Guest Blogger C. S. Boyack on Pre-Research

Posted on February 12, 2015 by Mae Clair

Not that long ago I stumbled across a blog called “Entertaining Stories,” written by fellow blogger and author, C. S. Boyack. Needless to say, I found Craig Boyack’s observations highly entertaining, and in no time added his blog to my list of regular haunts. Trust me—you need to check it out. He shares interesting reflections, writerly thoughts and slice-of-life stuff. It’s kind of like sitting around in a writer’s café and chatting with the group. You can find Entertaining Stories here.

If you hop over today, you’ll also find me there as well. Craig and I are doing a blog swap, each of us posting on various aspects of researching a novel. So check out the informative post below (along with Craig’s most recent release, THE COCK OF THE SOUTH), then hop over to Entertaining Stories to see what I’ve got to share!

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The Cock of the South is a dwarven fantasy set in a Greco-Roman environment. It involves a group of scattered races coming together to face a common enemy. You can check it out here.

~ooOOoo~

Mae Clair and I are doing a blog swap today. She’s over at my blog discussing the depths of her research for her WIP about the Mothman. To get your Mae Clair fix today, you’ll have to visit my blog at https://coldhandboyack.wordpress.com

I’m here today to talk about my own version of research. I come up with some pretty wild things for my stories, but I’ve found it easier to fertilize my imagination somewhat. Maybe I should call it pre-research. To that end I use two special apps.

The first one is my RSS reader. This allows me to subscribe to topics that interest me. As a writer of science fiction, fantasy, and paranormal it helps to have data pushed to me. I get articles on archaeology, space exploration, webcomics, fantasy art and more this way.

I also use something called Zite Magazine. This allows me to subscribe to content that interests me, but it allows me to refine it. When you first pick a category, the app searches for the word. “Voodoo” will return information about doughnut shops, Jimmy Hendrix music, voodoo economics, and a bunch of other stuff you don’t want. Zite comes with a thumbs up or down option to help refine your results. Spend a month with it and you’ll be learning all about Gris Gris Bags and Black Cat Oil.

But wait, there’s more! I save time by checking these feeds daily. Not everything is awesome, and some days it’s just a quick surf. When I find something of interest I move it to my living documents.

I keep living documents on my iPad with names like Cryptids, Science Fiction, and Paranormal. I add a few notes, and include the link to the article. Now I have a handy reference guide when I need a story element or maybe even a central theme. I also save neat articles and post about them on my blog on occasion. I call these my Idea Mill posts.

My living documents aren’t fancy. They’re just notes for me, but they grow over time. If a note says, Black Shuck the Hellhound of Suffolk, that’s all I need. I can paste that into any search engine and get tons of data. (Try it, and learn all about Black Shuck) As the documents grow, I organize them into categories like ghosts, voodoo, witchcraft, etc.

Here’s an example of how this helped me out. I was writing a science fiction story called Arson at the time. Zite Magazine pushed me an article about micro-thin electronic circuits that would dissolve in water. The purpose was to use them in surgical applications one day. Wow, they’d probably wash away in a fire hose too. Look Ma, no evidence. The idea wouldn’t have occurred to me in a million years, but Zite provided a seed.

I received a post about an archaeological dig in Ancient Rome. It was all about a rock with a prayer carved on it. Apparently the ancients would place the rock on an outcrop and grind it clockwise while repeating the prayer. It also worked counterclockwise as a curse. I tucked it away in a living document, and thought no more about it. When I needed a little something for a novel called Panama, there it was.

I also keep living documents about various writing lessons. It’s just a handy place to remind myself of a suspense trick, or a plotting device that might help me out. Right now I need to improve my section on Asian magic and fantasy. I could use more data about Asian dragons too. I have a rough idea for a short story that could use a little kick in the pants.

All thanks to Mae Clair for inviting me here today. I hope you found my pre-research tips helpful.

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26 thoughts on “Guest Blogger C. S. Boyack on Pre-Research”

coldhandboyack on February 12, 2015 at 8:18 AM said:

Thanks so much for hosting me today. They’re going to enjoy your post over at my place too. I’ll check in periodically for comments.

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- Mae Clair on February 12, 2015 at 12:44 PM said:
  
  Hi, Craig. I LOVE your suggestions for pre-research. I’m definitely going to check into Zite, and the living documents idea is a great one. I have scattered notes and lists, but–duh!–I need something on my iPad. Why didn’t I think of that, LOL?
  
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Loni Flowres on February 12, 2015 at 10:29 AM said:

Thanks for sharing your tips, Craig. You listed some really awesome ideas I would have never thought of. I think my biggest problems is reading something and having that brief thought that this could “work” somewhere in a future story, but then forgetting all about it later. It would be great to create a file specifically for this purpose! Not to mention finding some really cool stuff online.

