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Research and Recovery

Friday, October 26th, 2007

Yesterday was the first day my knee felt almost normal since I torqued it last Saturday. It still went out a few times when I forgot to baby it, but I could mostly get around without pain. Huge improvement. So, of course, tomorrow I have to plant more than 100 bulbs in the garden. :-( Why do I have a feeling I’ll be moaning and groaning again? It’ll pay off next spring when the flowers bloom, I know that, but it’s going to be tough to appreciate that when I’m hobbling again. Sigh.

I ordered a USB wireless thingy on Thursday. Yes, I’m sure that’s the technical term. :-) I have a laptop without wireless capability, so I can plug it in, connect to my network, and update the thing. There were two offered on Woot yesterday (they were having a Woot-off), but both times it sold out before I could buy one, damn it. I checked eBay, but the fact that so many of the sellers were in Hong Kong made me a little uneasy. I decided to order from Best Buy instead and they had free shipping which always makes me happy. I loathe paying for shipping. :-)

A couple of DVDs that I ordered for research arrived, but I’ve been reading through copy edits (I’m on manuscript page 241 now) and haven’t had the time to watch and pay attention to them. I have a few more on order. I also have a library book I need to read for research on another project. I’m not quite sure when I’m going to squeeze that in.

And last, but certainly not least, my dad patched the door seal today and there were no bugs on my foyer floor! Hurrah!

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Research and the Writer

Friday, August 24th, 2007

First, before I start my topic of the morning, I want to announce that I fixed my email settings and I can now send email again! Hurrah! It was a pain to figure out, but after checking out the help screen on my cable provider’s website, all is well. Yes, yes, I know, but I have a motto: If all else fails, read the directions. All else failed.

Okay, now let me talk about research. I love being a writer. Not just because I love telling stories, but because I never know what I’m going to be learning next. Like for The Power of Two where I dealt with quantum brain nanotechnology. I had some basic information on nanotech because I’d found it interesting years earlier, but I had to really dig in deeper than I’d gone years previously.

When I worked on Through a Crimson Veil, I read up on demons–and found some scary stuff that I never want to find again. I’ve had to tread into this territory again with my Light Warriors series, only this time around, the demons are the bad guys, not the h/h. I’ve also been researching for Shona and Logan–gemstones, dragons, etc.

But I think my latest research takes the prize. For the last two weeks I’ve been reading about quantum mechanics, string theory and M theory. It’s fascinating stuff, but if you’d asked me two years ago, heck, even one year ago, if I had any interest in reading on this topic, I would have said no way! I’ve barely scratched the surface, but I think I’m reaching a point where I need to home in on what I specifically need to know for the idea I’m tossing around.

I even research little facts, things I end up not even needing to know. For example, in In the Midnight Hour, my h/h fly to LA. I looked up the kind of aircraft NWA flies between MSP and LAX on the computer at work. I never used it. If you read the book, you’ll see that there’s absolutely no mention whether or not the plane is a wide body (2 aisles) or a narrow body (1 aisle). All I mention is how they had middle seats and couldn’t sit together. I do this constantly, research little tiny facts that either don’t get spelled out or don’t really matter anyway. Shrug. I can’t help it. I want my work to be “right” unless I choose to deviate.

To round back to my point, this is one of the reasons why I’m almost never bored. If I’m not listening to the people in my head, I’m reading up on a huge variety of topics. From pyramids to demons to nanotechnology to M theory. Wow. And who knows what it’ll be next. How totally cool is this? Yes, I am a complete geek and I loved school. :-) I like the fact that I get to learn new things with every book. Even if quantum mechanics makes my head hurt.

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Dragons and Speed

Sunday, August 12th, 2007

My parents came over for dinner last night, but they didn’t stay long. There was more severe weather coming in and they wanted to get home before it hit. I think they just made it. :-) The severe weather is also why there’s no movie review today. I wanted to keep an eye on weather alerts and wouldn’t be able to do that without stopping the DVD. So I watched Speed on FX and flipped to local stations during the commercials to keep up on what was coming in. Despite the dire predictions, the storms weren’t as bad as what hit at 3am Saturday morning. :-)

Speed is one of my favorite movies of all time. Not only is Keanu Reeves hot, but it’s got action, adventure, and romance. My favorite combination! I never get tired of watching it.

While it was on, I also continued reading one of the dragon books I have. I found some great information as I researched that got me all excited. Maybe it’ll spark a few more ideas. Today, BTW, is the day I get to work on the synopsis for the book for which I’ve been researching all these things. I joined my chapter’s Book In a Week group to get me going on it, but I haven’t been approved yet. Oh, well, I’m going to get started even if I don’t state my goals on that loop. My goal for the week is to finish a detailed synopsis of the new WIP. I think I maybe have a title, too! I have to think about it for a while, though, and see if I still like it before I share here.

