How much do you do?

The question for today is how much research do you do before you write a story? Are you the type of writer that surrounds yourself with pictures of places to help you with your visualization within your work? Are you the type that writes first and researches certain aspects of your plot and setting as you go along? What is your writing research process?

I am the type that researches a little in the beginning. If you don't know anything about your topic, it is almost impossible to write about it. Then, as I get into the story, I will research as I go along to make certain scenes more authentic. The first part and probably the toughest part of the process (at least for me) is the initial writing of the story. I have to have it all mapped out in my head before I put anything down on paper. Yes, I am one of those people who has to write things down on paper before I put them in the computer. I am getting better with this, I don't write down my blog before I type. Once, I have it all mapped out, then I get started. I really enjoy the "dreaming" part of writing.

I have inspired my husband to try his hand at writing. Talk about having a different type of writing process, he writes in stream of consciousness. It is a spy novel told in the first person. Yesterday, he wrote twenty pages. I wrote four. The sad thing is that I am extremely happy with the four that I wrote.

Thinking back to last week, I totally made the best decision to cancel my conference trip this week. I could not imagine what would have happened if I was away and my husband opened the letter from the school department yesterday. I know that these are precautions and I most likely won't lose my job but a termination notice, REALLY!  Not to sound like a conspiracy theorist but I think that there is more to story than we know right now and it will continue to unfold in the upcoming weeks. But I am going to put it aside and enjoy the last few days of my vacation while I work on my writing.