tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092805684169371138.post1442425979310279572..comments2023-08-27T04:22:55.468-07:00Comments on The Literary Lab: Houellebecq And I Research The Same WayUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092805684169371138.post-32637153029025476152010-11-28T23:43:28.331-08:002010-11-28T23:43:28.331-08:00I am all about the research-madness. Most of my fi...I am all about the research-madness. Most of my fiction ideas came to me when I was reading non-fiction. Sometimes this remains painfully obvious even in the final story.Tara Mayahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09095632631554776002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092805684169371138.post-1044602822730219302010-11-25T08:33:19.272-08:002010-11-25T08:33:19.272-08:00Scott,
What I mean is that, most of the time when...Scott,<br /><br />What I mean is that, most of the time when I write the story is full-envisioned enough that it's not really subject to that kind of change from research.<br /><br />Too, I typically conceive of stories after the bulk of the research has been completed, because I'm just a research geek. So most of the research that's done while writing is minor enough that it doesn't have the opportunity to create storms of change.<br /><br />And, yeah, it's both natural and wonderful that writers approach their craft differently. It would be a boring literary world if we did things the same.<br /><br />But, that said, when I hear stories like yours I do sort of think I'm missing out on something. :)C. N. Nevetshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00375714948653196993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092805684169371138.post-20298785300366562962010-11-24T15:17:53.960-08:002010-11-24T15:17:53.960-08:00Scott, I do this all the time. This is why I leave...Scott, I do this all the time. This is why I leave my outlines pretty loose and based mostly on character more than plot. I like to let things grow as organically as possible, and I have taken stories in a different direction because of research. This writing thing is too much fun. :)Michelle D. Argylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09696465137285587646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092805684169371138.post-5725738453761492572010-11-24T12:11:24.430-08:002010-11-24T12:11:24.430-08:00Nevets: I don't know what that means. But I do...Nevets: I don't know what that means. But I do know that my methods are not universal, which is probably a good thing.<br /><br />Alex: Yeah, that's what I mean. The real world pushes the story into new and surprising places. I think that when we writers are surprised, it carries over to the reader and adds dimensions to the narrative.<br /><br />I read "Captain Hatteras" when I was a wee sprig!<br /><br />Just-Man: Yeah, I'd like to see Tesla influences in the dragon saga! They could have a whole technology based around Tesla coils!<br /><br />Jabez: See my comment to Mizmak; the surprises of real history can, if we let them, deepen our fictions and truth is always weirder than our imaginations. I'm always looking for ways to push the story away from the central idea (push without breaking it, that is). In my experience (for what that's worth) the things that happen in real life can be more magical and strange that "magic realism."<br /><br />Big D: I know you had a lot of trouble and trauma writing that scene, but I really love it. I can't imagine it being any different. I'm also surprised your book didn't give me nightmares, but I'm all cool like that so of course it didn't.scott g.f.baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05726743149139510832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092805684169371138.post-24693273777693583662010-11-24T10:30:12.647-08:002010-11-24T10:30:12.647-08:00Last one to become a novelist is a rotten egg!Last one to become a novelist is a rotten egg!Bowmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11031226145526664876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092805684169371138.post-32155998794609329382010-11-24T09:45:11.191-08:002010-11-24T09:45:11.191-08:00Justus, I suggest you invest in some horcruxes. I ...Justus, I suggest you invest in some horcruxes. I recommend several, as I plan to bring up my cannibal story many many times.Davin Malasarnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09385823575081492949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092805684169371138.post-72686687983611224352010-11-24T09:43:35.662-08:002010-11-24T09:43:35.662-08:00Davin, every time you mention that story, I die a ...Davin, every time you mention that story, I die a little more. It hurts.Bowmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11031226145526664876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092805684169371138.post-22858755770463030452010-11-24T09:40:56.306-08:002010-11-24T09:40:56.306-08:00I was writing a scene about the murder of someone ...I was writing a scene about the murder of someone who volunteered to be the victim. In my research I learned that, when the time came, the victim was surprised by how much it hurt to be killed. That definitely had to go into the story, and I think it moved the scene in a cool way. <br /><br />I really liked the swamp and the hurricane in Cocke & Bull. Those two elements are some of the most memorable in the book!Davin Malasarnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09385823575081492949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092805684169371138.post-30308316502453271062010-11-24T07:52:08.122-08:002010-11-24T07:52:08.122-08:00I'd never heard of Atomised, but then, I ain&#...I'd never heard of Atomised, but then, I ain't no Houellebecq girl. (In fact I'm not a girl at all.)<br /><br />But I do research in much the same way. I start with maybe a one-paragraph version of my story and a general idea of what I want to do, and then I start researching and let it guide my details of plot, character, etc. Which is why I have Joseph Henry and Mormon missionaries running around in my story of Reconstruction-era Appalachia.Jabezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09541471929373540252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092805684169371138.post-10729068661599174632010-11-24T07:34:46.661-08:002010-11-24T07:34:46.661-08:00After learning about the Wardenclyffe Tower from m...After learning about the Wardenclyffe Tower from my television, I decided to add something similar into a story. And while that story is likely years away, I know precisely the role the "tower" will play in the demise of the antagonist(s). <br /><br />Now you've unintentionally convinced me to read a lot about Nikola Tesla today. You will be hearing from my supervisor.Bowmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11031226145526664876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092805684169371138.post-80941626579861060992010-11-24T07:33:04.688-08:002010-11-24T07:33:04.688-08:00I wrote a mystery novel set in 1921 Seattle -- the...I wrote a mystery novel set in 1921 Seattle -- the original notion had to do with the labor movement. During my research, though, I ran across some interesting stuff about police corruption here at that same time, and also about rum-running, both of which wound up in the book. It also made me change the villain of the piece. <br /><br /><b>Scott of the Antarctic:</b> You might check out Jules Verne's novel "The Adventures of Captain Hatteras" -- it's Arctic, but has some good obsessiveness in it (skim, though -- plenty of boring bits).Alex MacKenziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14121919349442258779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092805684169371138.post-1269791574666867842010-11-24T06:11:16.227-08:002010-11-24T06:11:16.227-08:00Is it boring of me to say, "No, I don't t...Is it boring of me to say, "No, I don't think that's ever happened"?<br /><br />Neither my research nor my writing method really lend themselves to that sort of thing. <br /><br />Suddenly, I feel dull.<br /><br />hahahaC. N. Nevetshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00375714948653196993noreply@blogger.com