Tuesday 24 January 2012

Writing, Research, and Random Thoughts

There's nothing wrong with the present day. I like living in it very much. But writing in it? Not for me. I love to write about the past. I love to imagine how things were. I'm only vaguely interested in the stuff we're taught at school - Kings, Queens, politicians, famous people - although I confess to something of a passion for Charles II. What interests me most about the past are the lives of ordinary people. Where they lived. How they lived. To me, the filthy grime of the city slums and the characters within it are infinitely more fascinating than a stately home stuffed full of Lords and Ladies.

I'm lucky enough to live in London where you can still find Fagin-style tenements, Jack the Ripper streets, and airy atmospheric centuries-old markets. A writer can find inspiration anywhere but by walking the streets of a city, you can transport yourself back in time and really imagine what it would have been like way back when. In London there are writing prompts all over the place: The Pleasure Gardens at the Museum of London, a model of old London Bridge at the Docklands Museum, and a wonderful history of medicine at the Science Museum. On a recent hospital stay at St Thomas', I even found a glass case full of old apothecary jars and scales that were identical to the ones I describe in my novel.

The internet is a fantastic place for research, but nothing beats the real thing, real buildings, real objects. The only thing to remember is to always take a camera and a notebook with you!

19 comments:

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    1. You have no idea how long it took me to put it up there! :-)

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  2. Great blog! Very true. I love research - hence my column on research in Writers' Forum. This proves you can find interesting artefacts everywhere. Did you take a photo or the jars and scales? Fantastic background for your blog too. Very clever. I'm totally impressed.
    xx

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    1. Was too busy throwing up (foul pre-op drinks combined with nerves) to take photos! Glad you're impressed!!

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  3. I couldn't agree more. The internet is fabulous but there is nothing like the real experience. I went to Normandy last year in order to do research for my novel. I wanted to know what it felt like, smelt like or even sounded like. I could watch school groups as they went round the museums and I got so much useful information that didn't necessarily make it into my novel but it did inform it.
    BTW LOVE the background ;-)

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    1. There's nothing like the real thing, as they, but I'm quite happy just to imagine the smells of 17th Century London! I'm sure Normandy is more fragrant.

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  4. What was St George's Field and what is the figurative illustration in the map in your background? I agree, being there makes you feel like you were there! Good luck with your novel, Sue

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    1. Thank you, Sue! This iss the Hollar map of 17th Century London. Lots more detail(click on the map) and colour here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:17th_century_map_of_London_(W.Hollar).jpg

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  5. Gorgeous background. That is what I love about living in London, those Monet moments in trains stations.

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    1. I know! I always thought I'd like to move out of London but now I know how much I'd miss it.

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  6. Lovely post! And I love the Hollar map detail. History is my great love, too, especially the 17th century, and I agree there's so much you can learn just by walking the streets. Amazing that you saw those bottles at St Thomas' (though I wish the circumstances had been better)!

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    1. Even better you can visit Apothecary's Hall during Open House London (September) and see lots of them! Was back at St Thomas' but forgot phone/camera - hopeless!

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  7. It is a nice background! Very easy on the eye. Blog bookmarked!

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    1. It's a beautiful (copyright free) background. You'd have laughed to see how long it took me to put it up here! :-)

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  8. I'm too lazy for research ! But i love love love reading books that inadvertently teach me about the past - and you're right - the back ground is fabulous ;o)

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    1. Oh but research is the best part! You can visit places, read books, faff about on Google and Wikipedia and say you're actually writing!

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  9. I go to the future - less research required - I just make it up!
    Lovely to see your blogging (and website backgrounds!! the amount of time you can spend on these; believe me, I know :O)

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    1. You can make up a lot of historical stuff too. I mean, really, who knows! I go for a degree of authenticity!

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  10. Wonderful post! (Until the bit about the hairdryer . . .) Thought everyone was commenting on your wonderful choice of plain white background, maybe with a bit of sarcasm dropped in - then realised they are all seeing something I'm not! Must be something wrong with my computer.

    Good luck with the book!

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