Introductions and Conducting Research.

Hey everyone! This is Sareh. Since I got too busy to make the schedule, I'm posting out of my specific day. But anyways, before I get on with my topic, here's a little bit about me.

I'm an undergraduate major at a university you've probably never heard of, who is constantly explaining what her major is. I spend my free time writing novels (I've finished two and am hoping to query one in the summer!), playing music, chatting with friends, playing a violin, and generally being crazy. You'll find me in the history club, drawing, painting, shooting a bow, engaging in random sword fights on campus, singing, taking photos (some of which you can see here on my DevianART page), listening to music, making jewelry, blogging here and here, playing badminton, working at her two jobs on campus, and some how managing to do my homework!

I read a lot as well, mostly in the same genres that I write. Fantasy and Science fiction are my main genres, although I also write romance, dystopian, paranormal, urban fantasy, historical fiction, and sometimes contemporary fiction.

Onto Victory! Research style!
If you've ever actually tried to get a good grade on research papers in school, you'll know that research takes a lot of work. If you've been to college yet, you'll understand that research in high school is barely anything compared to doing it in college. If you happened to pick an enjoyable topic, you might have even enjoyed doing research. But if you're like most people, research is boring!

But not here! Not on my watch! I'm here today to give you some tips on researching for your novels, stories, or even that research paper you need to do.

Step 0
First of all, we must realize a couple of things before we even get into researching. First of all, here, you are researching most likely for stories. Which means that a) you can use whatever source you want, b) you can use as little or as many sources as you want. Secondly, researching for stories doesn't only apply for historical fiction or non-fiction.

Step 1
Decide on a topic. Start broad for the very first step. 1920s? Cats? Rabbits? Native Americans before the French came? Then, what's your focus? Are you researching the culture of the 1920s? Are you trying to find out how people greeted each other in the Renaissance? Why do cats purr?

Step 2
Gather your resources and make a list of every site/book/article/etc you use. You may not have to include a bibliography in your book, but its a good idea in case you need to come back to a source and in case you ever do need to produce a list, you have one.

Don't be afraid to look for lots of different sources. Use magazines, your local library, a neighbor's library collection, call up that old professor you used to kinda be friends with, use google, really cool looking websites, sketchy-ish websites, TV, movies, music, youtube, wikipedia, maps, scholarly sources, peer reviewed journals, books, etc.

Now this is also the point in time where I'd like to encourage you to check your facts. Remember that no matter where you get your information from, it may not always be correct, up-to-date, or credible. Peer reviewed journals and scholarly sources and books probably have the most credible sources. Now if you're writing pure fantasy or something where you can make everything up (but say, you're still basing your culture off of the Ming Dynasty), you don't always have to check your facts, because of course, you can make everything up. But if you're writing say, historical fiction, contemporary fiction, science fiction (and not like "fluffy" science fiction, but hard science fiction that uses a lot of science), you'll want to check your facts.

Yeah, as a fiction author, you have some leeway, depending on your genre, but remember that you don't want to look like that stupid author who said that TV was invented in the 1500s (unless you're writing some fictional world that mixes 1500s with modern day technology). And the more credible your research, the more believable your story will be.

Step 3
Scourer your selected sources for any relevant research or enlist the help of friends or librarians or whoever. Take a sheet of paper, a pen, a laptop, note cards, or whatever and write down the information you want. Make sure to list the source, page number (if possible or title of article, just something to identify the source and where in it you got the information from), and tuck it away for later when you need it.

The reason you want to do this is so that you always know where you got your information from. Even if its something someone told you, write it down. You never know when you might need it, or need to know where you got it from.

Step 4
Figure out what exact information you want to use and where you want to use it in your story. Remember that you don't have to use everything you find, but the more you know, the richer your story will be.

Also remember to never directly copy and paste something you found into your story unless you're prepared to cite it and make a works cited page (and honestly, who wants to take the time to do that in a story?). Don't even paraphrase! Any time you use direct information, make sure to put it in your own words, make it original. I cannot stress enough how much you DO NOT want to be caught stealing someone else's work or words or whatever (and yes, paraphrasing can be considered stealing too, so be careful). In fact, don't even THINK about stealing someone else's work!

Step 5
Most importantly, even if you enjoy research or not, remember to try and have fun! Research can lead you to some very interesting new ideas you never knew, give you a broader understanding of a subject, enrich your story, and even give you a new story idea or a plot twist!

Important things to remember:

1. DON'T.EVER.STEAL. Always give credit where its due. 
2. You don't have to use everything you find. The more you know, the better. 
3. You can use as many sources as you want, or as little. 
4. You can use as much of a source or as little as you want. 
5. Don't be afraid to use different types of sources and different mediums. 
6. Research isn't so big or scary once you get down to it.
7. Every story can use a bit of research here and there. 
8. Keep lists of what sources you use. 

Love, 

Sareh