How Does a Deejay Pick a Song?
When I
was in fifth grade, I called a local radio station and told them I was writing
something about deejays and asked if I could come meet one and watch what they
do. Did I ask my mom before I did this? No. But she was a good sport and when
the management agreed, they set up a time, and she drove me to the station.
I sat
with a popular deejay and watched him show me how he selected songs and queued
them up (bear in mind this was 1980-something so it was not digital). He was
excited to share the process and let me help pick songs. I probably sat with
him for about an hour when he said, “So what is your school project about
again?”
“Project?”
I asked. “I’m writing a book, and one of the characters works in a radio
station.”
I still
remember that guy’s perplexed look, as if he’d been hoodwinked by a bubbly
ten-year-old.
Now,
most people who know me in real life know I write fiction which leads to questions
from aspiring writers about the process. I’ve tried to stop shrugging and
saying, “I dunno,” and actually share things I have found to be useful.
Recently,
I took a class called Methods and Materials of Research for my English degree (which
turned out to be a creative writing class in disguise - Thank You, Merciful
Father!). Since I found a lot of aspects of the class to be helpful, I thought
I would share them here.
How
Do I Know What to Research?
Where
are the gaps in your knowledge? I didn’t know how a radio station worked. There
was a gap between what I could imagine and what I needed to know for sure.
But
another simple answer is “What interests you?” One of my cousins and I used to
go to the library for fun (don’t judge me), and I would pull book after book
off the shelves about the Medieval Times. Why? I loved fantasy books, movies,
and games, so it interested me. I also had a really weird Robin Hood obsession.
Check out Robin McKinley’s Outlaws of Sherwood. I loved that book soooo
much.
Call a
radio station? All jokes aside, I’m always so surprised by how much knowledge
people will share when they can tell you have a genuine interest. When I was
involved in World War II re-enacting (I know, the cringe really doesn’t get any
better), I loved being able to try to talk to the occasional vets who would
make it to events and pick their brains. Plus, you know, it was just pretty
awesome being able to talk to genuine heroes.
The part
that might sound less enticing is the part I actually liked as a kid and into
middle school: traditional research. Don’t stop reading. Hear me out. When
you’re researching something you find interesting, it’s not boring like
researching for a research paper for class on something like Naturalism in
American Literature (can you tell what class I’m wrapping up now?). Behold: the
internet. Seriously, though, most libraries now have online access to a lot of their
information, there are databases on almost anything you can think of, and there
are people researching almost every subject known to man. Not everything has to
be scholarly. However…
How
Do I Know if a Source is Credible?
This is
trickier, and it depends on your topic. For truly scholarly sources, check the
publication, avoid .com websites over .gov, .org, .edu, etc. Is the article
peer-reviewed? That probably won’t be as urgent unless you’re writing a serious
piece of creative nonfiction, (or an 8-10 page paper on Naturalism in American
Literature).
Pro Tip:
Just because a source is credible doesn’t mean it’s appropriate. I didn’t need
an academic journal article to show me what equipment the deejay used at the
local radio station.
How
Do I Incorporate Sources into My Writing?
This is
also tricky, but also fun. Incorporating research into fiction is difficult.
You don’t want your writing to scream, “Look at my fabulous research! I am a
scholar!” Instead, I think it should simply make your story plausible. Everyone
has read a book or watched a movie and thought, “Wow. That writer knows nothing
about that topic.” Your research should do the opposite with your writing.
Bear in
mind, since creative writing doesn’t typically include footnotes and/or a Works
Cited page, a lot of authors will give credit in their acknowledgement section,
their dedication, or their forward in books. Creative writing has more
flexibility. Add an author’s note before or after the work to credit your
sources. Be creative. See what I did there?
Where
Can I Find More Information?
Our textbook
was genuinely helpful: The Art of Creative
Research: A Field Guide for Writers (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and
Publishing). I was pleasantly surprised at the practical information in the
text, but it also gave me some new ways of thinking about research for creative
project.
Another
research tool I’ve found helpful is (and you may laugh), Google Scholar. Now listen, I typically
think of Google as da debil, but this has been so helpful for me. I did
a research paper on women gamers and the media recently, and this was a
lifesaver. Of course, as with anything on the internet, verify the information.
I had the additional resource of Liberty U’s online library. If I found
something on Google Scholar, I could also verify the same source there.
Are
You Done Yet?
So,
there ya go. I’ve imparted some knowledge on ya. Don’t say I never gave you
anything, you ungrateful goofballs.
