What do you do with what you learn as a writer?

[Overread]

So here's something to muse on this winter - what do you do with what you learn as a writer?


No I don't mean how to write nor how to publish or how to make sales or how to write sequel or any of that. We all know what is done with much of that understanding; its all over the Chrons every day as we share that information and understanding.

No what I mean is what do you do with that knowledge of what a medieval bar smells like; or how to smith a sword; or how a nuclear reactor works.


In writing I think many learn far more about subjects than ever makes it into books and stories; because in the end technical details might not matter to the narrative but they are key for the story to be grounded in the world and not to be all plucking facts from the sky. So what do you do with that understanding of many subjects; some deep some skimmed or just summarised.

And what about the research and resources you've used to build up that understanding.

Whilst some might consider it rather dry I wonder if there is not good cause and justification to begin to build up a reference library system that can at least point people in the right direction for bits of information. There are many questions that can be very difficult to answer or find reference to because such information was never considered important to most to write down or record.

 

[The Judge]

I make notes of my research (well, most of it) which I keep, but I doubt they'd be any help to anyone else, even if my scribble could be deciphered. The books I've accumulated will all end up in second-hand or charity shops at some point I have no doubt.


We do have the Writing Resources sub-forum which some of us make use of from time to time, by way of linking to outside web sources or noting books we've come across that have been of especial help, but I doubt if anyone will ever search it looking for the particular question they have -- members are far more likely simply to ask in GWD and get answers and referrals to particular sites/books there.

 

[Ihe]

The research I do for my stories can sometimes seep into conversation, but they're usually very nerdy subjects and short-lived. Nobody wants to talk about tidal-locked planets or quantum mechanics in the pub. Some, based on crazy theories or thought experiments, have a better rate of success if the alcohol levels are high enough though . But unless I myself bring the subjects out, they don't really come up much during the course of a meal or a drink. Writing can get lonely in many aspects. That's why places like Chrons are so desperately needed.

 

[Phyrebrat]

Nobody wants to talk about tidal-locked planets or quantum mechanics in the pub.

Au contraire... well, that is to say at the London Chronsmeets those are exactly the kind of things people want to talk about. That, and smelt, opah, pike, Byker Grove (don't...), those choose-your-own-adventure bookie wooks that HB and Peat still read, sound engineering, The WA forum, and God knows what all else.

When I started reading the OP, I thought the question was going in a different - metaphysical, spiritual - direction rather than in terms of resource building.

To address the actual question:
Everything I write is done in Scrivener (which I am loving even more now it has a companion app), and that allows you to collate your notes and research no matter the file type. So, for example, I have MP3s of a hurdy-gurdy, old maps, AVIs of ancient film clips and documentaries, Google Earth and Google Streetview screen caps, plus three massive PDF compendiums of The History of Everyday Things in England 1066-1799 and pasted emails from experts (<cough> Her Hon.) in various fields. Therefore there's not really any need for me to collate into a separate library as my stories are stand alone rather than part of a series, and I only really write horror or absurd/weird fiction. The inclusion of tags makes for a speedy way to get to the right info, but it requires a certain amount of housekeeping, so often I'll just go to the project that has, say 'medieval Muslims' in it, and read the research folder for that.

To address what I thought the question was:
I've learnt more about myself in the past five years since I started writing, than I have in a long time. I recognise a connection to the community in which I live, in the difference in people's values and moral code, my unrelenting fallibility, the myth of control, the enemy within (a battle of id vs ego vs *superego), that the way to start is to start, that small steps are just as valid as big ones, and most of all, to trust my own instincts over advice if my gut is recoiling from such advice. I've learnt just how inflexible, impatient, stubborn and intolerant I can be, and how that is neither a good nor bad thing, but just how things are with me.

If I were PM, fiction writing would be compulsory. But then, so would dance.

pH



*AKA The Eater of Worlds

 

[Venusian Broon]

If I were PM, fiction writing would be compulsory. But then, so would dance.

You have my vote.

