You're Researching What? TCWT Blog Chain May 2013

So, this month the prompt for the Teens Can Write, Too! blog chain came from yours truly. My prompt is thus:

“What are some of the coolest/weirdest/funniest/most disturbing things you’ve researched for a story?”

This is going to be fun.

I have looked up:

• What color violet eyes actually are (they're either pale greyish or dark, dark blue)
• Names that mean "Stupid" (there aren't any)
• "Weird antiques" so I could put some in a fictional antique shop
• The history of bottled water
• Crimes punishable by death
• Ossuaries (really, really want to put one in a story. Maybe as part of a prison)
• A bit about the Barbary Pirates, specifically the capture and sinking of the USS Philadelphia.
• Medieval herbal medical practices (From a book my family owns. That book scares me. They used highly toxic convallaria [lily of the valley] as medicine.)
• Making candles
• Growing and using various kinds of natural dyes (indigo, sumac, madder, etc)
• The branding of slaves (This was an image search. Didn't find what I was looking for.) 
• Different kinds of weird silverware
• Thatching for roofs
• Old fashioned names

I like The Given Names Frequency Project for that last one. I found it when I was trying to find a name for a character who lived in the 1800s, and it was very helpful and extremely interesting. The resource from them  I used (the link called "popular given names, US 1801 - 1999") was a collection of names with the number of times they appeared in censuses during the 1840s. I just looked at their website again, and there are other resources there I haven't investigated yet that look promising.

I've had the urge to write historical fiction (not the story referred to above) since my Anatomy and Physiology class went to the Indiana Medical History Museum, which is housed in what used to be the pathology building for the no-longer-existent Central State Hospital for the Insane. Oh yeah.  Now I really want to set a story there in the 1900s, a few years after the pathology building opened. Other than visiting the museum, I haven't done any research, but I really want to. They had books there from 1850. 1850! Books the original doctors had brought with them when the building opened. And this pair of old, real human skeletons that they had ordered in the day from a medical supply catalog (Just a little creepy...). Oh, and all the old equipment. They had an autopsy table from the 1920s. And this really cool pH color comparer thing...

Okay, I'll stop now. I need to actually come up with a story to set there. 

Another cool historical thing I stumbled upon once was a set of local coroner's records from 1896 to 1935.  I didn't go out looking for them (I accidentally found them on my library's website), but I think I did use them as a historical reference for a story idea that ended up dying. (Dying, coroner's reports, ha.) Depressing, really depressing, but fascinating. Several people got hit by trains. Swallowing acid was a popular form of suicide. Lots of babies died. Teenage boys were stupid. Oh, and there was this murder... which I don't remember all the details to at the moment, and actually there were several murders, but If you want to read more about what I found, I posted a bit about them a while back in this post. 

So, there's my post, with a bonus ramble about historical loony bins. Big thanks to John from TCWT for letting me host this month, and to all the bloggers who participated in the chain. Here's a list of all the participants (you should totally check them out):

5^th – http://theloonyteenwriter.wordpress.com/

6^th – http://deborahrocheleau.wordpress.com/

7^th – http://bloodoverithaca.wordpress.com/

8^th – http://charleyrobson.blogspot.com/

9^th – http://musingsfromnevillesnavel.wordpress.com/

10^th – http://nonconformistwriter.blogspot.com/

11^th – http://dearsaul.wordpress.com/

12^th – http://missalexandrinabrant.wordpress.com/

13^th – http://insideliamsbrain.wordpress.com/

14^th – http://cinderscoria.blogspot.com/

15^th – http://emilyvaneaton.wordpress.com/

16^th – http://www.brookeharrison.com/

17^th – http://thespasticwriter.blogspot.com/

18^th – http://veewhoa.wordpress.com/

19^th – http://www.mandilynn.com/

20^th – http://theteenagewriter.wordpress.com/

21^st – http://avonsbabbles.wordpress.com/

22^nd – http://realityisimaginary.blogspot.com

23^rd – http://miriamjoywrites.wordpress.com/

24^th – http://anomalous93.blogspot.com/

25^th – http://thelittleenginethatcouldnt.wordpress.com/

26^th – http://ktlemonhead.wordpress.com/

27^th – http://dreamerheadquarters.wordpress.com/

28^th – http://paulinaczarnecki.wordpress.com/

29^th – http://www.lilyjenness.blogspot.com/

30th – http://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com/ (We’ll announce the topic for next month’s chain)

And a wondrous day/night/morning/midnight/mid-afternoon/whatever to you. 

Teens Can Write, Too! May Blog Chain

Today is my turn to post for the Teens Can Write, Too! May blog chain.  In case you couldn't figure that out from the title of this post.

This month's prompt is "Why do you write?"

Hmm.  This one's a toughie.

I write because I love it.  And because my head would probably explode from idea overload if I didn't write my ideas down.  Mostly because I love it.

