The moment you find a Youtube video about a scene you have just written, so you watch it three times, and then go and rewrite your scene.
Tag Archives: research
Sixteen Italians in Tientsin
There were sixteen Italians in Tietsin in 1901.
- Two hairdressers
- Six owners or staffers of two Italian restaurants
- One mechanic
- One miner
- Two businessmen
- One builder
- Three artists: a singer, a musician and a painter.
These are the things one learns doing historical research.
And one can also get an article out of it, and sell it. Because bills won’t pay themselves. Continue reading
The Keyword is Survival on the New Frontier
A brief post to point out the latest offering from Humble Bundle, the aptly named Survive Anything bundle, featuring books by Skyhorse Publishing.
For a very small price you’ll be able to download a full library of survival-oriented handbooks – the lowest rung, that will cost you a buck, includes a general survival handbook, a first aid handbook, and five other interesting titles.
The complete package will set you back fifteen bucks, but will land you 23 books, including guides to homesteading, and survival guides from both the Army and the Navy.
Now I’m not the survivalist type – but I like hiking and stuff, and therefore the first aid book is something I’m likely to keep on my smartphone. Ditto the guide about getting lost and getting found again.
Also, I am a writer, and a writer of adventure – and the skills in these books are the sort of skills my characters have or need to learn fast to survive what I put them through. So, research!
You might have different interests, but give the bundle a look – as an added bonus, your money will help the International Rescue Committee.
And I have to admit that helping International Rescue sends a shiver through my old Thunderbirds fan bones.
Meet my monster
Work is under way on the first draft of my new sea monster story, and here’s a snippet of the research material I put together.
No need for Google
A bit of fun.
This thing happened the other day over Facebook: somebody posted this image…
… and I commented that the really scary thing was, I would not need to google at least three of those items.
Maybe four.
My real problem would be the hits of 2007. Continue reading
Studying archaeology for fun and profit
I often write about the joys of doing research for what we are writing.
In general, I tend to do a lot of research “on the fly” when writing short fiction – like using Google to find out what’s the most popular brand of beer in Arkansas or the timetables of trains to and from Paris.
So, when I am writing short fiction – or when I get major doubts while cleaning up a first draft – my first stops are, unsurprisingly, Google and Wikipedia, with Pinterest (now that I can access it again) as the go-to place for visual references, and YouTube for action-related info.
For longer works, I still rely on books, and as far as online resources are concerned, I go for a MOOC whenever possible.
I think it was Mary Gentle (wonderful writer – her Rats and Gargoyles is highly recommended) that said that university courses are the best way to do all the research you need on a subject with the minimum of fuss. Continue reading
Last day
… and I’ve just crawled past 13.000.
This is going to be a loooong day.
And right now I need train timetables from Paris to Geneva and some simple, practical self-defense moves.
Karavansara 