I keep shifting between researching a lot, and writing for lesser time......and researching less and spending more time on writing. So, can you please tell me which is correct and how to find the proper balance between the two? And how to improve my writing on a long-term basis. Thanks!
It depends what you're writing. I have over a thousand pages of research, most of which is original and which I conducted myself. It's completely needed for the story. Sometimes you may need to introduce something you need to research. Research it. It really doesn't matter as long as you know what you need to know about what you're writing about.
I'll normally research a topic and sketch down plot ideas, dialogue fragments etc that evolve from them until I realise I'm not getting any further, at which point I'll start to write. If I then find that I need to know a bit more about any particular subject to do a scene properly (which is fairly common) then I'll research that specific point, and that might lead on to other ideas. I tend to write shorts - the longest thing I've done recently was 13k - so this may not work as well for more complex pieces. The key part, as Gallowglass said, is:
It really depends on what you're writing. And how you write about it. And how devoted you are to accuracy. I definitely wouldn't spend more time researching than you do writing though. Ultimately, the research might or might not improve what you write - the practice certainly will.
I usually do my research as I go. If I've made any serious errors in the first draft, reviewers usually catch them. When I'm not able to actively write (like at work) I often review information about the concepts I'm using in my story. I'd say spending more time writing than researching is the best to improve your writing. Ultimately you have the ability to take creative license with the facts when you need to (unless you're trying to write realistic historical fiction or science fiction).
reasearch and writing I suppose I might differ from others. I spend much more time researching than writing. If I'm writing a short article about, say, an art exhibit, I'll spend two or three days researching the art, and getting the information I want to relay. Then I'll spend one or two days laying it down.
When I write, I make a rough timeline of my story, which is where I put minor details that are important to keep the story flowing. I don't do any real research until I move onto a first draft, and even then I try to limit it so that I can just get the story out and onto paper. I figure that I can always go back, put more detail in and add what I've gathered from research. I love this way of writing, I feel like it keeps all my thoughts in order and makes it easy to adjust things if need be.
It depends entirely on what you are writing, and what you are trying to accomplish. To improve your writing in general, it is obvious that actual writing/reviewing/reading practice will be most beneficial. To improve a particular piece, you may need to do a lot of research and planning.
Obviously non-fiction and journalism will require much more research than fiction, which is what I assumed the OP was asking about.
[FONT="]While writing my first draft, planning is absolutely minimal. My ideal planning (Plot structure, character curve, crisis and resolution and all that get more attention after I have finished my story. So far, 75% through my story, the only planning i have ever done was sit down and write down 20 chapter names of which i though could happen in the story and i then build up a story on the fly based loosely on my interpretations of those names. So all up, maybe 30 minutes of planning. i think as i type or before I go to bed that night on where i may like it to g[/FONT][FONT="]o. [/FONT]
