Showing posts with label research. Show all posts
Showing posts with label research. Show all posts
Sunday, June 26, 2011

Blog Chain - Where Do You Go?


    Okay, so it's my turn to chose the topic for this round and I toooootally spaced (I was supposed to post yesterday).

    So! Without further ado, here is my question:

    There are so many things we have to include in our storyworlds...characters, world details, settings, etc. No matter what genre you write, your stories are full of tiny details that help create your storyworld. I know that for me, at least, finding or creating all these details can sometimes be a bit tough. 

    Where do you go for help? And what types of things are you more likely to research/search for as opposed to making up on your own? Do you have any favorite resource sites? Share links if you have them!!

    For instance, I had a rather lame name for my girls' boarding school in my book. I was using it as a filler and sort of never got around to giving it a more unique name. I wanted to remedy that but after a million edits (and as it was nearing midnight and I was a little fried) I just couldn't think of anything.

    I started googling and found this site, Serendipity, which has several random name generators. I took a couple of the names it came up with, combined them, and now have a school name I absolutely love.

    This article on K.M. Weiland's Author Culture blog has several good links for historical writers.

    This site has a lot of great Old West info (I've spent a lot of time in their Western Slang section) :D

    I've emailed horticultural societies for info on what types of flowers bloom in England in the winter, doctors to find out if 100 year old skeletons would still have hair, checked out a pirate lover site to find info on pistols, and googled the history of toilets :D

    What sorts of things have you looked up? Do you have any great resource links?

    Head over to Margie's to see what sorts of things she might be googling :)


Post Title

Blog Chain - Where Do You Go?


Post URL

https://shortemohaircuts2011.blogspot.com/2011/06/blog-chain-where-do-you-go.html


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Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Blog Chain - Getting in the "Write" Frame of Mind

    Today is my turn on the blog chain. The topic for this round was chosen by the lovely Margie who wanted to know:

    How do you get in the mindset of your genre? Do you research people or facts? Do you just reach into the recesses of your mind for events that would make a good story? Something else?” 

    I love this question :D

    My answer has sort of changed over the years. I write historicals. When I very first started, I had a hard time staying in that "historical" frame of mind, and a lot of modern terms and phrases would slip into my writing. My first book was set in Victorian England, so any time I needed help to get in the right frame of mind, I would watch An Ideal Husband. It would help ingrain the language and mannerisms before I started writing.

    Since I write historicals, I do a lot of research, of course, but for the most part, I need something visual or audible to get in the right mindset. Movies help me with the language aspects of writing historicals, but for the emotional part, I'll come up with a short playlist of songs that strike the right nerve.

    For the most part, I can just sit down and write. I'll go back a few pages and read and that is usually sufficient to suck me back into my storyworld, but if I need that extra help, I find a movie in the right time period or a couple of good songs :D

    I'm the last link on this chain, but be sure to check out Eric's response from yesterday. And head over to Margie's blog if you'd like to follow this chain from the beginning :)

    How do you get in the "write" frame of mind?

Post Title

Blog Chain - Getting in the "Write" Frame of Mind


Post URL

https://shortemohaircuts2011.blogspot.com/2011/05/blog-chain-getting-in-frame-of-mind.html


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