Another new flower this morning! Yea! This makes 5 now, although, unfortunately, the first one is fading away. I’m sure the storms we have didn’t help it either since the winds were so strong, and so was the rain last night. I should take more pictures! I know you’re all dying to see them. ;-) Just kidding. I might take more shots for me, but I won’t bother to post them since they all look pretty much like the first flower pictures that I shared. Now, if the Sumatra Lily blooms, I’ll post those shots here since it’s a different plant.

Guess I better get moving since I’m working again today. Fingers crossed that it goes well.

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Say What?

Friday, August 3rd, 2007

The last two mornings as I drove to work, I’ve been very cognizant of the bridges I drive over. I’m not scared, I don’t hesitate, but I do think about it. Of course, it doesn’t help that one of the electronic traffic alert signs announces that 35W is closed at a certain point. A reminder of what happened–as if we needed it.

I turned on coverage of the bridge collapse as soon as I got home from work yesterday and watched for hours. I’d intended to get all my email answered–I even spent nearly my whole lunch hour trying to get caught up–but I couldn’t reply to anyone while I had the news on. I finally forced myself to turn on a baseball game and watch something happier, then I could get to email.

It was one of those nights where as soon as I thought I was done and could go to bed, something else that had to be handled would crop up. I didn’t make it all the way through email, but I’m almost caught up.

Now for something completely different.

Do writers really believe that it’s okay to do research from FICTIONAL sources???

I put my request for dragon information out on one of my writers’ loops and half the people who replied (okay, it was only two, but still…) suggested I read fictional sources!!! =8-O

That stunned me. Absolutely, totally floored me. I thought it was basic, elementary knowledge that you never, ever used fictional work as the basis for any kind of research and yet these people suggested it as if everyone does it. What? Okay, some don’t believe dragons are real and that everything about them is made up, but still this isn’t right.

Do they not understand that 1) the author who wrote the fictional work might not have used reliable sources in her research or that she might not have researched at all? 2) that even if she did solid research that she might have changed things and/or made things up to fit her paranormal world? 3) that building off someone else’s imagination is wrong?

If we’d done a research paper in school–yes, even on dragons–and tried to use a fictional novel as a source, we’d have received a failing grade. That doesn’t change when you’re an adult. Research should be from non-fictional sources ONLY and always verified with multiple sources.

I was so appalled that any writer at any point in their journey believes it’s okay to use a novel for research. Gah!

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Sharks

Wednesday, August 1st, 2007

I blogged over at Riding With the Top Down today. Stop over, if you can. Everyone who comments has a chance to win a copy of The Power of Two.

I stayed up way too late last night. It’s Shark Week on The Discovery Channel, and since I’m fascinated with sharks, I usually flip over each year and catch a few of the shows. I wish they had less about attacks because I can’t handle anything gory (even if it’s just in my imagination), but so much of what they show is fascinating.

There was a show about a guy who swims with Tiger Sharks. Um, better him than me. He says they’re not as aggressive as they’ve been reputed to be, but as far as I’m concerned that’s the second most dangerous species out there when it comes to attacking humans. Plus, the Tiger Shark eats baby albatross birds and that’s just sad because they come right out of the water and pick the babies off. They can barely fly at this point. I know–sharks being sharks, but still…

Anyway, the show that kept me up last night was about this area in Brazil where shark attacks suddenly shot up. They were covering the investigation into why and I was curious, so I stayed up to watch. The final conclusion was a little disappointing and I thought, I can’t believe I stayed up for this!

Basically, what they looked at was what kind of shark population they’re dealing with in the area. Then they looked at how these sharks behave in other locations around the world–namely the Bahamas (Tiger) and Cuba (Bull Shark). We got to see more footage of men swimming with Tigers and off Cuba, they’re feeding Bull Sharks from their hands, and even have them take fish from their mouths! =8-O Never. Not me.

Bull Sharks, IMO, are the most dangerous shark out there when it comes to attacks on humans. Remember those two kids attacked off Florida a couple of years ago? The girl died. Bull Sharks don’t give up when they’ve decided someone is prey and they’ll hang with even after rescuers get the person into a raft or something.

But back to the show. They also looked at what changed around that beachy area in Brazil. It turns out that they dredged out an area near where several rivers flow into the ocean about 30 miles up the coast so that the big container ships can get in and out. They also paved over the areas where there were mangrove trees. Since this is a favorite kind of area for Bull Sharks, they headed on down to the next area where a river empties into the sea–this area is darn near the beaches where all the attacks are happening.

