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Post by girlyesterday on Sept 26, 2009 1:10:53 GMT -5
Generally, when I write a story, I often have to do a fair amount of research on things just so I don't look totally stupid when I have to write about them, but also to determine how plausible a particular thing is.
Does anyone else do this for their story/stories? (Sim stories or otherwise).
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Post by Stacy on Sept 26, 2009 2:41:17 GMT -5
I've done tiny bits of it, but never anything more serious than googling and looking at a couple of sites.
I would certainly do it for something serious. A few updates back people were expecting Valley to be a realistic police procedural and I was like, "Err, no, it's set in the Sims 3 game where sims in the law enforcement career go around digging through people's trash and writing reports on them."
However, for the non-Sims version - even if I find another profession for Jason I'll probably still have to research law enforcement a bit since I do still want Seth to kill people who are around Lilith but I need Lilith free to move around and not being held for questioning. So yeah. I definitely see research in my future.
What sort have you done?
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Post by girlyesterday on Sept 26, 2009 3:02:47 GMT -5
Back in the days of TS2, a lot of my stories were very heavily sci-fi influenced, but my research also covered a large portion of non-sim stories.
I did research on whether vampirism could be explained from a science standpoint. I also did research on immortality as that featured a lot in my stories as well; faeries (through folklore and modern literature); the picts (customs, rituals, fighting styles, religion); the big one though is religion. I research a lot about different religions and cultures. I use religion a lot, particularly in my fantasy based stories. I used to write a lot of stories that focused on religious warfare; I research folklore a lot (irish, celtic, norse mythology) and recently, I've done research on genetic engineering, psychology, virus mutations, mental health, clone technology and nano technology, australian mythology and living in the australian outback (dangers, hazards, survival). I've also done research on martial arts, kendo, samurai fighting styles, japan during the edo period, geishas and the role of counselors as well as the possibility of time travel. I did a few classes in karate and tai chi just to understand the philosophy behind it. I am currently trying to find a class on fencing/sword fighting.
I'm constantly researching. Sometimes, I suspect quite strongly that the research is a lot more fun for me than the actual writing of a story.
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Post by Stacy on Sept 26, 2009 3:34:32 GMT -5
That is totally awesome.
I research esoteric subjects for fun, and I imagine they make it into my stories subconsciously - like Valley is very much influenced by the reading I've done over the last several years about Buddhist philosophy and ego development.
I'd love to read the stuff that you did all that research for. It sounds fascinating - particularly the scientific vampirism and immortality bits since I'm trying to figure out how Seth works in a non-Sims world.
I'd be interested in any conclusions you may have come to after researching so many religions. I grew up in a basically a-religious home and it's always been a bit of a foreign subject for me and one I struggle to understand.
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Post by girlyesterday on Sept 26, 2009 4:12:20 GMT -5
I am totally looking forward to fencing if I can actually get a class. I'm going to be sore as anything afterwards but I think it would just totally rock and teach me what it feels like physically and the techniques involved so when I write a fight scene, I'm not merely going off theory but drawing on practice as well.
I'm just lucky my partner is a black belt in martial arts so he teaches me some of the stuff I need to know to write a convincing scene. I tend to write very strong female roles.
Esoteric subjects are fun to read about. I am extremely open minded about religion. They intrigue me so I tend to read about them, even the ones people roll their eyes at.
There is something out there for sure but I don't think it can be clearly defined. My belief is that when we die, we rejoin a universal collective and that having deities for certain aspects of life (Goddess of Fertility, God of Death, Goddess of Discord etc etc) is a way for us to define and touch divinity. Our human minds are not evolved enough to grasp the truth of the universe and so we must pigeon hole it into something more tangible and that our minds can understand. I believe at the moment of death, the truth is revealed to us because at that stage, our minds are evolved enough to handle it. And death is just the next stage and isn't the end.
Then again, the reason the subject fascinates me so much is because I'm curious about the secrets of the universe. I ponder it way too much. That and I just enjoy learning about things. I am happiest when I am learning.
I have been thinking about reposting my TS2 stories on WP but I haven't really had the incentive. I still have all the caps and all the stories. I saved them all onto a CD rom. One of the stories actually deals with immortality and death which you might find of interest for the Seth background.
Speaking of that, I am going to your worldbuilding thread now. I have some ideas.
