How much research do you guys do for your own writing? The writer of the Justice League movie said that he might not write part 2 because the amount of research he had to do for each character was exhausting.
I kind of feel like a lazy writer for not doing research. All that I write has always come from the gut. Do you think research makes you a better writer?
>>7800311
some research is needed to reassure the reader you know what you're talking about. research can be helpful to a writer to discover details he/she may be unfamiliar with, but it really depends on how the research is applied in the narrative.
to be frank, i distrust any writer who blatantly says he/she does not do any research when writing fiction. it tells me he/she is lazy and does not take the craft seriously. if he/she does not, then why should i pay any attention to his/her writing?
mind you, writing from the gut, as you say, is not a negative quality, per se. however, i'd say do so for the first draft. for the second, research the topic/subject you wrote about and edit accordingly. trust me, research never hurts.
>>7800311
Absolutely tons. And it is fucking exhausting. If you do any research, you quickly find even minute topics have whole fields dedicated to them, with intricate details.
>>7800311
All he would have to to is read shitloads of comic books and a few Wikipedia articles. If he finds the idea of that "exhausting" and not entertaining, then he probably shouldn't be directing a superhero movie.
>>7800311
I'm writing a story about a series of ritual murders in a big European city in the 1700s. You wouldn't believe how deep you have to dig to accurately depict the city and the life of its people.
Architecture, food, language, social behavior, ongoing events in the surrounding world. Takes a toll, I haven't written a single line yet.
>>7802522
Are you aware that writers don't direct movies?
Hence why they are called writers and not directors, which the people who direct movies are called
>>7802522
He's not directing the movie, he's writing it. And he also has to study the biology and the physics behind all of it.
>>7802537
Damn man! Good luck with that. Most of what I write is contemporary so I don't do nearly as much research as I do.
For this upcoming short story I want to write, it's about a marriage and how the marriage dissolved over time. So I think I'll definitely research failing marriages and why they go bad.
There are literally thousands of JLA stories out there. if he did his research and only has ideas for two movies, then he's not that creative, tbf.
>>7802993
Warner Bros. planned and put aside money for two movies. So he has to do what Warner wants him to do.
>>7803028
ah, gotcha. i misread the OP.
however, i think any writer who will refuse to tackle a project citing exhaustive research is probably not that much of a writer in the first place.
>>7803203
I'm just getting back into writing after taking a rather long hiatus from it. So I'm slowly learning more and more and relearning more about the craft. I realize now that I have a lot of catching up to do.
As I stated before, my next story I want to write is about how a marriage slowly dissolves and goes from being great to being terrible. So I'm definitely going to do more research on failed marriages and why the love feeling doesn't last.
>>7803218
that's a good premise. seems like an expansive one, though, and maybe better suited for a novella or novel? or maybe a series of short stories? good luck with it, though.
have you read any Raymond Carver? he deals with similar themes in his stories.
>>7803239
I came up with this premise because my university is doing a writing contest and I figured it would be a relevant topic because at my school, everyone gets married so young and it's scary. I like the idea of a novella or a series of short stories. What I want to write might be far too much for 20 pages now that you mention it. But I think in 20 pages I can still fit in a lot.
I'll definitely read some Raymond Carver now that you mention it.
>>7803250
the stories i've read of his are more vignette style but with the common theme of adult boredom and the tediousness of it, marriage included. again, good luck with the writing.
The equivalent amount of research done by an average student for 30 homework assignments. So like, 2 hours of Wikipedia.
I feel the same way, OP
>>7803514
What's your writing process like?
>>7803536
I write mostly based on the ideas I have, not researching much unless I know I'm going to a place where I really wouldn't know how to proceed without researching it first.
When I start editing, I research more, although I'm never sure how much is enough. I'm also not sure whether the added details just speak "HEY, I read about this so I included this so you'll know I'm in the know, ain't I smart?", even if I try to make them blend in, and obviously I don't include all the facts I learn. Still, I find it hard to be objective about how my work seems.
>>7803545
Yeah I'm kind of the same way. I never do much research since with a lot of my stories I'm always very vague and ambiguous with a lot of things.
Like a previous poster in this thread said, if I'm going to write about something set in the 1700s or any time in the past, I think I would do a lot of heavy duty research for that. Or if I'm writing about established characters.
>>7803545
yeah, it's all about how you apply the research. knowing inside details of a certain topic can enhance a reader's immersion in a fiction. you can never go wrong with knowing too much, can you? by the same token, don't be a dunce and include every little detail you learned about a topic. that's overkill and interrupts the flow of a narrative.
Depends what I'm writing.
