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This may seem very obvious, but do you follow this when you write? If you are writing about evident changes in American culture and fashion looking at Americans in the street, for example, do you know about tattoos and bare midriffs? If not, you have two choices. One is to find another topic that you know better. The other is to research the topic until you know it well enough to write about.
The first may be easier, but many people select the second if there is something they want to write about. Research before writing can be divided into two main sections. One is information obtained from books, interviews, and other resources. The other is information obtained from personal experience. There can be a great difference between researching something and living it. There is a great difference between knowing that tattoos are common in America and seeing tattoos on middle class and middle-aged people.
Writing and researching are two very different tasks. Researching usually comes first. Then, after you have done the research, you start the writing. Some of this may be a cycle where you research and write and research and write. Real writing is never as clear and straightforward as it may be presented.
Look at the great writers of any country or any genre. Soldiers write books about war, victims of war write about war experiences, CEOs write about business, and chefs write books about cooking. CEOs do not usually write books about romance, and chefs do not write about their war experiences. Good writing comes from people writing about what they know best. This allows writers to have the knowledge necessary for the information they need. It also reduces task overload. Writing something if you don't know enough about it, and are trying to learn and write at the same time, is not the best way to proceed. However, another kind of writing is discovery writing. We'll talk about discovery writing in a future issue of Aaron Writes.
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