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- coldhandboyack on February 12, 2015 at 10:54 AM said:
  
  The living documents really work for me. I keep quite a few updated. I learn something cool, then forget all about it at my age. While writing, I can pull one up and maybe weave something into a story. I have some with editing tips, writing tips, all kinds of things.
  
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- Mae Clair on February 12, 2015 at 12:45 PM said:
  
  I’m like you, Loni. I do the same thing…jot notes, or tuck a subject away, and then forget all about them. I’m going to start something tonight on my iPad. Craig’s ideas rock!
  
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carmens007 on February 12, 2015 at 11:52 AM said:

Interesting and useful info. Zite sounds extremely useful to authors. I’ve just checked it and, unfortunately, it appears to be only for phones and any other devices.Thanks for sharing with us!

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- coldhandboyack on February 12, 2015 at 12:35 PM said:
  
  It’s an app on my ipad, so that may be true. It’s a handy one though.
  
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- Mae Clair on February 12, 2015 at 12:46 PM said:
  
  Hi, Carmen. Thanks for dropping by to check out Craig’s post. Sorry you won’t be able to make use of Zite, but hopefully, you picked up something else from his post that will benefit! 🙂
  
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coldhandboyack on February 12, 2015 at 2:49 PM said:

Reblogged this on Entertaining Stories and commented:
I’m posting over at Mae Clair’s blog today. I hope you’re all enjoying her research into the Mothman. My topic involves pre-research. Check it out by going there today. Please consider following her blog while you’re there.

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- Mae Clair on February 12, 2015 at 8:23 PM said:
  
  Thanks so much, Craig. You rock! 🙂
  
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Daisy Banks on February 13, 2015 at 12:14 PM said:

Interesting post and for me very educational. I research in the most haphazzard way and this will perhaps help me tidy my processes up a bit. Thank you.

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- Mae Clair on February 13, 2015 at 1:12 PM said:
  
  I’m with you on that, Daisy. My research could definitely be more organized. I’m going to adapt some of Craig’s methods. Glad to hear you found his post helpful!
  
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- coldhandboyack on February 13, 2015 at 2:16 PM said:
  
  Give it a test drive. Maybe you’ll find something even better, then you can teach me. In all writing, we keep what works and discard the rest. If it doesn’t work for you, you really haven’t lost anything.
  
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Flossie Benton Rogers on February 13, 2015 at 2:40 PM said:

Thanks for sharing some great ideas, Craig. Like Mae, I have too many little notes strewn about. I have added your book to my TBR. It sounds fascinating.

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- coldhandboyack on February 13, 2015 at 3:09 PM said:
  
  Thank you so much. I hope the living documents help clear your desk space a bit. Enjoy the story.
  
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- Mae Clair on February 14, 2015 at 3:32 PM said:
  
  Happy to have you drop by, Flossie. I do think Craig’s ideas will help with all those notes we tend to jot and then forget about. There are so many great ideas out there…how wonderful to have a place to capture them all!
  
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mihrank on February 14, 2015 at 5:07 AM said:

there are many practical and great ideas – Very much appreciate it!!

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- coldhandboyack on February 14, 2015 at 10:35 AM said:
  
  Glad you found them helpful.
  
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- Mae Clair on February 14, 2015 at 3:33 PM said:
  
  Hi, Mihrank. Thanks for reading. I’m glad you found Craig’s ideas helpful! 🙂
  
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  - mihrank on February 14, 2015 at 7:17 PM said:
    
    Hi Mae Clair – you have a powerful and strong concept of interviews – My Music director was impressed… I am in good hopes You can conduct an interview with me well!
    
    https://kmihran.wordpress.com/2015/02/14/a-piano-interview-with-mihran-mino-kalaydjian/
    
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  - Mae Clair on February 16, 2015 at 12:51 PM said:
    
    By all means contact me (my email is on the Pen Pals header tab of my blog) and let’s set something up. I’ve never featured a musician before, but your stuff is beautiful and I’d be happy to have you as a guest! 🙂
    
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Emma on February 15, 2015 at 4:19 PM said:

Thanks for sharing your research methods, Craig.

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- coldhandboyack on February 15, 2015 at 5:37 PM said:
  
  Thank you for reading and commenting.
  
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- Mae Clair on February 16, 2015 at 12:51 PM said:
  
  Thanks for visiting, Emma!
  
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Donna Cummings on February 18, 2015 at 1:57 PM said:

What a great post! I think my imagination is always getting fertilized. LOL The trick is trying to keep track of all the resulting stuff. I’ve opened a random Word doc and typed in the idea, but it doesn’t always make for easy retrieval when I want it. You’ve given me some good ideas on how to get all these things organized!

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- Mae Clair on February 18, 2015 at 7:33 PM said:
  
  Hey, Donna, great to have you drop by. I’m like you with the Word doc…jotting notes but not the best for retrieving. I’ve already added Zite to my iPad and want to set up something like Craig’s Living Documents. I thought he had some awesome ideas. Glad you found them helpful!
  
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