to a single imagined outcome, unless it incorporates the visions of all involved.

I honestly don’t know how anyone manages to do this with a novel. There is one friend with whom I have crafted a world and a concept. We have each written short stories and vignettes to explore it and feel out each other and our expectations. It wants to be a novel — maybe several novels — but the thought of attempting it petrifies me.

Collaborations between media is easier, I think. My sister (an amazingly talented artist) and I have bandied around the idea of collaborating on a children’s picture book. The other day, I was introduced to someone who works with comics and graphic novels, who made an off-hand comment about the possibility of a future collaboration.

Then, there’s the anthology, which is a beast of a different sort.

This anthology is the superhero brainchild of my friend R. B. Wood. (I am the awesome sidekick.) Winter in the City is an urban fantasy anthology — or will be, if our Kickstarter campaign reaches its goal. Please give it a look! (Definitely watch the video. I’m in it. After a fashion.) And if you decide to support it, I will love you forever.

This project has been a collaboration of epic proportions, from its inception with R. B. and me, to our amazing artist Kip Ayers, to our fantastic editor Marty Halpern through whom we’ve been able to attract some heavyweight names in the scifi/fantasy writing community. And once we make our goal, the real work and collaboration will start to happen. Help us make our goal, and I’ll tell you all about it!

My NaNoWriMo Challenge

It just hit me that National Novel Writing Month is a misnomer since many Canadians and Americans take part in it. Huh. But that’s not at all important. Unless you’re like me and those types of things jump out at you. And flutter about your brain until you tell someone else and show them how clever you are. I shared. See how clever I am?!?!

Yet I digress.

This year, because I am no longer in school and I have no excuse not to, I am taking part in NaNo. Yeehaw! I am challenging myself to write 50 000 new words of fiction over the course of November. I am also challenging myself not to cry about it. So far I’m good but the tissues are handy. I’m quaking in my fuzzy slippers but I’m also excited, and you know I’m not going into it without a plan! My name is synonymous with the written plan.

For me, writing is not going to happen every single day. Stuff gets in the way, life happens, and things go awry. I’m trying to create a preventative so that when November 30 rolls around I’m not sitting here wondering where 10 000 words are going to come from.

I’ve done some math (yep, I really did!), and 50 000 words over the course of 30 days averages to about 1667 words a day. I rounded that up to 2000. Also, because I’m not going to write a traditional novel but rather focus on my short fiction, I did other maths. I figured that 50 000 words averages to about 7 short stories that are around 7000 words long; some will be longer and some shorter.

Then, please bear with me, I did this if I think I can write 6 days a week:

Week 1           Week 2           Week 3          Week 4      Finito!

(4000 x 6) + (3000 x 6) + (2000 x 6) + (1000 x 6) = 60 000.

 

5 days a week works out to this:

Week 1          Week 2          Week 3           Week 4     Booyah!

(4000 x 5) + (3000 x 5) + (2000 x 5) + (1000 x 5) = 50 000.

 

I know myself and I know that 2000 words a day for 30 days will not be maintained. I figure I can go hard in the beginning and write 4000 words a day (a minimum) since the end of the month is when I’m going to start avoiding the computer. This is also where my handy little timer comes in! Eight, six, four, then two 10 minute periods where I can spit out at least 500 words each will make my challenge more than manageable.

Now, before the 1st arrives, I just need to get my blog posts scheduled into early December so I don’t forget about them and I need to come up with rough schematics for seven stories. I’ve got two in mind, which is a start.

So, I did the math and worked out a schedule that even the most senior excuse maker won’t be able to hold much against –believe me, I’ve tried! I need to do this for myself and I think it’s really important to challenge yourself as a writer. Creativity is all about jumping out of your comfort zone. If you can, take up the NaNoWriMo challenge. Not only will you produce words that your inner critic has been telling you you need to get down on paper, you’ll also be exposed to an enormous writing community just waiting to cheer you on.

Good luck!

P.S. We fault no one for reading this blog in an attempt to escape from the pressures of NaNo.

