Getting Started
I'm about to start a new novel. It's going to deal with dark themes (rape and murder of the serial kind). And I'm hesitant.
Honestly, I'm not hesitant about the subject matter. I'm hesitant because of the huge amount of research I'm going to have to do to get this story right. And not just the violent crime part.
I'm mixing in an amateur sleuth, a private investigator, two different officers in the police force who do very different things, and the corrections system. Parole and community service, too. As well as other, non-criminal aspects of both the heroes and the villains.
I know some of this. But not all of it. Not by a long shot. And so I stall.
Why? Some like research. Some love it. Me, I like it just fine when I have the time. But I want to get rolling. And research takes some of that precious time away from the writing. In the case of this story, it's going to take a lot of that time.
I know there are some who advocate just writing it and fixing it up later. However, I tried that early in my career and found it disastrous for me. Get it right the first time, that's my motto.
So, with that motto in mind, perhaps I'd better stop stalling and start reading. And then...then I can start writing.
All the best,
C.W. Walker
Honestly, I'm not hesitant about the subject matter. I'm hesitant because of the huge amount of research I'm going to have to do to get this story right. And not just the violent crime part.
I'm mixing in an amateur sleuth, a private investigator, two different officers in the police force who do very different things, and the corrections system. Parole and community service, too. As well as other, non-criminal aspects of both the heroes and the villains.
I know some of this. But not all of it. Not by a long shot. And so I stall.
Why? Some like research. Some love it. Me, I like it just fine when I have the time. But I want to get rolling. And research takes some of that precious time away from the writing. In the case of this story, it's going to take a lot of that time.
I know there are some who advocate just writing it and fixing it up later. However, I tried that early in my career and found it disastrous for me. Get it right the first time, that's my motto.
So, with that motto in mind, perhaps I'd better stop stalling and start reading. And then...then I can start writing.
All the best,
C.W. Walker
Labels: amateur sleuth, author, C.W. Walker, community service, corrections system, crime fiction, mystery, novels, parole, police work, private investigator, research, suspense, thriller, violent crime
posted by C.W. Walker at
9:49 PM
1 Comments:
As an English teacher, I've done my share of research. As a writer, probably more. I hate it. It does take away from writing and most of what I find really interesting is also unrelated to the research I need to do. I wrote *cough* a novel about a serial killer. I patterned his behavior after one fellow in particular. The research caused me nightmares. The book? Nightmares of another kind as it sits neglected in my database. No agent takers, unfortunately. Maybe someday I'll make a name for myself and bring the old boy out, dust off his bloody bones, and finally see him in print.
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