"I want to research something completely frivolous and only tangentially important because that is the best way to prepare to write anything is to research how long it takes to take the train from London to Wells; even if your characters never gets on that damn train, it's something I need to know."
Totes true. You can get amazing stories out of tiny things.
Also, I get incredibly pissed when people don't do backup research on stuff. I see HF fic where Heston is treated as a nearby town, when it's nearly all the way to London. Part of the point of that sequence is that Nicholas got within a few miles of his goal, after hours on the road, and changed his mind.
Today? I wrote research notes, which led to idea notes, which led to thinking and stuff about story stuff. No actual writing, but it got pretty exciting near the end there. Also? Much to research.
I've spent like a year trying to find out what the name for the cone of spray coming out of a spraypaint can is, for a fic. I CAN'T FIND IT.
I even asked the lady who runs the local art store (one of her specialties is graffiti paint), since she already thinks I'm a lunatic. She doesn't know.
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Totes true. You can get amazing stories out of tiny things.
Also, I get incredibly pissed when people don't do backup research on stuff. I see HF fic where Heston is treated as a nearby town, when it's nearly all the way to London. Part of the point of that sequence is that Nicholas got within a few miles of his goal, after hours on the road, and changed his mind.
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I even asked the lady who runs the local art store (one of her specialties is graffiti paint), since she already thinks I'm a lunatic. She doesn't know.
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What do I know. I'm still waiting for coffee!
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