Today I started sketching out some notes for a real novel. My first attempt was about Moltar. Aliens invade the bodies of a family to infiltrate and destroy the world. I got a few notes down, but it seemed like a really bad Disney movie. Then I started sketching notes on another idea I had. In about 20 minutes I had a full front and back page covered!  Let me backtrack for a moment.

One of the things I haven’t looked forward to about trying to write a novel is research. As I’ve considered novel ideas I’ve gravitated towards highly fantasy ideas, and areas where I can just create characters, settings, and plots out of thin air. As I started to think about this new idea though, I quickly realized that wouldn’t be possible. The problem is my brain might know a lot, but it’s nowhere near enough to fill an entire novel. A necessary evil when trying to write a story is learning new things to populate that story.

That brings me back to today. As I took notes and started brainstorming, there were certain aspects that I clearly would have to research. Not just to make the story better, but to make it at all. If you want to write a story about a dragon, you obviously need to know about dragons. If not, your plot and characters will suffer. If you don’t know that dragons breathe fire, your story about dragons is going to be missing key elements, like fire. Same goes for the story I’m thinking about writing. I wish I knew everything, but my knowledge is limited, and without a little research the story would be limited. Thank goodness for wikipedia. After a few hours reading not only did I have a better understanding of certain technical aspects of the story, but the researching alone gave me new ideas.

I want to spend another week or two brainstorming and creating a huge foundation to build upon. After that it’s simply a matter of time. Anyone can write a story, but not everyone is willing to put in the time. Here’s hoping I find the time and motivation.

GO DODGERS!!!