Friday, March 31, 2017

Wading through 100 pages of Research

Writing a book on Ganesha and Kartikeya has made me do such an extensive research that my mind boggles when I see the 100 pages of Hindu Mythology staring at me. As this is one of my most ambitious projects I don’t want to goof up by getting the facts wrong and incurring the anger of people. 

 As I write fantasy, I don’t do much research except to check for some facts and that takes barely a few minutes. For my last book on dogs I did quite a bit of research but definitely not 100 pages. And that was because I am scared of dogs so I needed to get their body language and behavior right. I also watched a few videos on You Tube to see how dogs walk and their expressions etc.

But writing a book on Hindu Mythology is not for the faint-hearted. The internet is brimming with information and it took me several days to download all the information I would need. Now I have a huge pile of printed pages to wade through.


One good thing is happening, as I am reading the pages, lots of character details and subplots are popping up in my mind. I’m just on page 17 and already I feel I can make this a series or atleast a trilogy. And ofcouse with all this reading there is the added bonus of getting better acquainted with our Gods and mythology.

How much research do you all do? Do you think such an extension research is required?


14 comments:

  1. Well, you are learning a lot in the process. And it's helping with your characters.
    I did extensive research once and used almost none of it. However, I could write one heck of a science paper on sea kelp now.

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    1. Hi Alex, after reading these 100 pages I guess I will become an expert on Indian Mythology:)

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  2. I can imagine that there must be a lot of research to do on Hindu mythology. Ganesha is one of my favorite Indian gods. I still have some little statutes of him displayed in my house and one used to be on my desk at work.

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    1. Natalie, Ganesha is my favorite God too. I have many statues of him in different sizes.

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  3. That is a lot of research. My two non-fiction books required a lot. I still remember cutting up sections of info and placing them in piles with the corresponding subject and then placing them in order. That's how I created the outline for one book.

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    1. Diane, reading this 100 pages of research and trying to weave it in my stories is taking a lot of time. It's a slow process.

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  4. I do a bit of research for my stories, usually to check that I'm using the correct terms, etc. Good luck with that huge undertaking! :)

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  5. I don't know anything about Kartikeya, but Ganesha is my husband's favorite god, and nearly every time we went to India, we would visit the Rock Fort Temple in Tiruchirappalli. We have statues of him on our shrine at home. I think it's wonderful that you are writing about Hindu mythology. I'll definitely want that book. (Or those books, if this becomes a series.) And, yes, I think the research is well worth it. The more the better. Good luck with this. Can't wait to see the results.

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    1. Elizabeth, Kartikeya is Ganesha's brother. I haven't visited the Rock Fort Temple in Tiruchirrappali! Would love to visit it soon.

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  6. Sounds like you're tackling a complex project. I tend to stick to contemporary crime fiction so I don't need to do as much research. My one historical novel, due out in November 2017, involved a lot of research. It was fun and rewarding but very time consuming.

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    1. Patricia, this is the first time I'm handling research on such an elaborate scale. I prefer fantasy, weaving stories through my imagination without much research!

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  7. I am certain that your articles on the subject will unfold new stories:) Best of luck!

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  8. Hindu mythology is more than dense! It's forever. You are to be commended for taking on that challenge. Keep us posted about your research. That's going to be so interesting.

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