You are your own research

It's been a snowy weekend here in my small corner of Tennessee. It's a rare treat for us get any amount of snow. Needless to say I thoroughly enjoyed going outside and freezing my butt off while watching my boys make snow angels, having snowball fights, and of course watching the birds visit our bird feeders that we made back in the fall. I am always amazed to see a red bird or a blue bird in the freezing temperatures feeding. My favorite bird so far this season is a fat red cardinal that tries to hog all the seeds, but the other birds are smaller and faster than he is, so they always manage to nip some seeds out before he can reach them. It's like watching a mini-war over sun flower seeds.

Life sometimes seems to be moving at light speed, or at least it does to me. One day I'm relaxing at home and the next I'm all over the place. It feels like I can't get enough done. Life does fly by and sometimes we can forget the simplest of experiences. An example, the first swim of the summer. It's something that I do every year, I spend most of the summer in a pool of some sort, but that first dip is always special. It means that my birthday is getting closer and that I know I will talk myself into attempting to getting a tan then I will realize that I don't tan well and that I burn.

In time the mind forgets and the heartbreak or love we felt fades. In order to keep these experiences and sensations fresh to my mind I write it all down in journal. This helps me remember what that first plunge of the summer was like, and how I felt when the first pumpkin plant in our garden began to grow. These experiences are life. Life is moving from one moment to the next, and in a way we are our own research. Is your character running with fear their their veins? I've been there and done that, so I simply have to pull from my own experiences to make the scene real and to accurately narrate the scene.

I recommend that ALL writers have a journal to write down in detail their life experiences. It doesn't have to be major, or fancy it's just for you. Write down in your journal as needed. I do mine everyday because I am forgetful. It can be as detailed as you need it to be, but in my experience the more detail the better. Then when you need to information it's there waiting for you to tap into it. Brilliant! Plus it saves you a google and a trip to the library.