Thoughts on research focus

Okay, so at the moment I am lacking in ideas for my research focus. I thought at first that it might be interesting to write about the area in which I live, but in class this week, listening to everyone else’s ideas and the advice from Nick, our tutor, I am reassessing this.

I need a subject that poses some kind of question or problem to solve; a compelling story that is conveyed by the facts.

So, I’m thinking – what in the world am I going to write about for this creative non-fiction piece about London? It became clear that it is not enough to just pick an area and write about it; I have to have an angle, a purpose and a structure.

H.G. Wells plaque in Baker Street

Wracking my brain for an idea, never mind a structure to hang it on, I have a light bulb moment. I have just started exploring steampunk fiction; a sub-genre of SciFi, which features steam powered technology and retro-futuristic inventions that often appeared in 19^th Century literature, like HG Wells’s “The Time Machine”. So my idea would explore London’s influence on the emergence of steampunk fiction. When I described this to the class, I received largely blank looks and had to explain what steampunk is, so I went away thinking perhaps I had made a mistake. But the more I have thought about it since, the more it seems a viable and interesting area to research. Excited by the prospect, I researched the most influential writers in the genre, downloaded articles and extracts and bought some books to read. I am now poised on the edge of discovery, eager to walk the streets of London looking for areas and themes that have influenced this genre which has achieved a cult-like status amongst aficionados. Now I just have to find a suitable structure…