How I Research My Novel
Still very busy and dealing with some big life changes, blah, blah, blah... That said, I've been meaning to write a blog post on how I do my research for my Victorian novel, if only because it's a vital part of my writing process, and I'm always interested to see how historical writers approach it. Many writers declare that research is their favorite part of the process and that writing comes second. I feel the opposite. I enjoy research and get excited when I discover new details, but for me, the story is the thing. I want to harvest enough details to provide a realistic setting. I don't want to wallow in research books for months on end; rather, research is like an itch that I need to scratch until it disappears. That said, providing a wholly believable setting for a historical story, especially if the story is broad in scope, can take quite a bit of research. Reference texts, contemporary novels, newspapers, pamphlets, maps, you name it. As for where I