Don’t Fall in Love With Your Research
In the monthly Glimmer Train bulletin, you’ll find some fabulous advice from working writers. Here’s a bit of what novelist Eric Wasserman had to say about research (Eric pictured above):…
In the monthly Glimmer Train bulletin, you'll find some fabulous advice from working writers. Here's a bit of what novelist Eric Wasserman had to say about research (Eric pictured above):
Fiction writers can easily write themselves into a corner. For the writer of the researched story it almost inevitably happens when the details cease to be attached to characters, particularly when writing historical fiction, which is what I have been engaged in for a number of years. My manuscript reached over 1,000 pages at one point. Of the 450 pages I cut, the majority were sections where I had fallen in love with my research.
Also read J.P. Lacrampe on Humor in Fiction.
And more juicy advice, all free, in Bulletin 33 from Glimmer Train.
Jane Friedman is a full-time entrepreneur (since 2014) and has 20 years of experience in the publishing industry. She is the co-founder of The Hot Sheet, the essential publishing industry newsletter for authors, and is the former publisher of Writer’s Digest. In addition to being a columnist with Publishers Weekly and a professor with The Great Courses, Jane maintains an award-winning blog for writers at JaneFriedman.com. Jane’s newest book is The Business of Being a Writer (University of Chicago Press, 2018).
