tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5680746770808032142.post2334923080266654522..comments2023-10-15T07:06:56.869-07:00Comments on John B. Rosenman, SF/F/Horror Writer: BUT YOU'VE NEVER BEEN THERE!John B. Rosenmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08067884623915076753noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5680746770808032142.post-56867993405707109782013-12-30T07:48:53.768-08:002013-12-30T07:48:53.768-08:00You're welcome, LR. I also create countries a...You're welcome, LR. I also create countries and cultures and worlds of my own, partly because I don't know other countries and cultures that well and also because I just like to make them up. It occurs to me that if I write about countries I haven't visited, they're more likely to be in the rather distant past. The Nauru and Nigeria, for example, which I mention in my article, are centuries old. So it's less likely I will offend someone or create a negative opinion of a culture, or more important, that someone will catch me on a factual error or two or ten and say, "Aha, it isn't or wasn't like that!"John B. Rosenmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08067884623915076753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5680746770808032142.post-8927604236414889332013-12-29T08:12:11.150-08:002013-12-29T08:12:11.150-08:00I've always been afraid to write about countri... I've always been afraid to write about countries I haven't visited, and worked around it by creating my own. This works for me as I can portray a culture without fear of a reader forming a negative opinion of a culture, or offending anyone. I've had exposure to many different cultures, so I just mask them with a new nationality. <br />After reading this post though, I'm having second thoughts. Maybe I will write about a real country I haven't visited in my WIP.<br />Thanks for giving me the boost, John. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08751196535459576514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5680746770808032142.post-14421408964708308552013-12-24T10:30:43.823-08:002013-12-24T10:30:43.823-08:00Thanks for the comments. Elle -- yes, research is...Thanks for the comments. Elle -- yes, research is key. Wikipedia usually won't cut it. I earned a Ph.D. in English, but it's amazing how the Internet can seduce you and make you lazy. You need the best sources, and you need to get away from your monitor now and then. Use the best and multiple sources wherever possible and strive to be skeptical. Charlotte -- excellent point. Fiction writing is or should be more imagination than fact searching. I guess if I have to learn too many facts about a culture, they become an impediment. The imagination, the central inspiring idea should be the thing, the reason I wanted to write the story in the first place. Too many facts, and there's the chance I may trip over some of them and get them wrong. Then the reader will shout, "Aha! You screwed up!"John B. Rosenmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08067884623915076753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5680746770808032142.post-73049049682015591732013-12-24T09:23:34.527-08:002013-12-24T09:23:34.527-08:00I usually write about places I've never been b...I usually write about places I've never been because, face it, I'm not a world traveler. I also write unexpected remarkable stories about unremarkable places I have been. That takes imagination, too . . . the "what if" of the writer's trade. By and large I tend to believe fiction writing is more imagination than it is fact searching, though I do research the things I need to add to make the story believable.Gypsy Shadow Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06533356140565237095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5680746770808032142.post-19385081117798272892013-12-24T06:57:30.109-08:002013-12-24T06:57:30.109-08:00I agree. With the access ability of Internet, you ...I agree. With the access ability of Internet, you no longer have to travel to conduct that research, but, and here's the but, you do need to know what is a reputable source and what is not. Far too many people think Internet is sufficient but research for a novel, depending on the type of novel and setting does require appropriate research and that can often mean access to a good library. A good college library and those superb librarians cannot be beat. Often, it's those tiny little nuggets of information only found in books in a research library that really flesh out the incredible details, quirks and little known facts that make the difference. Bottom line- you need to know how to research.<br />ElleEllehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12201701705523787683noreply@blogger.com