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Post by raquelaroden on Sept 26, 2009 7:42:27 GMT -5
I think about this a lot, particularly with a story in which a private investigation firm plays a large role. One nice thing about private investigation in the real world is that the laws governing who can be a private investigator and exactly what they can do vary from state to state (in the U.S.). So, since I haven't specified a state, I can take bits and pieces of private investigation procedure and use it.
Now,I found out that information when I was researching it as a possible career when I left academia. I've always wanted to be Nancy Drew, so I started looking into ways I could accomplish that without being required to carry a gun.
That being said, I had one of my characters do something that was obviously illegal. I was worrying over how to explain it when I realized that I didn't have to--this behavior was within the realm of believability for the reader. They expect this sort of behavior, and now I want to use it to convey some important aspects of my character's morality and worldview--namely that sometimes, the greater good can be served by doing something that seems bad. I'm beginning to think that this is a running theme in my series.
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Post by Monday Morning on Sept 26, 2009 10:22:12 GMT -5
I enjoy researching for most of my stories. I have a few stories that I've been trying to develop for two to three years because I always go back and research the particulars in an attempt to better my plotline.
I am a firm believer in faeries, and I've scores of books about them, from Brian Froud to an encyclopedia, to way of contacting faeries. I love the mythology behind them, and am fascinated by the birth of Ireland and the Book of Invansions, which catalogues the conquests of the island from the very beginning to Milasians from Spain. I am also in love with the story of Deirdre because it is an epic tragedy, and one myth I'd like to retell.
I also enjoy some Greek/Roman mytholgoy, and my favorite series of plays would be The Orestaeia by Aeschylus. I cannot tell you how many times I've tried to incorporate elements from those three plays into my writing! The plays seem to cover all of the bases and are a great look into human behavior and mentality.
Vampires are also one of my favorite subjects to research, and in fact when I was in college, I wrote about vampires as legend vs. fact for my mythology class. I grew up with vampires, having began with Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles in the seventh grade (shortly after Interview came out on vhs). For one of my stories I've been trying to put down, I've done some research on vampirism, but mostly on forensics as the main character arrives in a morgue and I wanted to find out what the preceedures of disecting and analyzing a body would entail. I found a great book dedicated to the subject just for writers. I'm also a fan of CSI: so needless to say, it's inspired me a little.
When I write fantasy, I do some research, but usually only on societal (is that even a word?) practices amidst a culture similar to the one I'm trying to create. Or, if the people are plant-based and also inspired by Greek mythology, I'll explore the world of botany to make sure I get some of the details right when writing about texture, soil, etc.
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Post by thelunarfox on Sept 26, 2009 12:10:09 GMT -5
You all are amazing! I suppose it makes sense that writers are curious folks or else we wouldn't write.
That being said, I've never really done any heavy research for a story, but then I haven't ever had any story that I've really thrown myself into enough that I wanted to do all the extra work. To be honest, most of my writing experience is just free writing for fun that's never been shared. Usually, it's just been me bouncing characters off each other and their environment.
It's been handy in a way because I can just write without fear now and without editing-- of course what comes out is crap and so I have to spend a lot of time cleaning it up, but that's ok. Research would actually become a step in my clean up process. Once I've gotten the thought out, then I can shape it.
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Post by mdpthatsme on Oct 15, 2009 19:46:31 GMT -5
Most of my stories are completely not related to this world we call Earth...so I can make up anything I want to...unless it physics...I'm just not bright enough to change any of that.
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Post by laura on Oct 15, 2009 20:04:52 GMT -5
For LH, I'll do just enough research so not to look stupid, lol! Wikipedia rocks my world for quick research! Especially for having to write such a broad range of characters like I do in LH, there's usually *something* I have to reference when I write an update. As far as my other stories, I tend to write about things I'm already interested in, so it never feels like a chore. The main character in my novel is a biology major in college and works in a zoo with penguins, and I'm fascinated in the stuff I have to learn for her - I realize that makes her sound like a *really* dorky character, but she's fun! I guess the same could be said for LH too though, I wouldn't research something unless I'm already interested in it. So echoing what you've all said here, it ends up being enjoyable work.
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Post by mdpthatsme on Oct 15, 2009 20:21:51 GMT -5
Do you see my avatar, pengiuns are not dorky! ;D
It's better to write about things you are interested in because you are internally connected to whatever-it-is. If you can connect to it then so can your readers, but you're the one who makes it tangible enough for them to feel it.
Also if you are very interested in it then you'll write about it longer, research or not, it's bound to be good.
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