 

[Ihe]

That, and smelt, opah, pike,.....

So, I take it the infamous fish pun chains I stumble on every now and then here can all be tracked back to you in your seedy little gatherings then? You definitely have something to do with it. Maybe you're behind it all. The Don of Pun and the Mafia of Fishy Jokes?

 

[Phyrebrat]

How dare you!

(I'm ashamed to admit the truth is I'm a fish nerd - particularly UK freshwater fish - and so I always end up rattling on about them at some point or other, depending on the presence of blood in my alcohol-stream.)

As far as puns go, I wonder who that don might really be; I'm thinking @Dave or @DG Jones, probably.

pH

 

[ErikB]

(I'm ashamed to admit the truth is I'm a fish nerd - particularly UK freshwater fish - and so I always end up rattling on about them at some point or other, depending on the presence of blood in my alcohol-stream.

pH

What's not to like about sticklebacks and perch?

 

[ErikB]

No what I mean is what do you do with that knowledge of what a medieval bar smells like; or how to smith a sword; or how a nuclear reactor works.

Well having belonged to a medieval recreation group I know that smell is as bad as a concert floor after a massive battle of the bands concert event (yuck), and I much enjoyed forging axe heads over swords though having done one axe and two swords the swords were easier. And given that I served in the US Navy on a Trident submarine (USS Michigan SSBN 727) in the 80's I am intimately familiar with how reactors work, but since no one seems willing to give me any radioactive isotopes to make my own, I can't really apply it too much in my daily life.

Seriously though, research is fun. But as others have pointed out, there is a finite degree of conversation and application for many of the interesting subjects and knowledge that an author will accrue over time.

 

[tinkerdan]

I think that the research is actually more useful for discussion than for the writing and often it's the discussion that helps yield the filling for the story while the research acts as the crust.

 

[Steven Sorrels]

If I were PM, fiction writing would be compulsory. But then, so would dance.

Hell, I'm American, and you can have my vote, too!

 

[Brian G Turner]

what do you do with that knowledge of what a medieval bar smells like; or how to smith a sword; or how a nuclear reactor works.

That's exactly why we have a History section and a Science/Nature section - so that anything useful for writing fantasy or science fiction can be posted there.

Sometimes I post items to those boards simply because they're interesting - but other times I'm sharing my own learning process.

Don't be afraid to use them in the same way.

 

[Gonk the Insane]

that is to say at the London Chronsmeets those are exactly the kind of things people want to talk about. That, and smelt, opah, pike, Byker Grove (don't...), those choose-your-own-adventure bookie wooks that HB and Peat still read, sound engineering, The WA forum, and God knows what all else.

That just sounds freaking awesome. I think I'm going to have to make a trip down to London for one of these

 

[The Judge]

If I were PM, fiction writing would be compulsory. But then, so would dance.

Not only do you not have my vote, I'm going to have you locked in a deepest dungeon when I'm PM. Dance compulsory? Two years of it was hell. Hell on steroids and two left feet. At least in compulsory sport I could hit people. (Never irritate a girl with a hockey stick.)

 

[Biskit]

Not only do you not have my vote, I'm going to have you locked in a deepest dungeon when I'm PM.

Can I be the one to throw away the key?

I don't have a problem with the dancing - I've done English Folk, Scottish and traditional Clog - but, along with the writing, I was never forced to do it! Then there are all those compulsory things that I have enthusiastically not done since.

 

[The Judge]

I've been having flashbacks to the Gay Gordons all morning...

 

[Phyrebrat]

Don't worry, it will be Pan-African.

pH

 

[Biskit]

I've been having flashbacks to the Gay Gordons all morning...

It's all valuable training should you attend a wedding in Scotland - they just expect you to know what to do at the dance.

 

[The Judge]

*faints*

 

[Venusian Broon]

It's all valuable training should you attend a wedding in Scotland - they just expect you to know what to do at the dance.

Dashing white sergeant should be the only dance at Weddings - actually is a better dance the more tipsy you are.

At least I thought so.