Support for Indie Authors discussion

I hesitate between Writers Workshop and here. I hope I wasn't wrong,

I am writing a romance novel. I am using a fanfiction I wrote a few years ago and I am rewriting it to add more fluff, more background, change things here and there, and, making the story more rich.
I ran into a problem while re-writing a part where the hero is kidnap. The thing is, in the fanfiction, I didn't need to establish geopolitics, relation between nations and so. But now, I need this to establish why the hero is taken.
But I am afraid that, by stopping to making research I'll lose my momentum in writing.

Any suggestion? Should I continue re-writing everything, even if it's wonky and then do my research to modify and correct things?
Or should I stop, do my research and then go again at writing?

All suggestions are Welcome!

Either one works, I've done it both ways. You can either write it, then figure out what politics and legalities make it work, or you can do the research first. I generally prefer to do the research first just to be sure that I have a way to make it work, but if I'm pressed for time, I just write it and work out the background details later.

I say write first. Never stop momentum; it can be hard to get it back. Plus, it let's you write without constraints. It's always easier to modify than create.

This is one of those things where it's really up to you. Play to your own strengths.

I would suspect a majority of writers would find that it's better to get the rough draft finished first, then fill in the details and do the research. It's a little unclear if you're completely revising a story already written or if that story is merely the skeleton of a new story. The more new stuff you're adding and the more changes you're making, the more I would suspect it would be best to get the rough draft down, then research. After all, at some point in the process you might realize you don't need the scenes for which you're researching.

Dwayne wrote: "This is one of those things where it's really up to you. Play to your own strengths.

I would suspect a majority of writers would find that it's better to get the rough draft finished first, then ..."

The story was a fanfiction, so I have to add lots of things (flesh out the characters, background, etc) but the way the story is going to play out should be the same... Or at least that's what I am planning.
Right now I'm stuck with this question and, as it is one of the key moments (for the moment), I want to be sure it's believable.

It depends how much you could potentially mess up your story if an assumption you make without researching first turns out to be incorrect. If there is the potential that you'd have to go back and change a large amount of your work or possibly change the story itself you might want to research first, If it's more a case of not knowing all the details and perhaps making some minor errors you probably want to write first and go back and add details later.

It depends also on whether you feel you can go on writing without doing this research - if you have a lot of momentum (and it sounds like you do) then probably just keep going. If you feel stuck and not sure what to do next, maybe do the research first :)

It you are writing and you are in the zone, then put in red RESEARCH and keep going. You can get it later when you aren't writing. Same with name or places put TBD in red and you can decide on those things later. This is a trick well known authors use when writing so it doesn't interrupt what they are doing, especially if they know where they are headed for the writing session.

If editing, different story. Do that research or make those decisions so the story is more together for the second or third draft. Hope that helps.

Thank you all for your answers.

I am not at the editing part, I am really rewriting the story and, as B.A. just suggested, I am adding notes and comments as I am writing, asking myself things, etc.
So, I am going to continue writing, until the end of the story or until my inspiration get stuck in my lack of knowledge.

Thank you again to all of you! It's really appreciated.

If the points of your fiction are dependent upon certain things in the real world being factual, then you probably need to do more research. If they're not wholly dependent, then it's probably not a sticking point.
Given that you already have an outcome in mind, you could continue writing towards that outcome while researching. If the co-dependent facts don't support all of your story thread, you can then go back and bend your story to fit the facts.
I had to do that with some nuclear sub operational details because I found a former crewman who read segments and pointed out stuff that didn't fit the facts. None affected the outcome.

My approach is to stop and research. The reason is that if you have to have a piece in the story that bridges to a later part, if you later find that your bridge simply doesn't work once you look at the facts, you now have a problem. It may not be fixable. If you do the research,I sometimes find the bridging section goes somewhere I had not expected, and that means I have to alter the later parts, but since nI haven't written them yet, I am not committed. Yes, I had them in my mind, but it is surprising how easy it is to forget them when it becomes highly desirable to change.

