Channeling Your Inner-Sherlock: How to Keep Your Research from Taking Over!
Do find yourself getting lost in your research for your story?
In his book, Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting, Robert McKee states, “Do research. Feed your talent. Research not only wins the war on cliche, it's the key to victory over fear and it's cousin, depression.”
And I highly agree with that statement! Research can be one of the best parts of writing a story as it can build the foundation on which we discover our new worlds.
History is especially exciting to me since it was one of my favorite subjects growing up. I love learning dates, events, how people lived... Research can be like piecing together a story all on its own.
While research can be fun, it can also get overwhelming and consume the time you should be spending actually drafting.
So I’ve gathered some of my favorite tips and tricks for organizing and processing research and turning it into a story.
How do I Organize and Store My Research?
First let’s talk about how you like to keep your story together. Are you a physical or digital writer?
If you like having things at your fingertips, like me, keep a binder of all of your research. Use dividers to separate your notes by category: setting, character building, plot, etc. That way you can set it on your desk next to you to flip through whenever needed. I like to take extra notes in the margin too, so this physical inventory of my research really helps me process my research.
If you like having your research on the screen, keep a Pinterest board! I do this too, so I can always come back to the site I find. But if you don’t need the physical copies as well, then keep that board saved to your browser so you can access it with the click of your mouse. Make sure to take advantage of Pinterest’s sub-boards. You can then organize those pins by category like you would with dividers.
Pssst… The Pinterest board is especially helpful if you’ve saved art and images that inspire your setting or inform your characters’ attire!
How Do I Process that Research?
I like to process my research in three categories and color code (because color brings me life!). I review my research in three categories:
Absolutely Necessary to the Story
Inspirational and Should Play With
Just in Case I Need It
The "Absolutely Necessary to the Story” category is a little self-explanatory, but here’s how I look at it. These are the most vital pieces of research that inform how I tell my story. For instance, if I’m writing a military character in my story, I need the list rankings in order for my character’s actions and dialogue to feel authentic. Same goes for if I’m writing a story set in 19th century London, I need those maps of Victorian London and anything else related to that time period. Ultimately, this research is the most influential information I have gathered and will be referring to often as I draft.
The “Inspiration and Should Play With” category consists of the information that I discovered while looking up the “Absolutely Necessary.” It surprised me and made my think of something cool for my plot, character, etc., and while I don’t plan to revise my outline around it. I do want to play with the idea and possibly insert it in my revisions. So I want to hold on to it until then.
The “Just in Case I Need It” category is usually the smallest category. It’s filled with things that I hadn’t thought of while coming up with my idea but they were interesting facts and details I thought I might hold onto “just in case.” I’ll most likely never touch it, but at least it’s available if I change my mind.
So while you are researching, try categorizing your research with those topics in mind and really “Marie Kondo” that wealth of knowledge you’ve uncovered. 4. Use the prompt to get to know your characters better.
But when do I stop?
That is an excellent question! Honestly, it’s different for everyone, but I like to stop my time researching when I feel my “Absolutely Necessary” category feels full and completely, once I feel I have a strong foundation I can start drafting with.
Now that doesn’t mean that I won’t take some time throughout my drafting process to look something up that I may have missed. The thing I try to remember is that I don’t want to get sidetracked once I start drafting. So I’ll make a little note within the draft to come research that thought and come back and fill it into the story.
The key is to actually write! Because, if you’re not writing, then what was the point of all that research?
Let me know if these categories and organizing techniques work for you! Do you have a different way to organize and process your research? Tell me about it in the comments!
And stay tuned for next week’s post! I’ll be back to talk about audience and how knowing your audience helps inform your writing, making your story compelling and exciting! So don’t forget to subscribe so you can stay up to date!