Wiscon: It’s Actually Quite Hard to Rip a Bodice Part 2

[cathschaffstump]

Panelists: Mary Robinette Kowal (moderator), Vylar Kaftan, Jo Walton, Amy Butler Greenfield, Delia Sherman

Vylar's Recap from Last Year
Where do you go to get sources for historical fantasy?
How do you find sources?
How do you deal with problematic perspectives on race and gender?
When do you stop researching and start writing?

Amy stays with facts when she writes non-fiction.
In fiction, she researches deeply. She also looks at the literature and primary materials of the period.
Once she hears voices, she limits research.
If her manuscript stops cold, she will return to research.
She fills in small gaps as she goes.

Delia writes and researches at the same time.
She reads social history, novels, and memoirs.
Delia says there is never a point where you stop researching.

Vylar says she researches fifty percent first. Then she drafts.
When she discovers what she doesn't know, she'll research minimally throughout (10 percent).
Researches forty percent at the end.

Jo writes in a place she's already familiar with, so she never leaves blanks as she goes.
She usually has already been reading general research for what she's writing.

Mary researches ahead of time. She does broad research for what she's writing. for about a month. She writes quickly and fills in details later. She will stop when she hits plot or character trouble.

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Mirrored from Writer Tamago.