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Research is a word that scares some people, even me. When I realized that half the work was researching, I almost considered giving up writing. But research isn't scary at all. Gone are the days of encyclopedias that break your back, with tiny text on the pages that you have to squint to read. You don't have to go into a corner of a dark library and read through book after book. All the information is at your fingertips! Prop your feet up, play some music in the background, have a drink by your side, and log online!

If you're writing a baseball story and you want to the rules, then type "baseball rules" or "how to play baseball" in a search engine to bring up what you need. Do you want to know the weather in a certain part of the country? or a map of a city? The Internet has everything you want to know.

Traveling is another way of doing research. Getting the "facts" about cities or states, the layouts of cities, street names, climate, landmarks, neighboring city names and so much more. This information can be used for travel articles, nonfiction, poetry and even novels.
I've traveled a lot. I've been to twenty-four states, Canada, and Mexico. If I'd realized when I was there that all of that was "research," I could have had a lot more facts and material for my writing today. I would have taken much better notes. But what I do remember is used in different projects I'm currently working on.
Whether you're using the Internet, traveling to a specific destination, or reading a book in the corner of the library, don't let research scare you. It's not really as bad as it sounds!

Learn more about this author, Elizabeth Wrobel.
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