help with research for book have you done this?

[almostanangel]

right first hello im new on this thread,..... i am writing my first book which is fictional but based on real places but during the forties.i am free this week as the children are home and thought i would travel to london which would not only give the children a day out but also gie me achnce to check out the places in my book and see what is as i imagine would be now a few buildings are there now which are in my book from then ,and i need to see how much they have change.if that makes sence.has anyone else done this sort of research?.........also i havent been writing it for long but isnt it addictive its now my goal to get this published as i feel i owe it to the main people in it does that make sence as they are just figments of my imagination or am i mad lol.

Yeah, I think it's imperative to do that kind of research. I'm not a novelist but there are several in my circle of friends, some of whom have discussed their research methods a little. My best friend did the kind of research that you're describing, but took it a step further. She tried to become her main character by going everywhere the character went: a McDonalds in inner city Queens (NYC), or a Montauk beach in winter. She even took the same job her main characcter had. She really got into the character's head, the way an actor might.

On the other hand, a writer like my ex (& yet another ex, too, come to think of it), is more sedentary about research. He reads. For example, he's doing a scene about a French dinner party right now. Though he's been to many a French dinner party, he decided it was also important to read a book about a French dinner party--which he says he now has to promptly forget so there's no danger of stealing it in some overt way. And because one of his characters is a film-maker, he's been watching & re-watchng loads of films about film-making and photography in order to better understand the mind of a director.

Good luck with your book! It sounds really interesting.

clearly you're mad and it!

expat kit thank you thats a great help .its very addictive .

have to grill you for some tips on getting published!! you know its not what you know its who you know

fionagib & ggglimpopo might be able to help with the how-to-get-published end. . .fionagib has published a few novels, and ggglimpopo is about to publish her first.

In the case of my friends, they just sent their manuscripts cold to agents (whom they'd researched first) and were picked up that way. Connections aren't always the way forward, thankfully.

thats really helpfull thank you i willl put a shout out for them later ,,

good luck with your book. I have a ghost stories book coming out in january and a childrens book due out early next year.

It's a great feeling writing a book. Enjoy it!!

pinkroses congratulations! would you mind if i catted you for some hints?

no probs...ask me anything. Hope I can help.

great! just to say i have my first offical writers block lol

pinkroses you about??

yes...what can I do for you?????

can you please give honest opinion on my dedication lol!!!!?? yes very premiture i know

its on the past lives regretion thread by the way

Hi. Can't comment really as I am not sure what your book is about. If you want to give me a brief outline, then I could give my honest opinion.

Sorry I've not bee too much help.

lol thank you pr...have made up my mind in last few minutes totaly wrong! so never mind but thanks for popping up!

how do you work out how many words per page /etc?