I've been mostly writing a synopsis for the last week, but I've also needed to do some research, not only for the story I'm working on now, but the one that's next up. I hope to transition by Feb 1 to the new project and need information to hang the story on.
The thing that's so awesome about research is it can bring in new threads to the story that I was unaware of before I found out more information. I had exciting things pop up on both projects and that is so cool!
On the Work In Progress (WIP), I found out information about what my heroine is doing for her job. I'd like to go into detail here, but won't because this isn't sold yet. It did, however, add an entirely new layer to the story. My heroine has a strained relationship with her parents. They had her life all plotted out for her, but she broke away from the script and they turn the screws to try to get her back on their track whenever they talk to her. What I discovered adds another conflict between Zo and her mom and dad. As if they didn't have enough already. Hehehe. (That's my evil author laugh.)
But layers of conflict are a good thing. Maybe the fact that Zo decided not to walk the path they wanted isn't strong enough in some readers' minds for the amount of strain that's there. Adding in this new area of conflict reinforces it and this is a deep philosophical difference, something both sides feel strongly about. On top of everything else, yeah, it should sustain the rift nicely.
While researching the WIP focuses on more specific information, researching for an upcoming project involves a more general type of study. This overview look is critical for setting the foundation of the book in my mind. Sometimes what I'm looking for in Pre-Book research will never show up in the story itself, but it's stuff that I need to know either as background or to world build.
I blogged last Thursday about the head rush I got as information about my heroine flowed in. I got a different kind of head rush that night when I began researching the story. This was critical for a big piece of the world building which mean it impacts everything--the characters, their backgrounds, the world around them, really just everything.
I kind of knew I wanted to do this, but from what I'd heard in the media, I didn't think my idea would be right. Thursday night I researched it and found out what I want to do will work perfectly. It was OMG PERFECT! All capital letters and exclamation marks. :-) The more I read, the more excited I got. It worked on every level for what I needed. No fudging, no exaggerating, no having to come up with a different plan to create the world I see around the characters. Woot!
The only drawback? Learning my idea would work gave me an adrenaline surge that kept me up too late Thursday night. Thank heavens for coffee!