When I was little, being a published author was one of the first things I wanted to be, if memory serves me correctly.  I think it was the first Harry Potter book that inspired me to be an author.  Did I write anything back then? No. I dreamed up story ideas, told them to my sister as bedtime stories, but nothing ever really made it onto paper or a Word doc.  The first story I started writing I actually created as an attempt to get out of writing a book report when I was twelve(ish). Mom didn't go for it.  (For those of you who don't know and didn't read my bio, I'm homeschooled.  This means my homework is somewhat negotiable.  Be jealous.)  Even though that didn't work, I kept writing the story.  I'm not sure what motivated me.  Then my mom turned finishing it into homework, and thus the very first version of Lizzie Evans and the Black Cat Diamond was born.  I wrote the sequel between January of 2010 and July of last year, and rewrote the Black Cat Diamond for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month.  Known to the rest of humanity as November) last year.  NaNoWriMo is what turned writing into a necessary bodily function for me.  I negotiated for less homework during the month of November, and wrote from lunch to dinner all month. It. Was. Heaven.  I wish every month was November. I've been thinking about writing a parody on Taylor Swift's song "Back to December", and changing it to "Back to November."

I think that's all I've got to say for this post, other than "be sure to check out the rest of the blog chain!", and "did anyone else catch the Doctor Who references in Inheritance by Christopher Paolini?" I think there was one in Brisingr too.  That has nothing to do with this post, but I was curious. 

(Sorry about the white background again.  I don't know what the deal is.)

Want to follow our blog tour? Here are the participating parties, day by day

May 5–http://towerofplot.blogspot.com–The Leaning Tower of Plot

May 6–http://correctingpenswelcome.wordpress.com–Comfy Sweaters, Writing and Fish

May 7–http://cassidymarierizzo.wordpress.com–Cassidy Marie Rizzo

May 8–http://insideliamsbrain.wordpress.com–This Page Intentionally Left Blank

May 9–http://weirdalocity.wordpress.com–You Didn’t Really Need To Know This…

May 10–http://inklinedwriters.blogspot.com–Inklined

May 11–http://thewordasylum.wordpress.com–The Word Asylum

May 12–http://lilyjenness.blogspot.com–Lily’s Notes In The Margins

May 13–http://laughablog.wordpress.com–The Zebra Clan

May 14–http://planetaryelastic.blogspot.com–Tangential Bemusings

May 15–http://realityisimaginary.blogspot.com–Reality Is Imaginary

May 16–http://otherrandomthings.wordpress.com–Dragons, Unicorns And Other Random Things

May 17–http://lonelyrecluse.wordpress.com–The Lonely Recluse

May 18–http://delorfinde.wordpress.com–A Farewell To Sanity

May 19–http://incessantdroningofaboredwriter.wordpress.com–The Incessant Droning Of A Bored Writer

May 20–http://allegradavis.wordpress.com–All I Need Is A Keyboard

May 21–http://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com–Teens Can Write Too! (We will be announcing the topic for next month’s chain)

An Introduction to My Writing Insanity

Yep, it's that time again!  Welcome to the Teens Can Write Too! April blog chain.  This month's prompt is:  What are your writer's habits and eccentricities?

A good prompt indeed!

Well, during NaNoWriMo I always wore a pair of greyish wool fingerless gloves that my mom made.  They're cool because they have cables on them.  Cables are cool.  I wore them  'cause they kept my hands warm and kept tendonitis at bay (mostly), but they looked good too.

Something I do on a regular basis is talk to myself.  Or, rather, my characters talk to me through me.  That sounds a bit bonkers, but 'tis none the less true.  Letting them borrow my voice gives me insight as to how they would say something.  It may be something as simple as "My name is Viola" (that one's been going through my head A LOT lately) or an entire monologue.  It's like I can hear them say it.  The tone they use, the voice inflections, the sarcasm, the smile that comes from their words as well as their facial muscles, the disgust, etc.  It makes me look crazy, but the strange looks are worth the payoff.  Of course sometimes I start talking to myself without realizing it or using the hand motions my character is using, which can get a bit awkward.

Sometimes I act out the scene that's going through my head.  This can be weird, since about half the time I do it without realizing it.  I'll be plunging a dagger at a bad guy when I realize that my fist kinda hurts from hitting the sheet cabinet (the "bad guy") a little too hard. Or swinging a cheese grater around like a sword only to turn and see my sister giving me a weird look.  Yes, I turn cheese graters into swords.  I've turned just about every kitchen utensil my family has into a weapon of some kind.  It's quite fun. 

A habit I just recently discovered I had is to open a story with a bit of back story.   This one can be a bit problematic, since the current trend is to start in the middle of the action.  We'll see how that turns out.  I may just have to find clever ways of employing the use of a prologue.

