For research I listen to audiobooks or read physical books. This involves dog earing pages and underlining quotes. Or if I’m listening to an audiobook I open an online version of the text and write down keywords so I can find the quotes later. Then I go back and write the passages by hand.
The purpose of this is to create authentic experiences with the material in question. People like to talk about “artificial intelligence.” I counter propose with “authentic experiences.” Every person has a combination of internal and external circumstances which acts a marker unique to them. Their perception of reality is altered by their material conditions and everything is filtered through these experiences. This is a person’s fate.
I am currently working on a novel about mermaids. For my research, I am going through the following writings:
A House of Pomegranetes (novel) by Oscar Wilde; The Mermaid (song) by Brenda Wooton; The Mermaid of Zennor (short text) by William Bottrell; The Ballad of the Mermaid of Zennor (poem) by Vernon Watkins; To the Mermaid at Zennor (poem) by John Heathe Stubbs; The Sea Lady (novel) by HG Wells; My Year of Rest and Relaxation (novel) by Ottessa Moshfegh; Against Nature (novel) by Joseph Karl Huysmans; The Mermaid of Zennor (picture book) written by Charles Causley, illustrated by Michael Foreman; The Mermaid Chair (novel) by Sue Monk Kidd; The Mermaid (novel) by Christina Henry; The Little Mermaid (short story) by Hans Christian Anderson.
Each of these writings will have a post dedicated to it. I’ll add pictures of my handwritten transcripts. Within the posts, I’ll provide information about the author, the medium of exchange and a summary of each book. I’ll provide typed out versions of each quote for the sake of legibility and organization.
I’m also going to do the same for other books whose quotes I write down. I keep a commonplace book with passages I find which I consider interesting. Posts for my novel research will have the separate label: (novel research)
Finally I’ll have posts with various assortments of quotes from different places. I will also have posts with notes or short stories relevant to my current novel.
I hope you enjoy looking through these! This is a behind the scenes page meant to show you my process.
Have a good day everyone!