A Guide to Ink Masterpieces

Write What You Know, and if You Don't Know it, Learn it!

Everyone has heard the phrase "write what you know." The problem with this is the simple fact of how much you know and what you know that relates to your subject and chosen work. Let's say that you know all about family dysfunction. Writing stories about the chaos, pain and anguish, and the crazy consequences of being a part of that family would be a synch for you. But let's say you wanted to write something that is way out of your comfort zone; we will use science fiction as our prime example.

So what happens when you don't know what you're writing about or what you want to write about? You do your homework. One of the most important factors into writing stories is to make them believable. How can you make a story believable if you have not experienced it first hand? By doing as much research on the subjects as possible. Use all the tools you have as writer.

First, you want to rewind and go back to your outlines and the results of your brainstorms. Those questions and topics will point you in the right direction. You will know exactly what you are looking for and what you need to learn about. Now, our example of science fiction, requires the ability to comprehend some pretty tough things in science. Biology, chemistry, astronomy, the human body, nature... all things necessary to help bring your work to life.

The second step is to get the answers to all of the questions your brainstorm session has brought up. Once that has happened, with all the research you did to get you those answers will raise more questions, create more inspiration and there you will continue onward in the journey of learning more about these subjects and open up a world of so many more possibilities for your story than you had originally imagined.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, quit babbling and get to the point, you're thinking. Well here it is. The best forms of research are to use the most basic of tools that we have been provided by technology. The internet is a very important research tool; but beware, not everything on the internet is real, so be sure to back up your research with multiple respected sources. Using news articles can be helpful as well, but make sure you use the Associated Press. Using websites like FOX or CNN can often be misleading and biased due to politics, and more importantly, the news loves to exaggerate current events for more viewers. You also need to make sure that you go back to the basics: the library. Dig through all the rows that have been long forgotten and find even the most elusive references to the topics you're seeking out. Be brave and reach out to experts on the topics you're doing research on. You will have to take up the journalist's nature and interview people involved in similar experiences or of the type of knowledge that you need to best suit your work. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Hell, don't be afraid to walk up to strangers in the mall and ask them how they think they would react to certain situations you are thinking about putting into your story.

These are all excellent ways to obtain the information you need to make your story better and to make it real.

The downside to research is the simple fact of it taking up 75% of the time it takes to put your story together. It consumes you and you will find that weeks, even months will go by before you ever put a word on paper for your first draft. It can be fun, and it will also be something you have to force yourself to do at times as if you were back in high school dreading that math quiz so much. But the end result is worth it because you put all of the hard work you needed to make the story the best it could possibly be, and that is what will make you most proud of your work.