ABOUT
- Sunday June 18
- 5-7:00 PM BST
- £40
LEARNING AIMS
- Learn how to create a research plan
- Learn how to evaluate the credibility of sources
- Learn how to organise and write from your research
- Learn how to access on-line data bases (libraries, archives)
- Learn when to speak to an expert and best interview practices
- Learn differences between primary, secondary, and tertiary research
Research is the collection of information to enhance knowledge. In creative nonfiction, it is the backbone of our writing. Research elevates storytelling, fuels scene creation, and establishes a sense of trust with the reader.
Research can shoot our writing into the stratosphere by allowing us to find and integrate very particular ideas, lingo, and language to our subject. Research also imparts external accountability and shapes the boundaries of the world we are writing about. In the early stages of writing, research can test the feasibility of an idea or help shape a proposal, essay, or book.
Knowing how to research a book or an essay can transform a writer’s creative practice, but few people have had formal training in research. Kathryn Aalto gained research skills while training as a garden historian at the University of Bristol.
Drawing on this formal research training, Kathryn will teach you how to research in libraries and archives, interviews and travel, and online journals and sites. She also teaches practical skills including how to organise our research, how to write from that research, and knowing when to stop researching.
“Kathryn Aalto is an exceptional teacher. As a best-selling author, she knows the publishing industry first-hand. And she is highly adept at refining one’s technical skills without stifling a writer’s voice. I love the combination of rigor and nurturing she provides. Without her mentoring, I would still be stumbling in the dark along my path to publication. Her guidance, support and knowledge are game changers. I cannot recommend her enough!” — Lise, Los Angeles, California