Saturday, July 14, 2018

Can a person get bogged down by science fiction research?


I discovered my interest in writing a few years ago. I was extremely stressed out from work, and so out of the blue, I sat down to write science fiction every night for a week. Although I have been writing for three years now, I still consider myself an aspiring author. I have never been published -- my efforts never get past a few chapters.


I started a novel about memes, chaos theory, and the weather, and I formulated a long list of questions that I think the novel would need to answer. I think I've made a wonderful start, but I get bogged down with my science fiction writing when I feel like I need to do extensive research. I don't know if this normal or healthy.


I found this article interesting: "The Real Science Of Science Fiction". I understand it to state that oftentimes writing science fiction does involve a great deal of scholarly research. Indeed, I am good at pursuing search strategies: Right now I have compiled upwards of ninety books, articles, and websites that I could use for inspiration and to answer the questions on my list. That number of resources could potentially triple. I guess it is a good thing to have resources. I am learning an awful lot too -- I do consider myself a lifetime learner.


I seem to have put myself in a double bind: I feel like I should be busy writing actual prose, but I give myself a trip that my prose isn't researched enough. How can I resolve this crisis?




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