A Few Route Maps for Writers
by Nancy Sackheim
Writing can be enervating, particularly when the words, much less the story wage all out war to stay off the page. It is more often than not financially unrewarding. "Writer" is also the answer that leads to the next question, "But what do you really do?"
Writers who aren't producing dozens of pages a day may be accused of wasting time. What all writers know is there's more to writing than...writing.
Research is foundational for any writer, whether it is of the boots on the ground variety, delving through real or virtual archives of one sort or another, or simply grounding all your senses in the story you are telling.
Research is also the perfect answer to anyone questioning why you haven't been actually writing. And bless the internet for giving us so many options for research, also often labeled goofing off. Below are a few options for goofing off that also qualify as legitimate research.
Drive & Listen is an app created by student Erkam Seker that allows anyone to take a virtual drive around one of 38 available cities, complete with the streets' sights and sounds and the local radio stations. If your story is set in one of these 38 cities, you'd be negligent to not drive and listen for a while. Regardless, take a break, pick a city, turn on the radio, and cruise a while.
Mapping (literally making a map of) your imaginary world could be the key to taking your reader all the places you want them to go as they read your story. The 2018 book, The Writer’s Map, contains dozens of maps writers have drawn or that have been made by others to illustrate the places they’ve created. “All maps are products of human imagination,” writes Huw Lewis-Jones, the book’s editor. “For some writers making a map is absolutely central to the craft of shaping and telling their tale.”
One of the greatest resources for writers is the DPLA, digital Public Library of America, which contains 43,843,245 images, texts, videos, and sounds from across the United States. DPLA maximizes access to our shared history, culture, and knowledge, allowing one to browse by topic or by partner libraries that range from the Smithsonian to the National Archives and Records Administration to various state digital libraries. Material can also be accessed through exhibitions that highlight stories of national significance or through primary source collections that explore topics in history, literature, and culture developed by educators – complete with teaching guides.
Whether you are conducting focused research or simply giving your brain and creative juices a recharge break, take some time and explore these three very diverse resources.
Photo by Mohit Tomar on Unsplash
