Well, I'm writing a trilogy now that requires massive amounts of research. I'm a revise-as-I-go author anyway; I write a section, print it out, and immediately rewrite it. It makes the first draft take FOREVER to write, but it's probably the cleanest first draft you've ever seen in your life. I'll just have to proofread for technical errors and cut the verbosity when it's done.
But as far as heavy research goes, it boggles my mind to think of leaving it until later. For minor details, I could see--if that's your writing style--leaving a note to look it up later. A word in another language, for example. But for visiting the Parthenon as my characters do? How do you write that scene at ALL without research?
Same goes for a fight scene and weapons research. How do you write a fight scene if you haven't a clue of how the weapons are used or how many rounds the pistol can hold or how bad the recoil is? I don't see a complete, logical scene coming out of that, and I guess that's my standard for a "finished" first draft. You've got to at least have a logical plot progression, beginning, middle, and end, to call your draft "done."
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2006-11-21 11:40 pm (UTC)But as far as heavy research goes, it boggles my mind to think of leaving it until later. For minor details, I could see--if that's your writing style--leaving a note to look it up later. A word in another language, for example. But for visiting the Parthenon as my characters do? How do you write that scene at ALL without research?
Same goes for a fight scene and weapons research. How do you write a fight scene if you haven't a clue of how the weapons are used or how many rounds the pistol can hold or how bad the recoil is? I don't see a complete, logical scene coming out of that, and I guess that's my standard for a "finished" first draft. You've got to at least have a logical plot progression, beginning, middle, and end, to call your draft "done."