“So you want to be a writer…”

When I was a kid (and especially a kid who grew up in the library), I tried to envision what would it would look like to be an author. I imagined there was a wooden chair, a pair of glasses and a typewriter involved. There would be stacks of perfectly written pages on the table, and the unassuming melody of Bach or Mozart floating in from a nearby room. All tranquility, all confidence, and all knowledge. I did not, however, picture the quintessential ‘ideal writer’ as a reader, researcher or student. I naturally assumed that readers were just receptive plebeians, while writers were the equivalent of a disembodied brain churning out brilliance from scratch. I pictured readers as the sponge, and writers as the tap.

This image, of course, is the product of an immature and inexperienced mind; few writers truly become excellent without studying the art. Every project necessitates some measure of research; practically every book (and especially the great ones) were born of the hard labor of months (or even years) of rigorous study. The accomplished writer, it turns out, is neither omniscient nor immutable, but must learn and grow constantly; the writer must first be a reader, and every book read has the potential to produce an adaptive response in the writers life.

Now I’m anything but an expert (and more than a few cosmic evolutions away from being an all-knowing, disembodied brain), and so you must take what I say with a grain of salt. I am not a genius (though I will try to convince you I’m half-worth listening to), and I am subject to ideological bias, physical limitation, and about three hours of consecutive sleep (babies are surprisingly uninterested in how much rest a writer needs). But I hope I can share my experience, and I hope that experience can be useful.

How does an author know what they need to research?

As I mentioned, a good writer must first be a good reader; and not just a reader of good books. I learned early on that I must be willing to read more than just my favorite authors; if I have any chance at all of someday becoming the expert writer I dream of being, I have to expose myself to as much as possible. I must be a connoisseur of the antiquated, the collegiate and the interpretational. No topic must be outside of my reach, if I am to embrace the human experience (in all its complexity) and fold its many voices into a few hundred pages.

Now I’ve had the benefit of studying good fiction, as well as good and relevant academic writing. As I’m slowly, impatiently producing fiction stories that I enjoy writing (and reading), I’m also spending a lot of time consulting historic and scientific literature. To me, the best fiction stories are rooted in reality, anchoring the far off and fanciful in a relatable context. To do so, however, I must be an ardent reader of countless sources; books, articles, blogs, stories, and photographs of original material.

That said, in an academic writing setting, only certain types of sources are generally considered acceptable; finding credible research material can be pretty daunting. Your chosen topic also makes a substantial impact on how one conducts research. If I am writing on an extremely niche topic with limited academic exposure, I may have a difficult time finding credible sources that attach to the idea directly. I often try to focus in on an oblique issue, or an oppositional idea connected to my topic; identify an angle on your writing that is more connected to the experiences of the greatest number of people. Sources will often be more relevant and the presence of oppositional voices toward an idea provide phenomenal material for extended dialogue.

Where do I find sources?

There are numerous places where a determined writer can look to find strong source material. If you are writing for a college course, most colleges have an online library providing instant access to literally thousands of books and journal articles. If these aren’t enough, there is always the local library, your own bookshelf, the newspaper, and countless online databases spanning far beyond what a single school library can match. In the age of information, the ‘where’ is really not that hard. One needs only to look; the ‘how’ is a little more difficult.

How do I know if a source is credible and appropriate for my project?

Nearly every resource available to a university library would be deemed as appropriate source material for a college learner. Appropriateness may be difficult to quantify, as teachers and programs have a significant amount of influence on what is deemed appropriate on inappropriate for a given project. Nevertheless, you can typically be assured that academically credible source material will be written (you guessed it!) academically. We’re talking studies, numerous references, and the liberal use of the phrase “peer-reviewed”. If it reads like a food blog with a recipe trailing behind someones life story, then it probably isn’t kosher.

How do I incorporate sources into my writing?

This part can be a little tricky, and carries a lot of nuance, but it’s a skill that’s learned with time (and practice). As a writer who tends to prefer fiction, there’s seldom a place for citations in my writing; however, as the previous post makes obvious, there is a place for developed references. As a rule, I avoid starting a paragraph with a quote; you ought to introduce the one being quoted, rather than them introducing you. The writing industry tends to adapt itself to the MLA style guide, though I’m very grateful for the amount of flexibility available to us as writers.

Where can I find more information?

A good place to start would be a simple Google search for the MLA style guide. Also this wonderful article sums up a number of good thoughts about the research process for writers. For advice from a master of storytelling, check out this advice from CS Lewis! It is questions (and their answers) which produce the best searches and result in the most interesting writing. Seek topics which thrill and inspire you, and your questions will flow freely, generating nearly endless digital resources available to absolutely anyone.

So there you have it! The simplest guide to fiction writing I can write, and as many kernels of decent advice as I can provide. Enjoy writing, good luck, and feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions!

Works Cited

Hosier, Allison. ""Every Story I Write is a Research Project": The Role of Research in Fiction Writing." Portal: Libraries and the Academy, vol. 22, no. 4, 2022, pp. 1063-1093. ProQuest, https://go.openathens.net/redirector/liberty.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/every-story-i-write-is-research-project-role/docview/2769367272/se-2.

Hudson, Grant. "C.S. Lewis on How to Write." Clarendon House Books, 14 July 2016, https://www.clarendonhousebooks.com/single-post/2016/07/14/c-s-lewis-on-how-to-write.