Prior to working in LA I spent a summer in Seattle during the grunge era and later got serious during a summer semester at the University of Cambridge in the UK studying British history then LA learning more stories.
I've always been curious as to the brain-breaking hard work that goes into researching for stories and articles and such. Any great tips you can share with us?
Wow, that's awesome! Welcome to the community, Liesl Bradner! Oh, man, I'd love for you to post in the Authoring Lounge - could you share a little about what you write about and how you approach the material? I know our members would love to learn from you! https://www.stage32.com/lounge/playwriting
B A Mason :D Not OP, but research has been part of my work, in one way or another, for most of my working life. I think it helps to be a bit obsessive.
Other than that, it is really important to assess the credibility of sources, as you go along. Now, if you are writing fiction, this is less important. A good story is a good story, whether verifiably true or not. But if you want to verify, the rule of thumb is to have two credible sources saying the same thing.
An example of a non-credible and not verifiable source would be the twitter follower who DMed me and told me about a fist fight between two prominent politicians here in Greece. However, it fit with the events at the time and the personalities, so I used it for backstory. But you could never print it in a newspaper, if you were a serious journo.
Other stuff could be circumstantial, like a DC non-profit having former state department officials on the board. You can't verify that the non-profit is a stooge for the state department, but it raises the possibility.
Welcome! (: That's a great record. I'm sure you have some great stories to tell!
Prior to working in LA I spent a summer in Seattle during the grunge era and later got serious during a summer semester at the University of Cambridge in the UK studying British history then LA learning more stories.
Welcome!
I've always been curious as to the brain-breaking hard work that goes into researching for stories and articles and such. Any great tips you can share with us?
Wow, that's awesome! Welcome to the community, Liesl Bradner! Oh, man, I'd love for you to post in the Authoring Lounge - could you share a little about what you write about and how you approach the material? I know our members would love to learn from you! https://www.stage32.com/lounge/playwriting
Welcome to Stage 32 Liesl - I hope you find a niche to learn from and contribute to!
B A Mason :D Not OP, but research has been part of my work, in one way or another, for most of my working life. I think it helps to be a bit obsessive.
Other than that, it is really important to assess the credibility of sources, as you go along. Now, if you are writing fiction, this is less important. A good story is a good story, whether verifiably true or not. But if you want to verify, the rule of thumb is to have two credible sources saying the same thing.
An example of a non-credible and not verifiable source would be the twitter follower who DMed me and told me about a fist fight between two prominent politicians here in Greece. However, it fit with the events at the time and the personalities, so I used it for backstory. But you could never print it in a newspaper, if you were a serious journo.
Other stuff could be circumstantial, like a DC non-profit having former state department officials on the board. You can't verify that the non-profit is a stooge for the state department, but it raises the possibility.
Welcome aboard, I agree with Kay, would be awesome to hear about your experiences :)