16 May 2007

Research and writing...

I LOVE to research. Anyone who knows me, knows this. For me, it's such a huge part of my writing process. The more research I do, the more excited about my stories I get.

BUT, it has a downside too. I can get so caught up in looking for specific details, or just reading about the past that I forget to write. It's definitely a balancing act. Because I ground my stories as firmly in the past as I can, I NEED to know as much as possible. So I'll spend a lot of time tracking down sources and reading from as many different books as I can to make sure I have all the facts I need for my plot.

This slows down my writing and sometimes I wonder if I'm doing the right thing. But would I be happy crafting a plot without all that research?

How about you? How do YOU balance research and writing? Any tips you can share?

Teresa