P.P.S. Thanks to Melissa for mentioning Nano in this post so that I had no excuse not to share my plans!

 

The Essentials of Writing Conferences – Post 3

In this series, I am going to write about the essentials of writing conferences. These are some of the most important things that I have noticed in my conference career (now entering my fifth year of 2 conferences minimum per annum).

If you are a writer and you are at the conference with a book to sell or want to network and learn, keep reading.

And as an aside: Happy Halloween!!!

Part 5 of too many: Know someone. Or know OF someone.

Source: Inter-conferences

Usually, people don’t hit the convention circuit without knowing anyone or being able to recognize anyone’s name.

Start with nametags and get scanning. Remember the nametag tendency to slide, flip, slip, squish, flop, fall, and be forgotten. Don’t let that hold you back. Be creative and pretend to be looking for someone you know and make rounds. It’s okay. EVERYONE who is looking for their friends are making the circle dance because who knows what their friend is doing on the table or on someone’s lap (Truth).

Feel free to approach. If you are going to babble like a fan or squee like a deaf fan, maybe try to get over that on the first day and then approach for actual conversation the second night.

Don’t freak out if you only know one person. One person is all you need. First conference, I went in knowing 1 person via online only. I ended up at dinner with 18 people, without that person because she had a business meeting. For survival, see Part 6.

Part 6 of too many: Be sociable

Now, be sociable does is something that needs special consideration for writers. Very often, we are an introverted breed that does not become extroverted unless surrounded by our safe people. Or if we are naturally extroverted, we are the most fantastically awkward, blunt, ungraceful socializers.

At a conference, the only thing worse than someone who is socially awkward and assertive/aggressive is someone who is all of the above when plastered. Especially when in enclosed spaces like an elevator. But that is a story I don’t wish to relive.

When you are socializing, test the waters and listen to the conversation between your target(s) and other people. Know if you can be crude, swear, or if you should pull out everything you know about modern healthcare and insurance.

Part 7 of too many: Sit in the midst of lots of seating, preferably in a circular formation

People will sit around you. And you can join in conversation. I know this goes against all of your natural inclinations as a writer. Usually, you want to sit alone and roost, watching people in between paragraphs while you ponder perfect wording. Immerse yourself. Now is the time.

Part 8 of too many: Be polite

Be polite to everyone. Do not be rude or invasive. The more you open doors for people and smile, the more you help someone who has a few too many books in their hands, the more you open avenues of discussion.

Kindness will take you a long way.

Also, be sure to thank those who are volunteering for or managing the conference. You don’t see what a lot of them do but they do a lot. Be grateful and gracious.

Part 9 of too many: Handshakes

I have encountered every type of handshake here. I have shaken the feeble fish and been crushed by a literally military grip that ached for a few hours afterward (it did, alas). The best thing you can do it make sure that your hand is dry, not coughed on, and free of visible fungus.

When shaking hands, be confident. Don’t think about it. Shake your hand with an honest enthusiasm and look at the person’s face, not your hands. Do not challenge the person with a feral wolf glare but, instead, honest interest. If you’re not honestly interested, what are you doing there?

First Draft Glory

As November’s National Novel Writing Month creeps ever so swiftly up on us, in which hundreds of thousands of people sweat and bleed and struggle to reach that 50,000 word count, I would like to take a moment to revel in the awesome power of the first draft.

First drafts are far from glorious. First drafts, by their very nature, suck (unless you are freakishly, inhumanly talented). Between my first and final drafts, nothing remains untouched by the might of my red pen.

Recently, I sat down to write a short story. I had my characters already running wild in my head with my world and my conflict. Maybe because I’ve focused so much lately on revision, it seemed like I’d forgotten how much I love the magic of that first draft.

And that initial step is total magic. It’s intoxicating.

In first drafts, I don’t worry about structure, hitting all the right beats at just the right time, or if I’m being too trite, too melodramatic. I don’t worry about polish; that’s for successive drafts, and I can’t get it right on the first pass, no matter how I try. So I get the story on the page. I know that later I’ll make it better.

