tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post606738446375209431..comments2023-10-15T04:48:05.528-04:00Comments on Free the Princess: On Being Detail-OrientedMatthew Delmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11452378192874048547noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post-71741475086445005152009-10-06T00:47:48.823-04:002009-10-06T00:47:48.823-04:00I'm constantly doing research too. It's a...I'm constantly doing research too. It's a darn good thing I love Egypt so much!<br /><br />As for the weirdest thing, I was actually going to post about this at my blog, shortly, but I'll spill the beans here and elaborate later. :) <br /><br />I had to research ancient Egyptian contraceptives. It turns out the most common one was a suppository of crocodile dung used by women. Yes, I'm serious.Stephanie Thorntonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17437077559099315853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post-20398139994487459042009-10-06T00:03:14.473-04:002009-10-06T00:03:14.473-04:00I'm always getting caught up in random researc...I'm always getting caught up in random research. Like when I researched free-fall speeds from various heights to determine exactly how much action could occur between two characters falling from an airship, before they hit the ocean below.<br /><br />Such a waste of time, but such cool information to know :-)Adam Heinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02225813532455467868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post-62220138265630558232009-10-05T18:55:41.167-04:002009-10-05T18:55:41.167-04:00I did quite a bit of research on steel mill accide...I did quite a bit of research on steel mill accidents and bank robberies. I'm not a big researcher in general but these two things were pertinent to my story so I had to buckle down and read up.Nataliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00861022355718378425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post-23753002558412555062009-10-05T15:50:05.549-04:002009-10-05T15:50:05.549-04:00Very timely post for me. I'm extremely detail-...Very timely post for me. I'm extremely detail-oriented. Probably helps to explain why it's taken me nearly a decade to research and write my novel. For the underground town in my story, I drew detailed maps and created detailed census records, with every villager's origin (if not Ruby Hollow), physical features, jobs in the town, children, grandchildren, etc.<br /><br />My novel isn't fantasy, but it does span a bit of time, so I've even been nerdy enough to look up almanac records to make sure that it rained on a particular day. Yeah, sick, I know.<br /><br />My problem is that so many of my details have ended up in the novel, so I have yet to learn the advice that 100 pages of research equals 1 page of narrative. What can I say? I'm a slow learner.Laura Martonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17131901155051433491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post-29163379460142384562009-10-05T13:59:22.335-04:002009-10-05T13:59:22.335-04:00--yeah, fantasy does give us a wee bit more leeway...--yeah, fantasy does give us a wee bit more leeway, but, as you've stated and done, you've still got to provide verisimilitude to your world.<br /><br />PS - Adam Heine just did a post on <a href="http://adamheine.blogspot.com/2009/10/steampunk-what-is-it.html" rel="nofollow">Steampunk</a>... Thought you might be interested.Joshua McCunehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17367262185912463258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post-60452922585200323832009-10-05T13:42:53.935-04:002009-10-05T13:42:53.935-04:00Bane --
I always ask people who live/have lived i...Bane --<br /><br />I always ask people who live/have lived in areas for tips when the place I'm writing in actually exists. I've avoided having to do that thus because I write fantasy, but I actually did ask a friend who's an Arizona native to critique my descriptions of a high desert.Matthew Delmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11452378192874048547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post-47610048918737692442009-10-05T13:20:23.462-04:002009-10-05T13:20:23.462-04:00I had to research police dogs. Did you know that ...I had to research police dogs. Did you know that yellow labs make great ones? I didn't. I'm also a detail person. Like you,I tend to research a lot. Good thing I enjoy it.Susan R. Millshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09578747592345750650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post-46763331485192918602009-10-05T13:09:43.708-04:002009-10-05T13:09:43.708-04:00Good post.
The internet has definitely been a bo...Good post. <br /><br />The internet has definitely been a boon to me. Though my recent WIP is pretty research-less (except for a coin), a couple of my previous attempts were in historical fiction (Roman Era) and definitely had to get that down. Don't want to annoy the legions, so to speak.<br /><br />That being said, one of the most common errors, research-wise, I've heard of relates to common settings (e.g., an author's from Houston, TX, but uses LA as a setting and gets details a bit off here and there b/c of lack of familiarity w/ the area -- stick w/ what you know, if possible, I guess).Joshua McCunehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17367262185912463258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post-43954797892485471272009-10-05T12:03:55.465-04:002009-10-05T12:03:55.465-04:00I always admire people who do there research thoro...I always admire people who do there research thoroughly. I try to get my facts accurate also, but for me, it's a painful process. Recently, the one fact I had to look up was body decomposition rates. I had a character who had died, and the family was rushing his cremation. Since the religious ceremony required that his body be viewed, I had to figure out how decomposed he would be after three months.Davin Malasarnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09385823575081492949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post-86518659271485905042009-10-05T11:41:46.190-04:002009-10-05T11:41:46.190-04:00I feel EXACTLY the same way, Matt. My last novel w...I feel EXACTLY the same way, Matt. My last novel was Fantasy set in the 4th century AD Roman/ Germanic Europe. I did a ton of research before picking my timeline and location, essentially to make sure that my story really could happen, if there were actually wizards, etc. of course. It was really fascinating to do.<br /><br />As for the weirdest tidbit for that one, that was looking up when mead was invented and what types of foods my characters would have had access to, to make sure I was correct. For my new book, it's been the hardest and weirdest researching the racial mindset, including the inner workings of a popular racial sect.L. T. Hosthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12448176940211118898noreply@blogger.com