Three Reasons Why I love Research
What are you researching and is it for your next book?
Isn’t that a critical part of being a writer? Research:
answers questions. You’re chatting with friends about global warming. You-all wonder–how much hotter is it today than it used to be. You jump on Google and find out–the Global surface temperature increased 0.74 degrees in the last hundred years. You read a bit further and find out it’s cooler today than two million years ago. We’re in an ice age. that’s confusing. You either keep reading or put it on your ‘todo’ list for later.
gives you ‘insider knowledge’ about whatever you choose. when you’re visiting DisneyWorld and the everglades, it’s always good to know that crocodiles have been around for over 200 million years. that means they aren’t likely to become extinct before your trip is over. You think about it and decide they do fit their environment pretty well, even if that ‘environment’ is disappearing.
Puts you in the driver’s seat–you know stuff no one else does. Everyone has a friend whose debate technique is only one fact deep. When you throw those pesky facts at them, they don’t know what to do. (They either insult your lineage or making excuses.)
Here’s what I was researching three years ago. Here’s what I’m researching for my new book:
submarines
Islam
cloaking devices–I’m concentrating on ‘metamaterials’
changes in education
How about you? What’s snagged your cerebral attention?
Jacqui Murray is the editor of a technology curriculum for K-sixth grade, creator of two technology training books for middle school and three ebooks on technology in education. She is the author of Building a Midshipman , the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. She is webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a columnist for Examiner.com , Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, Cisco guest blog, IMS tech expert, and a weekly contributor to Write Anything. Currently, she’s editing a thriller for her agent that should be out to publishers this summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.
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