The final factor (and what I guess the big difference is between this area and other parts of the world) is that the sea around this place in Brazil is lifeless with the exception of some ship wreck nearby. Environmental damage has wiped out the sea and the sharks don’t have enough to eat (as opposed to the area around Cuba where it’s full of life and the sharks are well fed and don’t need to attack humans, I guess). Basically, they said it was too late to repair the environmental damage so they’re educating people about sharks.

And trying to keep people out of the water in that area! Despite all the shark warning signs, people are going in anyway. There are lifeguards, but I’m thinking, who in their right mind–lifeguard or not–is going to race into the water with a shark attacking? Not me. Sorry.

My other occupation for the night was trying to find information on dragon powers. Does anyone know of a website or book that talks about this? I’m pulling up way too much when I do a search.

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Frustrated

Wednesday, April 11th, 2007

So from my window it looks more like the beginning of December than the beginning of April. I am totally not happy and it’s supposed to snow all day. At least I don’t have to leave the house.

And part two of my frustration is the WIP. Sigh. My characters decided to go to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and since I haven’t been there in years, I hopped online to research. How long could it take to find out some basic information about the museum and some pictures of the interior of the building?

It turned out it took many, many hours. The MIA website was quite helpful about laying out their hours and there were pictures of their art including the Egypt collection which is what I needed. There weren’t many pictures of the interior of the building.

I used Flickr, I used Google Images, I used some other picture site that I can’t even remember the name of and I was getting more and more short-tempered. I can’t imagine trying to do this on dial up–it took forever with high speed. At one point yesterday afternoon, I growled, “It would be faster to grab my damn camera and drive down to the museum myself.” Which is probably what I should have done.

Then I go to bed last night and the scene I get has my h/h in a park. Sigh. I have no clue if there’s a park near the museum. I get up and get back online. I know, but if I had to waste hours today researching this, I’d be crabby as heck. As luck would have it, there happens to be a park right across the street from the MIA. Now I need a good look at it so I know for sure there are benches. I go to Google, but Google Earth is now a download. I swear I remember looking at it online at work without downloading anything.

I ended up on Flickr again searching for the name of the park. I didn’t find many pictures, but the few I did locate showed the place was perfect. I went to bed and now I’m ready to tackle the WIP again.

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Research and Learning

Friday, January 19th, 2007

One of my favorite things about being a writer is the opportunity to learn new stuff on each book. Not just craft things or structure or plotting or whatever. I mean actually learning about new topics. Research. :-)

I used to do it on my own. As an example, when I was in junior high, I had shark dreams all the time that left me terrified. I went to the library, checked out every book they had on sharks, read them all, and haven’t had another scary shark dream since then.

It’s tougher, though, to find the time when you’re working full time and are tired when you get home. And when there are so many other things you need to do. Writing, though, is like giving yourself permission to take the time to learn. I’ve always had an eclectic set of interests, my college transcript will show you that, but I say it was all preparation for being an author. (Just an aside, I needed 180 credits to graduate. I had 240 credits–without a minor or second major.)

Some of things I’ve written about, I already had an interest in. Like the nanotechnology stuff in The Power of Two. I already had the basics when the idea for the story came to me, so it was just a matter of refreshing my memory and learning some more specific details. This book also had me researching the Maldives, wine and tropical fruit. :-) Anyone who’s read the book and remembers the scene where I used the fruit will know why I’m smiling.

Sometimes, I only need to research a small detail. Sometimes, I have to do wider reading. It depends what I already know and how big a part it plays in the book. If it’s just a small point, I try to quickly look it up and move on.

I have a research folder in my browser bookmarks that is “bulging” with websites. I have it broken down farther into categories and a lot of those have sub-categories. I collect URLs. :-) I have things bookmarked that I might never need to know, but I have the site saved anyway because it offered good information and it might come in handy some day. Like my latest find–a weather guide for sailors. I haven’t had a character who’s a sailor yet, but you never know.

I also have a folder under “Research” that I’ve labeled “Book Specific.” It’s stuff I looked up for a particular story that I can’t see myself ever needing again. But. But you never know. If another question ever comes up on nanotechnology, I’ll know to look in my TPOT folder because I almost never purge a bookmark. :-) Just in case.

