September is Research Month at the Writer's Chatroom
Yes, it is Writerly Research Month at the Writer’s Chatroom.
I love to research. I have been known to totally abandon a project because I started researching something and slid right off the rails and into a ditch. Why would I go back to that deadly dull passage when the third place I visited took me so far into another topic I think I’ll skip the original idea and write about the Science of
Landfills, instead?
I plan to touch on most of the items I listed below and probably add a few as time goes on. The list is in no particular order.
We will talk about confirmation bias, what it is and how to avoid it.
How to start a research project and when to stop it or at least dial it back. Maybe some pointers on how to stay on track would be good.
We all know how to Google and most of us know how to use a library but do we know how to approach a resource using our cellphones or emails? Do we understand when to take a human subject out to coffee or when to buy them a whole meal?
Which genres do writers do the most research on? How should we credit the research we have done if it makes its way into a manuscript?
Did you know you are six people away or less from finding a real live person who can help you through an entirely offbeat question? We will talk about finding a Bagpiper in Bozeman, MT who can teach the Chanter.
On Wednesdays we will chat about general research in a relaxed chat format and on Sundays we will have a more formal Topic Chat.
When to research..
When to stop.
Where to begin.
Avoiding confirmation bias.
Who are you going to call?
How do you dial your research back when you know you’d rather research than write?
What genres need the most research?
How do we credit the research we have done?
Using a library for research.
Using bibliographic information to expand or narrow your research.
Researching before writing or on the fly.
Is research taking over your story or article?
Writing what you know.
Staying on point and avoiding the rabbit hole.
When you’ve researched so deeply you think you can do brain surgery.
You’re no more than 6 people away from a living person with the best answers to your question.
Bring Yourself, your Favorite Drink and something for the Snack Table at the back of the Room.
On Relaxed Topic Night you can bring writerly questions and we will try to answer them. Keep in mind, many of us write fiction and if we don't know the answer, we may make it up.
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If you'd like to revisit previous topics we can do that too. To find previous topics you can page through the Website.
