WIP Challenge Check-in, Day 18 -- Friday

[linaewen]

Hello on Friday!  The weekend is almost here -- I for one am looking forward to it.  But what about today?  What kind of a writing day has it been today for you -- or if you haven't begun yet, what do you hope for today?

• I thought about my fic once or twice
• I wrote
• I did some planning and/or research
• I edited
• I've sent my fic off to my beta
• I posted today!
• I'm taking a break
• I did something else that I'll talk about in a comment

For Discussion: Research -- what does it involve for you?  Watching a show/episode or rereading a book?  Fandom specific websites?  Requesting info from other fans?  Googling and following all the rabbit trails that result?  Do you do your research before you begin writing, or during, as the need arises?

Comments

[linaewen]

I haven't started anything yet today, but as I make my list of things to do for the day, I'm definitely putting time with my writing projects on the list! If nothing else, some research is in order.

I review canon as necessary when I do research and sometimes ask for info from other fans, but for the most part, my research involves internet searches to make sure the idea I have works as far as the details go -- setting, logistics, history, that sort of thing. I often use fandom-specific websites, or I go wherever Google takes me. I also have a number of books on my shelf that come in handy for some of my writing research. I love research, so there is a danger in getting lost in on all the rabbit trails that invariably appear as I pursue my ideas. ;-) I do the bulk of my research before I start writing, because it helps settle my ideas for the story or chapter, but I also will follow up with research during the course of writing, if I come up against a new idea or a detail that needs confirmation or further development.

[lilly_c]

I couldn't sleep last night and I got a couple of fics finished. Both are quite short and I'm going to be doing some editing on those for the rest of this evening. I do hope there aren't too many ridiculous mistakes :)

My research varies from fandom to fandom but I do review canon whenever I can to make sure my knowledge is fresh, just in case I get the feels to write something after I've finished watching. I only go to fandom specific websites when I need something that I can't find within the source material but with most of my fandoms being small it is often difficult when I need specific information. I tend to do my research as I go along because it's easier for me to keep track of and I usually only need small amounts of information that can be acquired at anytime.

[lea_hazel]

I had a good day! Yesterday I enlisted a friend to help me brainstorm, and so today I finally completed a meme fill that's been nagging me.

Research tends to bog me down, but I can't seem to break the habit. For semi-basic stuff I'll start with Wikipedia, with all due caution and rarely with anything that could be even remotely controversial. I check out books or specialized sites for other things, fandom wikis of course are invaluable, and some fandoms have a large number of meta or reference posts floating around Tumblr. For things that crop up regularly, I'll bookmark something. And some research I've been sitting on for years, waiting for the right fic to fit it into. Curiously most of it involves botany in some way.

[merryghoul]

I'm still planning for femslashex, but I think I'll be able to get started totady.

TV episodes tend to be the best place to get canon-specific information. Depending on the canon, fandom-specific sites don't always work for me. For OUAT, I can trust that their wiki is up to date and accurate, but for, say, Burn Notice, everything I come across that's supposed to talk about the canon is poorly written or edited and/or has a bias that's opposite to what the canon is saying about the show. Sites with well-transcribed scripts are also helpful so I don't have to hunt down specific episodes.

Also, depending on the canon, I may research some other stuff. For Burn Notice, I might research how a person could possibly steal a car, but for Doctor Who, I can do some worldbuilding and it would work for a fic.

I tend to research when I'm writing, and then, if something doesn't make sense when I first proofread a fic, I research it and fix it as needed.

[the_rck]

I've done a little bit of writing. I'm hoping I can get back on track after a week of writing almost nothing. I just need to handwave enough to pass a couple of hours in the story.

I've used pretty much all of the resources you list in researching fics. When I set out to write for a canon I haven't written before, I try to review all of canon. If canon's too big, I review pieces of it. I do look for fandom specific websites. Phineas and Ferb and Doctor Who both have wikis that proved invaluable when I was writing them. I don't as often ask other fans for help, but I do ask people I know when they have some expertise in the area I'm researching. Googling is a last resort because it's a time sink and because it can be hard to fine tune what I'm looking for.

I tend to research as the need arises. Sometimes, that's before I start, but most often it's while I'm in the middle of things.