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Obsession

Saturday, January 6th, 2007

You know, I can’t get Polynesia out of my head. I had this heroine show up a while back who is half Polynesian and also found her hero who is half Polynesian as well. She’s not talking to me at all, hasn’t given me her name or anything about her. Same with the hero. But the damn thing is that I can’t get this potential story out of my head. I have no plot, nothing–seriously–but all it takes is a picture of a tropical island and my brain goes right to this story. I’m buying research books well in advance of ever needing them and everything.

If she (or he) was talking to me, I could understand this obsession I have, but they’re both mum. This is a good thing because I have the story from hell to work on yet and edits for my August book to finish, but man, I want to know this new story and I want the characters to talk to me. Or at least part of me does. The sensible part is like, no, stay away! :-)

It happened again today when I saw a picture from Moorea Island. It’s part of French Polynesia. Now, I wonder if that’s where my heroine’s ancestors came from. She (and the hero) grew up in America. (Thank God! It would be a bitch to learn another culture well enough to write someone who grew up in it. It’s different with paranormals like my demons in the Crimson world or my heroine who can do magic from In the Midnight Hour. I get to create those worlds, those rules, but I wouldn’t have that ability with a real culture/society.) So this morning, I’ve been looking at pictures of Moorea. Sigh.

I’m so looking forward to finishing the book from hell so that I can play with my new characters. Oh, yeah, I guess I need to finish the two other proposals I was working on and dropped to focus on the WIP. The romantic suspense story is mostly done, I think. All I’ll need to do is another read through of that–hopefully. The futuristic proposal needs some rewriting. My writing buddy pointed out some things that mean some major work before I can send this in. But like my Polynesian heroine, these two stories have to wait too. Double sigh.

I totally understand why the stories I’m not working on are so tempting. It’s because I’m not writing them. :-)

Ah, well. Some day, I will be working on my Polynesian story and I’ll be cursing at those characters as much as I am at Creed and Maia. :-) It’s the nature of writing.

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It’s New Calendar Time

Friday, December 29th, 2006

I overslept again this morning. Sigh. Worse than yesterday and that’s why this is posting later. I was working on edits and didn’t get to bed till after 11pm. They were going so well, I hated to stop, but I knew I’d pay the price today–and I am.

Last night, I had a spend $40, save $10 coupon from Barnes & Noble, and since I needed wall and desk calendars, I decided to check out if they were on sale online. I confess, I wait till they’re 50% off to buy. I was planning to hit BN this weekend, but if I could avoid a trip to the mall, that’s a good thing. Luckily, most of the calendars were marked down.

The wall calendar ended up being really easy. The featured item had pictures of the Greek isles and the images were gorgeous! Usually, I go with Scotland or Ireland and last year I had New Orleans (proceeds of the calendar went to Katrina relief), but this year I wanted something different. Greece is definitely different.

The desk calendar was a little more difficult to pick out. I usually go with the French Impressionists, but again, I wanted something different. I found a really cool Japanese art calendar and I was going to order it, but the description didn’t say whether or not it’s spiral-bound. I want my desk calendar to be spiral so I couldn’t risk ordering it. I went with one of Italy instead.

Then, to make up my $40, I picked up the Lonely Planet guide to Tahiti and French Polynesia. (Yes, my Polynesian heroine is still hanging around, but she won’t talk to me until I’m ready to work on her story. A good thing, too, since I have to concentrate on Creed and Maia.) Lonely Planet has fab pictures (I have their guides to Australia and Ireland already) and good info and it’s a research book. I was all set now to check out.

My Italy desk calendar was out of stock. Sigh. I had to pick a new one. (I wish they would have told me that before I was ready to buy!) I dithered a little, but finally went with a Zen calendar. I haven’t been meditating the way I should lately, so hopefully the pictures and text will encourage me.

The Zen calendar, though, was cheaper than Italy and now I didn’t have $40. I had to find $5 somewhere. I almost bought a Lonely Planet guide to another part of Polynesia, but didn’t want to spent that much money when I don’t know my heroine’s (or hero’s) heritage for sure. Polynesia covers a lot of ground. I ended up going with a Susan Andersen book that I’d missed earlier this summer. Susan Andersen has been a must-buy author for me since Baby, I’m Yours and I read Head Over Heels so many times, I had to buy a second copy. This new one (the title escapes me) has another showgirl heroine and Andersen does them so well. If I only had time to read…

I also discovered a textbook on Polynesian Mythology. It was $75. Gah! But I actually found it at the publisher’s website for half price–new edition must be coming out–so I’m going to order it from there. It sounds like it’s exactly what I’m looking for.

The weather yesterday ended up being much ado about nothing, but it was nice to have extra time to drive into work. It’s amazing how much calmer I am when I don’t have to rush.

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