Write That Novel: Research Time

Hello, folks! Time for another update on my WIP and what lessons I’m learning in the process.

In case you missed them, take a look at the first two posts in this series:

It’s been a while since I’ve posted on this topic, and I’ll admit, part of that is because I’m not on track with my timeline. Part of the goal of this series was to keep me motivated, focused, and on task. I’m going to do better about charting my progress in order to keep myself making progress.

So, what’s been going on?

Research and Historical Context

Regency clothing was particularly awesome. source

I’m writing in a historical setting (early 19th century England), which requires a lot of background research to make it believable. Luckily, I know a fair amount about this period already from other reading I’ve done. (One of my favorite resources is Georgetter Heyer’s Regency World, by Jennifer Kloester. No, that’s not an affiliate link. It’s just an awesome book.)

But the problem with relying on literature from the time period is that you don’t really learn about anyone but the ruling class, in this case, well-to-do white people.

Several of my characters are people of color living in the middle and lower classes. That meant I had to branch out. I looked through other blogs. I scouted the library. But I wasn’t finding a lot. So, I put out a call…

Social Media to the Rescue

I started on Twitter, asking if anyone could point me in the direction of good, period sources. No dice.

Next I reached out to a Regency History group on Google+, asking if anyone had recommendations for sources about the way class and race intersected in Regency England.

I didn’t expect a whole lot. After all, Twitter had turned up nothing, and Google+ has a bit of a reputation as a wasteland (though I wish it didn’t, I enjoy it so much more than Facebook).

But to my surprise, the info came pouring in. The group mod pointed me in the direction of a few helpful books, and one of the group members answered lots of questions and even sent me a copy of his master’s thesis to use as a resource. Talk about a jackpot!

I’ve also been making use of Pinterest to pull together visual information and bookmark links. I love the map feature in particular, which allows me to get a solid picture of the area that my characters are spending time in.

Research for this sort of work is ongoing, of course. I still need to learn more about law enforcement and how the police worked in that time period (I’m writing a mystery, after all!) But every time I know I’ll need more research, I just TK the spot and keep going.

Which brings me to…

A Word Count Confession

I’ll come out and admit it: I’m about 15,000 words behind where I should be right now.

And it’s entirely my fault. There have simply been too many days when I didn’t make time to write, for whatever reason. (When I saw “write,” I specifically mean this project. I write pretty much every day, as you know!)

Now, I’m not one of those people who thinks you’re not a “real writer” unless you make a daily word count. For one thing, there are so many other parts of being a writer (research, marketing, taking an occasional break so you don’t kill yourself…) But I do 100% believe that you have to commit to and prioritize your projects. I’ve been prioritizing other things, and I need to get back on track.

If I want to still make my deadline of having a first draft done by the end of this month, I need to up my daily average to 2000 words.

Which is doable: when I’m focused, that amount will take me only 2-3 hours. I just need to make sure I stay focused, right?

So, look for me on Twitter. I’ll be the one with the #amwriting tag.