Research is very important, specially in non-fiction, but for fiction as well.
I can't remember how many times I'm pulled out of a story, in tv, film or literature, because of details that don't add up, worlds that don't make sense or facts that are clearly misinterpreted.
I'm not giving examples, for this is not a critique blog.
For my work, I usually research as I go. Things that I'm not sure of, details that need polishing or facts that need a greater understanding I put in parenthesis and keep writing. Then I go back and do my research to fill in the blanks.
Not for this novel though.
I can't remember how many times I'm pulled out of a story, in tv, film or literature, because of details that don't add up, worlds that don't make sense or facts that are clearly misinterpreted.
I'm not giving examples, for this is not a critique blog.
For my work, I usually research as I go. Things that I'm not sure of, details that need polishing or facts that need a greater understanding I put in parenthesis and keep writing. Then I go back and do my research to fill in the blanks.
Not for this novel though.
This time I'm trying to use different writing techniques to become a better writer. I'm also planning all of the structure, plot and characters beforehand, which I normally don't do. But I will write more on that in another entry.
For "In the name of luck" I'm creating a whole new "universe" or "literary universe" if you may.
There are a lot of advantages for creating a universe for your novel. For me, it means creating ground rules for the characters to interact within; it makes the world believable, and alive, like a character, so it's a very important part of your story; it also lets you start to visualize and plan the next book in the series, maybe even another book in another storyline within the same world.
If you still don't know what I mean by universe, think middle earth, Star Wars, the magical world of JK Rowling, the vampire chronicles of Anne Rice. They all have set rules of what can or cannot do within the story. They define characters and drive the story.
My wife has a series of novels where the paranormal, angels and demons exist. I liked her universe so much we are planning to set one of my short stories, that I wanted to make into a novel, inside her universe and cross storylines and maybe even characters.
That's another novel, but it's an example of what you can do when you have a universe already defined.
For this novel, "In the Name of Luck", I'm taking research seriously. I enrolled to a class by Stanford University (online) called "imagining other earths". I'd call it speculative astrology 101. It will help me have the physics right and facts believable when creating my universe.
Also, I am creating new card games and casino games for my story, so I recently bought an old copy of "Official Rules of Card Games". If you live in Rosarito area and you want to help me develop the games and rules, please let me know.
For "In the name of luck" I'm creating a whole new "universe" or "literary universe" if you may.
There are a lot of advantages for creating a universe for your novel. For me, it means creating ground rules for the characters to interact within; it makes the world believable, and alive, like a character, so it's a very important part of your story; it also lets you start to visualize and plan the next book in the series, maybe even another book in another storyline within the same world.
If you still don't know what I mean by universe, think middle earth, Star Wars, the magical world of JK Rowling, the vampire chronicles of Anne Rice. They all have set rules of what can or cannot do within the story. They define characters and drive the story.
My wife has a series of novels where the paranormal, angels and demons exist. I liked her universe so much we are planning to set one of my short stories, that I wanted to make into a novel, inside her universe and cross storylines and maybe even characters.
That's another novel, but it's an example of what you can do when you have a universe already defined.
For this novel, "In the Name of Luck", I'm taking research seriously. I enrolled to a class by Stanford University (online) called "imagining other earths". I'd call it speculative astrology 101. It will help me have the physics right and facts believable when creating my universe.
Also, I am creating new card games and casino games for my story, so I recently bought an old copy of "Official Rules of Card Games". If you live in Rosarito area and you want to help me develop the games and rules, please let me know.