I personally stop and do the research, but then again, I love to do the research anyway. For me, it actually helps the creative process and gives better depth to my writing. For example, in my first novel, there is a scene of a few chapters that is set on Mars. I scoured the topological data on Google Mars for days to get all of the details I wanted, but by the time I was done, I felt like it made the writing so much more vibrant to have all of that research fresh in mind. Several features of the planet were used, but most importantly, I stumbled onto a single crater that I knew was the perfect location for my astronaut camp. I was able to visualize the entire layout of the camp and describe it in much greater detail that I could have otherwise.

Also, I think it depends on whether your story is about actual people who lived and actual events that occurred, or if your characters are entirely made up. The historical fiction I write involves actual people and events, and readers of that sort of novel can be quite particular about accuracy!

The outline I first put together for my novel had to be revised based on additional research I did. For me it is easier to do the research rather than to backtrack and change timing, motivations, etc.

The characters are all 'made up' as they are inspired by norse mythology.
I already know a good bit about norse mythology but I want two things:
describe the people in a 'realistic' way, with details about costume, habits, food, etc, from the ancient period.
use events that happened in mythology and real life to shape the political and geographical background of my book.

And then my husband tells me it's a simple romance novella and I don't need all that... :/

Emmanuelle wrote: "And then my husband tells me it's a simple romance novella and I don't need all that..."

*grumble* Maybe you don't need all that, but you WANT all that and it's your book. I bet there's an audience for a complex romance novel. Keep going!

I hope there is an audience, but, to be fair, I write it more for myself and the pleasure to write than anything else. If I succeed in finish it with the level of details I want, I would be satisfied.

If you are writing primarily for yourself, what anyone else thinks is irrelevant. If they want to read it, well and good, but ignore the negatives. It is only if you want to reach a larger audience should you be concerned with what they think, and even then remember you are never going to please everyone.

Emmanuelle wrote: "But now, I need this to establish why the hero is taken...."

Go to the 'motivation of the bad guys,'

Is it personal? If so, stop research - the bad guys have it in for the hero for a specifically personal reason and the political backdrop is just cover and can be drawn lightly in the background while you focus on the personal motivation to 'get the hero!'

Is it impersonal: If so - make it personal - you're writing a romance novel - all the major character interactions will be driven by deeply help personal motivations.

In both cases, the need for lengthy research has just been side-stepped.

Happy writing.

@Ian: I have to be honest : publishing and having some people reading my story? That would be a blast! ;)

@Graeme: I have to admit I didn't see it that way... Until I read you're post! I think you just touch something. I have to add more personal motivations in this story.
Thanks a lot!

Cool.

Finally, I read all those advices, re-read some of them and, I've come to the conclusion that I need to do three things:

one: stop writing this chapter and the next two
second: research on those aspect I need to deepen everything in there
three: continue writing on the last few chapters.

The thing is: the chapters at the end of the story are 'classical' romance: hero and heroin finally get together, speak together, resolve unresolved conflict, live happily for a while/forever after.

but, I really need to know more before finishing those three chapters. Because I need to know why the hero had been betrayed, I need to know why someone would take such a risk knowing the position of the hero.
and depending of who it is, from which faction? It will have an impact on how the heroin is getting back her love interest: in secret? full war? without anyone knowing? what will be the impact of retrieving the hero?
anyway, I am rambling about my story.

I thank all of you for all your advice, it has helped see what I was missing and I needed, not just to do, but to feel comfortable writing!

Just my very biased opinion, Norse mythology=awesomeness bonus.

Haru wrote: "Just my very biased opinion, Norse mythology=awesomeness bonus."
isn't it? I just looooove Norse mythology.

:p And I'm biased because I'm part Nordic so I can't say much, but yeah. Everything containing Norse mythology ramps up in epicness. Especially if it has Loki in it. (Family likes Thor better).

Have you played Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor? It has some nice Norse mythology weaved in the plot.

Continue writing. Only research what you need at the moment.

continue writing and research when you writing.