Research and writing go hand in hand. Last year, I was fortunate enough to attend a short series of classes on the topic taught by local author Alicia Adams (Bathroom Book of Ohio Trivia). One vital lesson she drilled into us was: never let the internet be either your sole or primary resource! Get out there and be sure to get your facts right.
Incredibly enough, I have even heard some anecdotal tales about folks basing their information on works of FICTION (and I’m not just talking WIKIs). Here is a word to the wise: don’t do it!
Now, having said all that, your Home Computer or Laptop is a great place to START your research, however. Call it the tip of the research iceberg, if you will.
Here are a few of the things I have looked into for my fiction over the last couple of years:
“Totally Pedestrian and Not at all Suspect” Searches:
Native Flowers of West VirginiaCarnegie Libraries
Ladies Fashion in the Early 20th Century
“Possibly Suspicious, But Hopefully Under the Radar” Searches:
How to Make Moonshine
Drowning
How to Detonate a Home Made Still
How to Prepare a Corpse for Burial
Using Arsenic to Embalm a Body
How about you?
What interesting/unusual/weird things have you researched while writing?
