Thread: Overwhelmed with research...How do you deal with it?

Before one even starts writing, one has to do research and world-building.

If you're writing historical fiction, you have to know just about everything in the timeperiod you're setting it in.

If you're writing sci-fi/fantasy, you pretty much have to build the world/galaxy from scratch, names and cultures included.

To me, this is just too overwhelming. Where does one even start? All I have is the plot and characters, but my OCDness refuses to let me continue until I have every single damned thing hammered down.

How do you begin the research process?

I organize my fantasy/sci-fi world using an app on my iPod, called PlainText, which allows me to create as many text documents and folders as I need to organize properly. So I can write as much or as little as I want about one object, without worrying about space and knowing that it will be quickly accessible. So I have a folder called "Physics, Places and Powers", and inside that folder I have "Physics", "Places", and "Powers." and inside each of those I have something, yadda yadda yadda, until you have bare information. I'd recommend a text-editor app with folders for the iPod if you want quick to access, easy to edit information at the palm of your hand. If you don't have an iPod Touch/iphone, though, any text editor would suffice. You could even use literal folders and documents (papers) to build the world. That's how I do it...

I'm currently writing a historical novel that is heavily based on real events, so the research is really important.

To get started, I did some fast reading of a few different books to get a general idea of what happened in the story. Once I knew the beginning, the main events and the end of the story, I was able to break it down into chapters and then write a brief synopsis of each chapter. Then I started the research again, going into each chapter in detail as I wrote it.

It's a long process, but it's worthwhile if you feel you need a structure to your novel before you can start writing it.

Hmm... I don't usually do research with my stories before writing them. I usually write fantasy fiction rather than those relying on historical events, and as such, I let the world be created as I write. When I need something confirmed, that's when I do some researching, make sure I can maintain the reader's WillingSuspensionofDisbelief. True, sometimes, research can be taxing, but sometimes, it is through research that I suddenly think of a scenario or event I can put in my fiction that is inspired from what I've read.

I usually imagine myself as the main character and then whenever I walk or am in the car I keep moving the story forward. It is so much fun when I do this, the research all depends on you, its your world so you can have whatever you want. A world that is alive, a world that has only one island in it or even a world within a world.

If you love the world you're in then it shouldn't be a problem. Think of it as window dressing - the more you see the better it will be.

Read through everything without worrying too much about detail, then cherry pick the bits that appeal to my imagination and go back to check I got it right as I am writing.