(no subject)

[lovedstrangely.livejournal.com]

I know this community has quite a few writers. I was wondering if a few of you could help me out. We all know lkh uses *shudder* calendars and her own sex life as research, which is teh lame. I was wondering what you writers here use when writing about a place you've never been and are not familiar with? to give it a real authentic feeling, ya know?


any help appreciated!

Comments

[moonbeamdancer.livejournal.com]

I try to do you know, actual research, if worst comes to worst, I make it up.

[lovedstrangely.livejournal.com]

I mean, what sort of research. wiki? travel guides? what resources do you use?

[zgirl714.livejournal.com]

http://www.obviouslyinsane.com/awfullypicky/ - That is a writing resource that I run. It has a lot of links to different areas of interest.

What I do is I look for the tourism sites for the place in question to read. Then I go through any encyclopedia for a little history on the place (you know landmarks, local celebrities, myths) before looking for travel guides. Sure, tourism sites and the travel guides are awfully similar but travel guides give you a lot more information on culture, people, and the flaws of the place that the tourism people don't want you to know. Luckily with the internet you can do all these three with just a little help from Google. Too much research is better than too little.

[judes.livejournal.com]

wikipedia, travel guides are my best friends, and i search for pictures posted online a lot. when i look at photographs of the place, i can get a better sense of what it's like to actually be there.

i also try and ask people who have been there to describe what it's like.

[deadsong.livejournal.com]

Wikipedia, a bit. If I'm writing about a specific city, I try to see if the city has its own website--especially for smaller cities or towns, those things are usually little folksy goldmines that let you get a good impression for the overall feel of the place--and absorb as much information and local lore as I can from there. I'll look for a website for the local newspaper, check out prominent headlines from the time period I'm writing about. Travel guides on various websites will help me get an idea of major landmarks and tourist attractions, before Google searches on those landmarks can pull up anything from ghost stories associated with them to someone's blog babbling on about how they went to X landmark for their honeymoon and what it was like.

Yahoo Maps will give me a good idea of the streets of the city; if I need a larger overall view, I'll use the driving directions section to plot a map from my location to the city so I can fix it geographically in my mind in relation to major highways leading from here to there.

Google Images is another goldmine. Keywording the city can pull up artists' photo shoot galleries of some places, with everything from grandly sweeping skyline shots to some little crack in the sidewalk that caught the photographer's attention and really said something to them about the character of the place. You'll get people's family photos, ideas of neighborhoods, etc. News shots, too. Then there's that thing on Google whose name I can't remember that lets you get satellite imaging as well, zoomed down until you're practically looking over a neighborhood from a high balcony and can get an idea of the types of houses and landscapes.

...okay, I'm babbling a lot for someone that recently joined the community and has hardly said anything elsewhere.

[deadsong.livejournal.com]

Oh--though also, Yahoo Yellow pages can let me find out what businesses are on what street. So if I want to talk about some schmuck turning left on Main in X city, if I want to I can throw in "Danny Schmuck braked, then eased into the left lane to wait for the turn signal. The McDonald's on the corner leered at him; across the street the broken sign of a closed Chuck E. Cheese was a garish blot with a gaping, jagged-tooth mouth punched in the middle of the plastic-fronted sign. He stared at these things dully without seeing them, then kicked the clutch and shifted into gear when the flashing green arrow finally gave him the go-ahead."

...or I could just leave all that out and say "He turned left on main". ~coughs~

[dracoliciousss.livejournal.com]

i try to go there if i possibly can, but if not, a really good thing to do is to call one of the nicer hotels in that area. Usually you get a person on the staff who will be only too happy to tell you what kind of cool things are in the area to see, and what kind of restaurants to go to. Then I get over to the library and look up any books having to do with the area to get more knowledgeable about it, and then i go to imdb to see if there's ever been a movie that was set in that area, so that i can get a cinematic visual. hope this helps!

