Research’s Unexpected Benefit

By Sandra Merville Hart

It happened again. Somewhere in the middle of writing the novel, the story got stuck and refused to budge.

Stories sometimes stall on page one hundred or two hundred seventeen or any page in between. Writers leave their computers for the day and come back the next morning, certain that today will be a better day. Today we will get past the hump. Today we will write two thousand words.

Reality sets in. Staring at the last written paragraph sparks no ideas. What happens next? We know the ending but how do the characters get there?

A few minutes on social media ought to get the creative juices flowing again but we are more distracted than ever after a half hour on Facebook and Twitter. Now we are worried about a friend’s health issues, wildfires out of control, and the latest political rants. None of this brings us back into our story.

View this as an opportunity.

Historical writers have a great advantage here. Numerous pages of notes taken during research hold nuggets of inspiration just waiting to be rediscovered.

Return to those research notes. Begin reading historical facts that fascinated you as a writer when first discovering them. Inspiration may arise an hour or two after reading the notes.

Studying research notes could also spark questions. Some previously unimportant fact catches your attention. Maybe this is what your story needs, but you wrote incomplete data or that particular resource didn’t give enough information.

That has happened to me several times. At first glance an event or newsworthy item in history had nothing to do with my story but I jot it down because it interested me. When scanning the notes later for inspiration, I realize that information takes my characters down a compelling path. Since I had originally deemed it unimportant, I now need to return to my resource material for further research.

If this happens to you, check out the books again that were most helpful for your story or search for additional books to delve into the topic. Reread website articles. Glean any information available about this new avenue. The story takes shape as the writer digs deeper.

Before the novelist knows it, the story comes to life again. Inspiration is back and the writer can’t wait to return to that blank page. Now rereading the last written scene grounds the author. The next scene isn’t difficult to write.

The previously ignored tidbit is actually the bridge that deepens your story. There was a reason the story stalled. We didn’t know all the information yet or we were ignoring something important and had to figure it out.

God cares about our stories. If you ask Him to give you His story and pray while writing, you will see Him work.

Even when your story stalls.