Mental Meanderings

Research and it's critical place in writing.

While my Thursday was spent in various errands such as shopping and visiting a friend who has recently had a baby, I did manage to get some productive writing related activities accomplished. It's still early so I hope to also add a poem to todays completed creations. But first, to get this blog entry out of the way before I run out of time.

The 'job' of a writer involves more than putting words down on paper because writing stories involves more than just writing. Most stories are based in fact. It's one of the 'rules' of writing. It relates to the "suspension of disbelief". You see for a reader to truly enjoy a story, they need to relate to it. The best way to make it easy for a reader to relate is to use a base of reality.

For example in "A Jealous Wife" I tell the story of a Hindu couple. They live in Ancient India and the story incorporates a mythological beast, the Rakashasa. Obviously the Rakashasa makes the story 'fantastical'. The man and woman never truly existed (at least not to my knowledge, insert common cinema disclaimer: Any relation to actual events is entirely unintentional.) It is fiction. Untrue and in part difficult to believe.

However to make it more acceptable to a reader I've been researching India. From customs, dress, ceremony, religion, and architecture to anything else that can help set the scene.

India is an intriguing place. I've really enjoyed learning about Hindu culture and some of the wonderful religious doctrine. I'm looking forward to being able to incorporate some of the facts I've learnt into my story.

Of course there also comes a point where it's important to remember balance. There are so many interesting points that you have to remember that we're telling a story, not giving a history lesson. While doing research can enhance the story you don't want to go overboard dumping facts on the readers if it's not leading the story forward.

Some interesting facts I've learnt about India that may or may not make the cut in "A Jealous Wife":

Ancient India had some advanced scientific knowledge relating to animal life. Their early writings and pictures depict animal life cycles, biology, habitat and sociological aspects. While they lived in mud huts they understood that there chain of life was important to their existance.

Hindu religion follows the belief in reincarnation. They heavily depend on understanding how karma affects their existance. They believe that past actions affect future actions and that their happiness is directly related to what they've done in the past not only in this life but all lives before.

India exists on a strict social order. There are four levels known as caste's. Men may marry beneath their caste but not above. If a woman of high caste marries beneath her they and their children are shunned and considered beneath even the lowest of the four caste's.

A Sari is the traditional clothing of women in India. A sari is one very large woven sheet of material usually made of silk or cotton. Some Sari's are embroidered with gold and silver thread and some are even adorned with pearls and gemstones.

A Rakshasa is a demon in Indian mythology. Rakashasa is the masculine of the term however there are also Rakashasi, female demons. The Rakashasa were once men who though advanced knowledge shed their material bodies and took form as pure energy. However, having been physical beings their new form left them craving the comforts of the flesh and so they resort to possessing the bodies of other beings, particularly humans, to gain such delights and also eating human flesh. Rakashasa while not specifically 'evil' are generally considered such because they can be immoral. Most Rakashasa love to gamble, their favored currency is human bodies however their own anti can be very powerful which makes such bets enticing for both parties.

Other Mythological beasts are more focused on hybrid animal amalgams.
Garuda - a half-man, half-eagle.
Makara - A giant fish with an elephant head.
Navagunjara - A composate beast made with the parts of nine animals.
Airavat - A mystical white elephant.
Gandaberunda - A two-headed bird.
Monoceros - A large beast with the forlegs and torso of a horse, hind of a rhino and head with a single, large, black horn.
Mantygre - A beast with the body of a tiger, head and torso of a man with two pronged horns.
Leucrocotta - A human torso with hind and four legs of a lion and the tail of a scorpion.
Griffin - With the head of an eagle, body of a lion, and tail of a serpant.

In honor of scarlett_o_h, a list of five. *grins*

Oh ok, well one more bonus:
The name of my female protagonist, Sharada, is an Indian name and it means, "Goddess of Learning". Purushottam, her husband's name, means "Best Among Men".

Ok, now I've bored you with such tidbits you can see why I found my two days of research so intriguing. Let us hope that some of the things I've learned will give my story an edge.

There it is, some clumsy chatter about the joys of researching for a writer, why it's important and how it can give your stories an advantage. OMG I feel like I'm drivelling today and I keep hoping I didn't stuff up any of the 'facts'. I mean wouldn't it just be gaff to find out that I misunderstood everything and what I thought I'd learnt wasn't actually correct at all.

Onward I go regardless. What I've learnt has given my plot additional strength and I'm confident enough to go with it. So, hopefully tomorrow will consist of more writing and less research. Now, to that poem I promised myself. "Stormy's poetry newsletter & contest" , here I come.