“I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.” — Socrates
When I finished school, I thought I was done learning. Like the fool who thinks he is wise, I thought I had accumulated enough knowledge to last a lifetime. I picked up a nonfiction book here and there, but rarely made it all the way through.
And then I began to write and I realized how little I really knew.
Writers of all types – comedic, contemporary, speculative, historical, horror – will eventually run up against the wall of things they don’t know. My wall, as I’ve discovered, is quite high. I’m slowly overcoming it with research.
I’ve mentioned before that when you’re worldbuilding for a fantasy novel, there are so many things you need to invent — different forms of government, economy, labor, religion, fashion, trade, warfare, and culture, just to name a few. In order to create something that rings true in any one of these categories, it’s important to know how the real world versions operate. If you’re going to create a setting in religion has profoundly affected the architectural style of the city, you need the words to describe both the buildings and the belief system. If, like me, your knowledge of architecture is limited to post, lintel, and flying buttress, you might need to hit the library.
I know there are people who can make that kind of thing up in a way that is natural and believable, but I’m not one of them.
A small section of things I’ve been reading up on lately include: autocracy/monarchy/aristocracy, hairstyles and fashion, servant’s duties, industrial and political revolution, diplomacy and international relations, architecture, and daily life in different time periods. For the most part, this is all background — the wheels and cogs on the inside of the clockwork that drives the story, unseen. But I think the gears will run more smoothly as a result of this work.
And it doesn’t stop here. I’m sure I’ll have a whole different spectrum of things to learn about for my next idea. I’m beginning to see that the learning never stops for a writer. And I’m ok with that.
(image adapted from an original by Lou FCD/Louis Shackleton)