[darksongtrilogy.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm writing a trilogy set (so far) in ancient Mesopatamia c. 2500 BC, Athens in 425 BC, Bhatar in 425-420 BC, Egypt 420 BC, Rome in approximately 100 AD--you get the idea. Research has been a BEAR. I've so far used the library and bought books from Borders. If you're looking for information on present day places, then the touristy sites, like GoGreece or something, are pretty trustworthy.

Historical information...absolutely not on the internet. I've been burned badly twice in my research by trusting internet sites. If you want history, go with hardcover books. I'm surprised the library hasn't sent their goons to break my kneecaps yet, but internet research will screw you over.

Another bit of advice--ask people. You'd be surprised what they know and what they know how to find. I slogged away for months trying to find information on Bhatar by myself, and as soon as I asked, people had suggestions. For example, one knew that the people in India where I'm going spoke Pakrit in my time period, not Sanskrit or Tamil. That probably saved me a hell of a lot of work.

[darksongtrilogy.livejournal.com]

And another addendum--an amazingly good source of information are the religious texts of that area. I've used information on Buddha to find detail in India and the Bible and the Koran to get detail on the Middle East. Detail, for example, like what they ate, what plants were in the area, place names, like the Street of Oranges...there are some really useful references.

[mneiai.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Net research can be bad if you don't know what to look for. What sort of sites were you burned by for history? I usually find that if they're affiliated with a major university they're pretty good.

[darksongtrilogy.livejournal.com]

Mostly I was burned by omission. Wikipedia, for some subjects, is understandably short on material, but it's just my rotten luck that the Muslims burned most of India's historic texts when they invaded 1900 years ago. Blech. And some stuff in Wikipedia--like the language issue--was contradicted by other, reputable sites. Googling will only take you so far. I'm still mind-bogglingly short on information on India during this time period, and the websites I've found on that contradict each other and omit what I would think are pretty important details. Like the fact that the whole freaking metropolis collapsed thirty years after Buddha died. The sources I found made a HUGE deal of this city, how wonderful it was, and didn't mention that it was a ghost town three decades later. Bastards.

Basically, it depends on the subject, but I don't trust the internet for the more obscure history, and the sort of detail a writer would need in general. Facts and dates--okay. Culture, language, flora, fauna, clothes...uh-uh. Find a book.

[darksongtrilogy.livejournal.com]

Well, and it was pretty rotten luck for the Indians whose historical texts were burned. An interesting quirk of history that's complicating the lives of scholars and would-be authors almost two thousand years later. *sigh*

[mneiai.livejournal.com]

Have you attempted to contact an expert, then? When I have major problems with my research I will ask college professors, even grad students, and the like.

Books have failings, too. Mostly that you have to find the right ones in some situations, which can mean multiple libraries/bookstores or ordering books from other libraries/bookstores. I find that only through a use of books, the internet, and real people can I get the information I really want/need in an amount of detail I desire.

[randomsome1.livejournal.com]

I google lots. This frequently leads me to Wikipedia, as well. I also like to bug people who would know, since I can get more specific/detailed answers that way.

[salveo-opes.livejournal.com]

I posted this link the other day, just because I stumbled across it and it actually might be a more useful thing than a calender for research, seeing as how the Kama Sutra is about a lot of sex related things.
http://www.logical-lust.com/kamasutra.html

Wikipedia is generally useful for just about anything.

(Well, unless you're hung up on using a calender for your research, because we all know how useful those are for everything beyond knowing what day it is.)

[salveo-opes.livejournal.com]

Forgot to mention anything religion related can usually be found at sacred-texts.com if you need anything like that.

[mneiai.livejournal.com]

What place are you talking about? Researching Ancient Rome is a hell of a lot different than researching St. Louis, after all.

The absolutele best thing to do for modern cities is find someone who lives in this place. If you can't, then look in multiple different guide books (both just guide books for the city and travel guides). If the place is famous it probably even has some modern day non-fiction books set in it that I'd check out. It usually takes at least a few days of intensive research in a library, for me, if I use books and don't want to buy them. For spacial questions, Google Earth is wonderful.

