It was an honor to meet Miss Seaton, since I had read one of her books for my book discussion group. She is a very sweet lady who had a lot of valuable information to share.
Carter Taylor Seaton is the author of Hippie Homesteaders, The Rebel In The Red Jeep, and Father's Troubles.Her books are historical and what she had to share are some tips for doing research.
Tips for researching from carter Taylor Seaton:
You need to do your research to prove to people what you are writing is true.
If they are still living, go to the person you are writing about. Talk to the people you are writing about or the family of that person. Get the perspective of different family members.
Read about the history of the time period you are writing about.
Be open-ended with what you're asking.
When researchng make sure to put down in your notes where you found the information.
For Non-Fiction writing:
Where do you find what you want to know?
Primary Resources - give you and your writing credence.
Who to interview?
Subject of a biography, ancestors, colleagues, friends, family, employees, enemies
Act like a reporter - get the facts
Get other points of view
Old scrapbooks, personal diaries, photo albums, etc.
Public records
Newspapers of the time, historical documents, state archives, County courthouse, etc.
For fiction:
Provide authenticity - details of real places, culture, dress, etc.
Games played, current events
Memoir:
Use your memory, talk to people you know
Just remember you can get caught up in research.Research is easy, writing is hard. Just do it!!!
Research websites you can check out:
Google - The mother of all search engines
Wikipedia
Ancestry.com
Infoplease.com
Almanac.com
timeanddate.com
Hope you all enjoyed this information and any all of you writers can find it helpful. Until next time. Later Days and Happy Writing!!!
Helpful tips. Thank you x
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! I've even been using them to work on the family history.
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