Research

Most of my favorite novels, and no doubt many of yours, were built upon/supported by a rock-solid foundation of broad, intensive, “all”-encompassing research. Science fiction, fantasy, you name it, oftentimes such novel’s “special thanks” sections will include a long list of educational texts, articles, courses, and/or correspondence with various professionals, outside experts, authors, and editors, which were all crucial in fact-checking, establishing and ensuring the necessary accuracy/verisimilitude of those very highest quality fictional stories/worlds…

Which, of course, makes total sense if one just stops to properly ponder on it for a moment or two. Stories mirror life. Life is complex, and so, therefore, high quality fictional life must reflect at least some appropriate measure of that otherwise seemingly endless complexity. And because so few of us can credibly claim to be experts at EVERYTHING, let alone anything, it also reasonably follows that one in the business of writing a novel might very well want, or perhaps need, to consult with outside experts, outside of one’s own head, that is, especially when one is attempting to create a world of “true” depth, possibly on par with SFF’s so-called greats…

Again: this might all seem obvious, or, rather, VERY obvious, to most, or at least many of you reading this…

… and yet? For me?

Somehow, for most of my “career” as an author of fiction, this was not so. Whether from thoughtless inexperience, hubris or something else, most of my past writing has been written almost entirely off the cuff, utilizing only what’s ping-ponging around inside of my relatively fertile brain/imagination at the time. This seemingly haphazard way of crafting a story (by daydreaming, writing, daydreaming some more, writing more, calling on past memories of stories, articles, etc. to fill things out, and leaving the rest as a bit vague, or clunky) may very well have “worked” in the past, producing, apparently, satisfactory enough little fictions in the past…

Again: and yet? This certainly no longer satisfies ME.

So… I began to research. And research. And research some more, more and more and MORE. Into every area of life, physics, metaphysics, storytelling and worldcrafting, which make my favorite stories so deep, multi-faceted and “believable”. Endless branching out in all directions, to all depths. All to finally quiet that stubborn little voice inside of me which has always insisted that something was wrong, something was missing, and crucially lacking, not only in my stories but my very methodology. Something which rendered basically all of my works to date as more or less immature, unserious, and amateur. Something which, if diligently rectified, would then finally allow me to begin producing stories perhaps more on par with, approaching parity to, or even, with a great deal of luck, surpassing those aforementioned towering giants of SFF which so inspired me to begin this whole writing journey in the first place, all those very many, many, many years ago, now…

And…

So…

Yep. I am still currently in the midst of research, syncretization, output, and etc.

The Good News: I have now crafted multiple support texts for each of my upcoming novels, each totalling in the hundreds and thousands of pages, which go into great depth about the physical, metaphysical, mental and spiritual worlds (or substrates) contained therein, fully explaining and forming each of their realities down to the meanest bedrock/s, and beyond.

The Bad news: I still haven’t finished any of the actual novels themselves, which those texts support. At least not to my proper satisfaction.

Again: So…

I continue to write, edit, research, and re-write, forging ever onwards, and hopefully upwards, towards my ultimate goal/goals/eventual completion.

Thanks to all for your continued patience