For places that no one alive would have lived in, it's a bit more difficult. But, at the same time, if it's a place like Rome, Carthage, or wherever, you can easily find academic sources that will list certain books as the best and may even say what they're the best for. Like, some would be better for architecture, some for daily life, etc. They'll also tell you what are considered the best translations for books that aren't originally in a language you speak. If you still have questions, that's when you look for specific livejournal groups, which there are for practically everything and ask, very politely, with as much detail about what exactly you're looking for as possible to save the person time.

::pants:: Yeah, that's a very, very basic rundown of what I'd suggest for a person to do who's not used to lots of research.

[jeannette.livejournal.com]

It really depends on what I'm writing and what I need to know. If it's something not very intensive (like the research I do for my fanfics) I tend to use google and wikipedia. For more intensive original works, I'd reccomend going with published works. Libraries, research catalogs... if you have access to a service like InfoTrac or Ebsco Host (I know I can still hack in with my old college id ;) ) those can help give you ideas of publications to track down. Also, for historical stuff, I LOVE history channel programs. They sometimes leave small details out, but those are easy holes to patch. And they're fun.

[cicipsychobunny.livejournal.com]

I'm so far sticking with fantasy, so I control the world, or one story in my current city and old home town, so I know what's what.

[dwg.livejournal.com]

Atlases and encyclopedias are my friend. As is google and Wikipedia. And when I know that I'm going after something specific, the library comes in handy and I wind up with pages of notes.

Also, the occasional documentary that comes along.

There was a three part doco on the Inquisition and witchcraft from Germany on not that long ago. It was more about the witchly perspective rather than OMG EVIL! DIE! *fwoom*

[saadiira.livejournal.com]

I LOVE it when you can get an unbiased sort of a source on that sort of thing.

Ever catch the one that tracked ergot poisoning against outbreaks of accusations of witchcraft in Medieval Europe?

That one was ASTOUNDING. Seems every time that the weather was the right combination of springtime wet where rye was a major crop, you'd get all sorts of accusations. Ergot poisoning causes horrendous convulsions and hallucinations. Those who survived may very well have thought they saw the Devil.

Another really good one that was on quite recently involved forensic anthropology and a strong case for Bubonic plague and the Black Death NOT being the same disease. Yes, there would have been outbreaks of both at the time, but the spread and symptoms very carefully recorded were actually of something far more horrible.

-Dira-

[dwg.livejournal.com]

RE: Ergot

Ther eis a book called Acceptable Risk by Robin Cook that deals with this.

Basically, they took bacteria from rye in a Salem witchtrail victim's grave, grew it and started to develop a brand new antidepressant with less side effects than Prozac. At the time, the only side effect was hallucinations.

Only, it turned out that prolonged exposure to A) the bacteria and B) the unrefined drug, made people into crazy animal killing psychos whenever they went to sleep.

It's worth the read, if not for the crazy climax, then for how a medical perspective fills in the wtich hysteria.

The doco I mentioned above had something abou that too, where they said that pretty much "flying ointment" was a drug the peasants took just so that they could escape the misery of their lives. They had plagues, they went through a miniature ice-age in the Germanic regions of Europe, so there was famine, there was a war or osmething going on at the time and basically, life sucked to unholy hell. They didn't have television, most peole were iliterate, so they took drugs to entertain themselves. Most of the shit that got people accused ot witchcraft was as harmless as seasoning.

[saadiira.livejournal.com]

Err..doubtful on the flying ointment, though yeah, it can cause hallucinations. Pretty damned poisonous. It's more like a vision quest type of a thing.

Witchcraft was basically a bit too much of the old religion or midwifery in societies that wanted to take even that power from women, and give it to male 'doctors'. The only ones killing kids, or anyone else, though, were the Christians.

-Dira-

[saadiira.livejournal.com]

I actually professionally write and research at times. (Just finished a large assignment involving various historical periods and occurrences.)

