Research is the historical novelist's map, constraint, and purest energy.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Research to me is as important or more important than the writing. It is the foundation upon which the book is built.
Research is of considerable importance in certain fields, such as science and history.
I still find the idea of a research-heavy or historical novel daunting. That's something I've had in mind for a while: like, would you research for a year and then start writing? I sit down, and I just don't know how to write it.
My research, even before 1972, moved in directions beyond those cited for the Nobel Memorial Prize. Most of it, in one way or another, deals with information as an economic variable, both as to its production and as to its use.
I enjoy research; in fact research is so engaging that it would be easy to go on for years, and never write the novel at all.
The sciences which take socio-historical reality as their subject matter are seeking, more intensively than ever before, their systematic relations to one another and to their foundation.
The thing about research is that there's no end. You constantly have this fear that an expert who knows more than you will call you out on some detail in your book.
Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose.
Initial work is on period research where the historical markers are absolutely non-negotiable. Once that is established, a writer can take creative liberties in terms of chronology to suit the story.
Research can be a big clunker. It's difficult to know how you can make the historical light.