Research takes many forms - and not all of them are procrastination, honest. Sometimes you need to look up something specific like character names, or breeds of dog, or train frequencies. Other times it is deeper stuff - building blocks to an idea, inspiration, background colour. And sometimes those odd strands coalesce and form - well, something quite unexpected.
In the last few weeks I have several things that I am chalking up as research. My visit to the Russel Cotes Museum and Gallery in Bournemouth was one, as I have a number of ideas in the melting pot that will involve a Victorian house.
Then, on a trip to London and a visit to one of my favourite occult bookshops - Watkins in Cecil Court, I located a book that was on my wish list - Of Dove and Ravens by Benjamin Stimpson which is Welsh folklore and will again feed ideas into ongoing projects. I've just written what I hope is a creepy scene involving the Mari Lwyd - which is a horse skull on a pole - for the WIP, and as that book has a character reputed to be a local witch who has just made her first appearance I'm looking forward to other traditional folklore I can use. The last thing I did in London was a trip to the play Born with Teeth which explored the relationship between Elizabethan playwrights Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare. I've long had a manuscript idea that hinges on such a relationship so it was a must see. And a memorable one with Ncuti Gatwa and Edward Bluemel in bravura performances.
All of these were to feed the inspiration bank, adding layers to ideas I am already working on or will be working on in the future. And then as sometimes happens an idea that I'd had a considerable time ago and not developed suddenly surfaced, gathered some of these elements up and became ... well, something. Separate bits smooshed themselves together and started to demand attention. I'm not sure where we are going, but I like what I'm seeing so far. Whether it will be a story or simply idea soup remains to be seen, but I'm hoping ...