I love Google. Wickepedia not so much, though I might use it for terms and dates, which I then would Google. TIMELINES are also your friends for anything political or historical. Use several, both of main events, and of, say, foods, inventions, social customs, fashion...they've got COUNTLESS timelines! Then, further google. You'd be shocked what details you can pick up just by following things like historic recipes online!

Archeological terms are also good for searches. The more city names and such you get for a region or time period, the more articles you can find.

I also use libraries. Librarians can be VERY helpful if you tell them that you're trying to work on something professional, as opposed to a school paper. They will suddenly go out of their WAY to help if you're nice. This is probably because as a student, they are looking for you to learn to use the library. As something else, they are looking to get you what you specifically NEED.

Book stores with cafes are also wonderful. It can be easier to find your goods by subject there than at the library! Plus, COFFEE! Many now have hook-ups free of charge so that you can at least run your laptop, if not get online. Failing that, there's always note-taking by hand, and a few good notebooks.

As you go, jot down terms for later use in searches. You'd be shocked just how much really IS online and is of quality once you start doing this to find actual articles.

If you are going to do a great deal of research on a given subject, you might also consider online subscriptions to various libraries. Some are monthly, and quite reasonable. Also handy for those already there and free is a good PDF reader for downloading PDF files.

Best sites for good solid information are generally as follows: .gov, .edu, and ANYTHING from legitimate publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian, Time, and generally, many things from field or area specific publications. (Such as AMA, JAMA for medical, AARP for various political and other issues affecting the elderly, even where there might be some political slant, ALL sorts of historical publications for those who have an interest in specific time periods, a big one being the Civil War. You can get MAD information on that. Genealogical sites can be wonderful for American History in general, I've also found...)

[saadiira.livejournal.com]

One of the subjects to be most careful with is generally anything medical. Lots of fly-by-night info on that sort of thing. There are also a good many sites with rampant political biases. Try to back up what you find in sets of two or three when not sure, and verify off of a .gov or .edu if something seems fishy information-wise. Bias wise, you might still find on .gov's. Best I can suggest for that, frankly, is to read over various viewpoints, and include a few non-US ones, such as BBC. (And keep in mind, facts may be the same in all sources when it comes to politics, it's INTERPRETATION that can differ wildly. There are times you find some FASCINATING things historically even in the WILDEST places. I got some GREAT ideas of where to look for more information on one set of subjects, for example, from a socialist publication!)

Other interesting sources can be shared hobby resources for re-enactors, as applicable to some periods (Medieval, Civil War, in particular). Some .Com hobby sites can be better than the professional ones. It's just a matter of finding them, then verifying your facts.


Also an excellent source: Experts. This can vary widely, depending on what you are researching, but it doesn't hurt to make a few contacts in various fields of expertise, professions, etc.

Some of the best original material I got for some of my own articles involved interviews with an eye-witness. (I did some 10 of my articles on 9-11, and happen to know a HAZMAT paramedic who was willing to talk to me about it...He was a witness and involved in events of the day as a rescuer. He's also an obsessive collector of memorobelia.) People who work in certain fields or have certain interests can quite often point you very quickly to various professional publications and their own favorite links. This can be a God-send.

If you've got cable, History and Discovery channel also can sometimes run the absolute perfect thing for finding out all kinds of hard to get information about a subject. You just have to get lucky, and pop in a tape. PBS can also be a great source. Again, all depends what you are researching, but shocking how much great stuff actually can come that way.

Finally, just one note: Even if using it for fiction, be sure to adequately credit your research sources! Fair is fair!

-Dira-

[ninjacooter.livejournal.com]

I either try to actually visit the place, or talk to people that have lived there and have lots of experience with it - as well as checking travel books, seeing if there are lots of pictures or any movies about the area, and fishing for good online links. I much prefer actually going there, though - hopefully getting writing done while hanging out at some of the sites that I'm writing about in order to get a more realistic feel for the flow.

Unfortunately, I can't visit the South Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to do research for the second book I'm writing (not a historical book), so I'm taking my time reading through historical and reference books about the DNC/Zaire.