Research

I love the sense of accomplishment I get from learning something new.  Information is fascinating.  The process that goes into gaining knowledge is also fun.  Last night my kids and I talked about research projects.  How to figure out what exactly you're trying to research and why.  What resources are available for your research. What information you want to share with others and how to present what you've learned. 

The process is similar to writing.  You have to decide on a subject that would be interesting to write about.  The subject also needs to be something you understand.  If you don't have first hand knowledge, then you'd better be prepared to research the heck out of it because if, for example, you write about riding a motorcycle and you've never ridden one, you can believe that all the motorcycle enthusiasts that read your story will see the holes a mile away.  Your characters need to be interesting enough that the reader wants to know more about them.  You need to give them enough depth that the reader cares about what happens to them.  The reader needs to be invested in the character.

Your plot needs to be complex enough to keep the reader reading, but not so complex and full of subplots that the reader is confused.  Your subplot should build and enhance your main plot, not detract from it.  Of course, since I haven't published anything, who am I to talk??  What do you think? Do you agree or disagree?