'There was just so much to read ...'

Dear Gentle Reader.  I write with a confession that must be shared, and with the hope of forgiveness, if not a little understanding.  You see, I have yet again, found myself buried in a pile of books, lists of website links, printed images, and notebooks filled with scraps of scribbles.  Research.  All in the name of research. I can’t seem to get enough when it comes to studying, with an insatiable desire to learn more. 

But, in all honesty, I need to accept that I’ll never be able to learn everything there is to know on any given subject.  I’ll never be able to finish all the books there is available, treasures found in dusty corners of second hand bookstores, borrowings from the vast library catalogues throughout New Zealand, online articles and publications, and a purchase, or three, of ‘must have this on the bookshelf’ tomes. 

So how timely this article came over my screen this morning, by Nick Dybek in LiteraryHub, titled ‘How Too Much Research Can Ruin Your Novel’.  It seemed as if Nick was talking directly to me.  Here’s one of his quotes which ring very true to my own thoughts,

“My challenge, however, wasn’t a paucity of information, 

but its opposite.  There was just so much to read…

There was something of an addict’s logic 

to the process: just one more book

and I’ll know enough, 

just one more and this will be easy.”

There is a fear that I believe most authors writing in a historical context hold, that they’ll make some glaringly obvious error when describing everyday life, or even something as minor as what their character eats for breakfast.  Aside from the obvious, it’s the small details that need to transport the reader to the period of your story.  The secret is not to end up with a boring factual textbook, but trickle in a few minor elements to set time and place. 

I digress.  As you can see from the photo, I’m guilty of trying to read everything I can get my hands on to do with the medieval era.  A subject I love, a topic I can’t seem to get enough of. My protagonist is right in the middle of it all, living the life I can only imagine, as I feebly attempt to grasp at fragments of how she lived her life.  And as Nick Dybek learnt, I must let go of the research, and just work on breathing life into my beloved character. 

Wish me luck, and thank you for your forgiveness, if not a little understanding.

Happy reading and writing!

Bedside reading:  Book of Colours by Robyn Cadwallader

What's on Audible:  The Children Act by Ian McEwan

What's on Podcast: Dirty John by L.A. Times