...about research.

Write what you know, they say.

But what if the story you are burning to tell is set in a place where you have never been? Or in a time not your own? What if you don't "know" the location or time period?

The answer to your dilemma is: research.

And while the research can provide valuable knowledge of the details you'll need to include to make your story believable, it will also give you an opportunity to immerse yourself in the "world" of which you will be writing, to get to know the people of that time and place, to understand something of how they lived and what they did. And, perhaps, gain some insight into how they may have felt and what they may have thought. Which can lend an authenticity to your writing.

The amount of research necessary to write "High on a Mountain" seemed daunting when I started. But I found that the learning became an adventure in itself.

Now that the story has been finished, I'm beginning to delve again into the discovery of facts about another time and place and people, to prepare myself so that I can write the sequel to Ailean's story. But this time, I know what an adventure the research can be, and I'm diving into it joyfully, whole-heartedly.