This is the first of a two-part blog series on what it takes to research a novel. This first post is about the factors that make me decide what to write about, which will inevitably require research.
My novel Green Bay Outsiders is finished and my editor has returned her edits, which I am going through now. As I prepare to launch the book into the world, one item remaining on my to-do list is to write the acknowledgments page. It’s not the most thrilling part of the book to get through, if you’re a reader, and I would wager to guess that most readers DON’T necessarily go through it. The acknowledgments section, though, isn’t really for readers–it’s a catalog of all the resources and individuals who helped bring a book to life by virtue of serving as research sources–so it’s really a thank you page, of sorts, for everyone who helped an author out with the book. If though, as a reader, you’re curious to know how an author researches a novel and just what sources they turn to, then this blog post series is for you.
[Read more…] about What It Takes to Research a Novel (Part I)