Even knowing where my story will go, what the major beats are, there is still so much exploring and discovering to be done. The feeling of the story coming together, word by word to make a cohesive whole, is like nothing else.

Maureen McHugh’s novel writing process chart. Source: Tumblr.

Like any relationship, it will have its ups and downs. You start off on a high. At some point you hit a low and have to be talked down from trashing the whole thing, and it’s always a mixed bag of emotions by the time you hit the end. But then you have a story. It will probably need a lot of work, but you’ll have something to work on.

I finished the first draft of that short story. It is in desperate need of revision, but I know it so much better than I did before. Now I’m tackling a first draft of a novel. Not the one I’d intended to write next; it’s the one pulling on me most strongly right now. Just in time for NaNo.

I love the freedom to let my story suck. I love focusing purely on the story — translating it from images and impressions in my head to words on a page. That is the best magic I know.

NaNo is a great time for getting those words on the page. It’s what the month-long event is all about. The energy of like-minded people encouraging, commiserating, and sharing provides extra momentum. Tackle that first draft, and see where it goes.

So, will you be doing NaNo this year?

Research I: Adding That Extra Layer of Depth and Credibility with Electronic Sources

I’ll say it right now so that no one gets their hopes up about this post –I cannot tell you when you should stop researching, and I cannot tell you what enough research is. I’m sorry. Any time I attend a workshop, a conference, a reading, a book launch, or a creative writing class, that’s always the first question when the topic of research comes up and that’s ALWAYS the answer. So it’s not just me crushing your spirit!

Now, if you’ve released your hair from the death grip you had on it and you’ve blinked a few times (maybe clearing away some tears), I can tell you what I do know about researching:

it’s hard work
it’s time consuming
it takes skill –that has to be developed over time
it can be endless if you let it be
it’s like stepping in quick sand with one measly vine dangling over your head
and it is totally 100% absolutely necessary! No matter what genre or form you’re writing in, if you don’t do any research it shows, and it does not impress or instill trust in readers.

That’s a lot of good news, right? I know. But researching, at least for me, is so much fun. I’m a bit of magpie (thank you Patty and Mike for that term) in that I know a lot of random things on a wide variety of topics, and I always want to know more. Unless it’s about economics. That makes me face plant in boredom.

What does that have to do with you, you ask? Well, luckily, over the course of my student career and my writing career, I’ve done A LOT of research. A lot. So much that I’m amazed my head hasn’t exploded. Thus, I’ve got a few handy tips and basic need-to-knows up my sleeve to impart.

After compiling my list and explanations it turned into a monster list, so this post is going to focus on online resources only. My follow up post, will cover books and other resources.

1. The easiest place to start is the internet, specifically search engines. Google, Bing, Yahoo, whatever your fancy, start there. If what you’re looking for isn’t on the first page you should probably switch up your phrasing or specify what you’re looking for. In my experience, travelling all the way to page 12 is a waste of your time.

2. Wikipedia is a nifty little minx, but you have to be careful there (as well as any other site you pull information off of). Usually, Wikipedia provides basic info that is well organized and very readable. Not to mention a lot of articles have amazing notes that list all the references used –always check that out. BEWARE, Wikipedia can be edited by anyone, and although I think it’s pitifully lame, some people get a kick out of editing articles and adding the wrong information. So start with Wiki –but ALWAYS corroborate the evidence you get there.

3. Google Books is a handy little resource when you don’t want to lug yourself to a library or can’t find an eBook edition of what you want. Some books allow previews, but they’re limited. Again though, if you can get your hands on the bibliography it’s worth looking. Why not piggy back when someone has already done the work? This will cut your research time down greatly.

4. Instead of keeping a list of urls only, I keep a record of search words and phrases. After hours of researching you get tired, and you forget that perfect phrasing that found you a goldmine of information. Plus, websites change and update. You might find something great one day and the next time you go to look at it it’s gone. This sucks.

5. Keep everything, and keep it organized. It’s just a good policy in case something clicks later.

I hope all or some of those tips were helpful. And look out for my next post to help you research smarter, not harder!