Is it best to do the bulk of your research at the beginning, or the end of the writing process? What's the difference between "good" and "time-suck" research?
How much is enough, and how much is too much?
I have overdue fines at the library, so I have to avoid the librarians and use the crappy self-check machines every time I go. The problem is: I check out WAYYYY too many books about WAYYYY too many topics- all in the name of research- and then guiltily push them out of the way every damn day until I realize I've had them for a month and quick rush the whole stack back.
Fiction is so fun because it's an improvement on the truth. Research books are depressing, because they remind me the truth can only improve so much.
I still don't understand the line between fact and fiction, I guess- must have missed a cognitive development step somewhere- so it's incredibly difficult to know where the truth is necessary.
(By "truth" I mean facts, not authenticity).
My current "solution": I check out a zillion research books, become overwhelmed by the ocean of facts, and end up making everything up anyway.
But I can't afford all these overdue fees anymore, and sometimes making stuff up isn't fiction, it's lying or casting aspirsions, or being straight-up wrong. So, something's got to change.
How do you research? When do you research? How much time do you spend researching?
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