I started writing fic for CSI: Crime Scene Investigation which involved me calling my sister (a forensic scientist) after the long distance rates went down on several separate occasions to ask things like "Do identical twins have the same fingerprints?" (they don't) and "If an alligator bled all over a zoo exhibit, is there any way you'd be able to find a human blood sample if there was one there?" (you'd have to get *really* lucky, which of course they did). I bought a map of Las Vegas and spent a lot of time on a CSI message board to make sure my characters sounded right.
From there I moved to Lord of the Rings, which required a different, more fandom based research and then to Angel, which required me to learn some *very* odd things.
Finally, there was Stargate, and a story I wrote called "Harceisis". THe story itself is terrible (I was fairly new to writing at the time), but the research is a work of art. Basically, when writing for CSI you could whatever you wanted, it just had to be solvable. In Angel, you could do whatever you wanted but you had to explain in with some sort of demon or spell. Stargate takes it one step further: you can do whatever you want, but you have to tie it into Earth's history. "Harceisis" was great because it follows what I am doing in school, and sometimes the real world and the fictional one overlap in some lovely places.
After Harceisis, I have written only one big story, and it as more medically and less historically based. Again, it was back to research, and I asked nurses and doctors and the internet a bunch of questions.
I suppose then that I do all three types of research (my style is mostly adapted from authors that I like and I often write short fics to get into a chracter's head). I always find it hilarious when I ask something like "If you're allergic to penicillin and you need penicillin, what do you take?" and then have to explain that it's for a story and people look at you funny.
For me, the hunt is at least as good as the catch. I love it when history or the real world fits into the world I am trying to build.
Excellent entry, by the way. I am here via metafandom.
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From there I moved to Lord of the Rings, which required a different, more fandom based research and then to Angel, which required me to learn some *very* odd things.
Finally, there was Stargate, and a story I wrote called "Harceisis". THe story itself is terrible (I was fairly new to writing at the time), but the research is a work of art. Basically, when writing for CSI you could whatever you wanted, it just had to be solvable. In Angel, you could do whatever you wanted but you had to explain in with some sort of demon or spell. Stargate takes it one step further: you can do whatever you want, but you have to tie it into Earth's history. "Harceisis" was great because it follows what I am doing in school, and sometimes the real world and the fictional one overlap in some lovely places.
After Harceisis, I have written only one big story, and it as more medically and less historically based. Again, it was back to research, and I asked nurses and doctors and the internet a bunch of questions.
I suppose then that I do all three types of research (my style is mostly adapted from authors that I like and I often write short fics to get into a chracter's head). I always find it hilarious when I ask something like "If you're allergic to penicillin and you need penicillin, what do you take?" and then have to explain that it's for a story and people look at you funny.
For me, the hunt is at least as good as the catch. I love it when history or the real world fits into the world I am trying to build.
Excellent entry, by the way. I am here via