“Boxing Christmas” up at 50-Something. Besides getting ready for the holidays, I have also been guiding my students through the research process, and, for the past few days, doing a ton of research of my own. After adding 20 pages to my Gypsy notebook, I’m done with the research (for now). This morning I began layering all I’d learned, and all the ideas that came as a result of the research, into my story.
When I started with the research, I believed it would only impact Chapter 4, which is still in the “thinking” stage. I have a Romany funeral to write, and I wanted the details to be exotic and accurate. So I went back to the research books I originally used to write Gypsy. (Thanks Becky! I still have the fabulous book you sent me a few years ago and it’s proving invaluable. Again.)
This research time has been so valuable, and not just for historical accuracy. Every time I research, I also start adding ideas about how that research will impact my story, how I can integrate it into the plot. In this way, I found a key element of conflict and created a whole personality plus motivation for my antagonist, who has been a shadowy figure to me up until now.
My plan to stay with the first three chapters has paid off in surprising ways. Today, I added three pages to the first scene alone. I think I’ve figured out why I want to take my time and work this way. It’s because if I just push forward, when my agent asks to see the manuscript, I would feel too pressured to revise at this pace. I’d feel the need to rack up 20 pages of revision a day and maybe would have skipped the research.
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