Something else I just noticed is that lately I have a thing for redheaded warrior princess type characters.  Weird huh?

Another thing I like to do is to mash two things that don't usually go together together and give them to a character as a quirk.  Like Shakespeare and spray paint.  Or wearing purple Goth style clothes and playing lead guitar in a country band.  Yes, I've done both of those, and they're some of my favorite characters.

Well, I think that's enough of my brain for you today.  Be sure to visit the gift shop and come back soon!

Here's a map of the blog chain, day by day:
(Sorry about the white background.  The BFDs [Blogger Formatting Demons] have done something weird)

April 5– http://correctingpenswelcome.wordpress.com–Comfy Sweaters, Writing, and Fish

April 6– http://towerofplot.blogspot.com — The Leaning Tower of Plot

April 7–http://lilyjenness.blogspot.com–Lily’s Notes in the Margins. YOU ARE HERE!

April 8–http://weirdalocity.wordpress.com– From My Head

April 9–http://insideliamsbrain.wordpress.com–This Page Intentionally Left Blank

April 10–http://thewordasylum.wordpress.com–The Word Asylum

April 11–http://rachelsbookreviews.com–Rachel’s Book Reviews

April 12–http://noveljourneys.wordpress.com–Novel Journeys

April 13–http://delorfinde.wordpress.com–A Farewell to Sanity

April 14–http://swordofink.com–Sword of Ink

April 15–http://thedreamersadventures.blogspot.com–The Dreamers Adventures

April 16–http://incessantdroningofaboredwriter.wordpress.com–The Incessant Droning of a Bored Writer

April 17–http://herestous.wordpress.com–Here’s To Us

April 18–http://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com–Teens Can Write Too! (We will be announcing the topic for next month’s chain)

The Joys of Pinterest as a Writing Resource

This weekend I did two things that I never thought I'd do:  shop for goth clothing and use Pinterest as "homework" for writing.

Pinterest is an online "pin board", where you can pin pictures of stuff onto your "boards".  The down side?  You have to have either a Facebook or a Twitter account to join.  Pinterest is the only reason I'm on Twitter.

Anyway, this weekend I created two new boards, Character Clothing and Writing Inspiration.  (You can click on those words if you want to see the boards.  You do not have to have an account to view them.)  I "went shopping" for goth clothing for one of my characters who's a goth.  Let me tell you, there's something a little disconcerting in finding something you would wear amongst clothing you wouldn't be caught dead in.  But now I have pictures of goth clothing I think that my character would wear, and I can go to that board if I'm ever in need of inspiration for her.  The writing inspiration board doesn't have much in it yet, but anytime I see a picture of a place I think would make a good setting for a story, I have a place to put it.

Before I wrap this post up, I have a quick rant on finding clothing for characters that are comfortable in jeans. Go ahead and skip it if you want.  I CAN'T FIND ANY GOOD PICTURES! It is very vexing.  I have found loads of fashionable clothes, goth clothes, clothes I wouldn't put on a monkey for the shame, but NO good pictures of normal people in casual clothes.  The same goes for guy's clothes. All I can find is pictures of suits. And shoes. And really weird t-shirts. Very annoying.

Ah, much better.  Hope you all have a great day!

The TARDIS vs. The Imagination

Last night I was lamenting the fact that I was going to the French Revolution without the TARDIS, and I realized that the imagination is just as good.  Okay, for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, I stared Les Mis last night, and was sad that I was using my imagination to go to revolutionary France instead of the awesome, time-traveling, blue phone box from Doctor Who.  You can learn more about the TARDIS here.  WARNING: That page does include spoilers. The one that clicking on the words "Doctor Who" takes you to might also.

Anyway, whilst pondering my misfortune, I realized that the imagination is just as good as the TARDIS, if not as cool.  Below is a list I created that compares the TARDIS and the imagination.

1.  The imagination can take you to more places and to more times than the TARDIS can.  But the TARDIS actually takes you there. You can feel, smell, hear, see and taste more when the TARDIS takes you somewhere. You're actually there.  Whereas the imagination can't really take you anywhere.  Generally.  Only those with very vivid imaginations can actually go to imaginary places. (Yes, I'm one of them)

2. The rules for the imagination are...well, actually there really aren't any.  Whereas if you travel by TARDIS you have to obey the rules of time travel and the Shadow Proclamation.  Like no messing up the future or the past, there are fixed points in time that have to remain a certain way, blah blah blah.  Nothing is certain or fixed in the imagination. You can change anything you want.

3.  The TARDIS is bigger on the inside than the outside.  In a way, the imagination is bigger since it can contain multiple universes.

4. The TARDIS is an awesome blue phone box with all sorts of buttons and pully things and telephones and zig-zag plotters and weird screens and universal translators and a swimming pool and a library (and sometimes a swimming pool in the library) and an engine that wheezes and whorps.  Here's an example of the noises that the TARDIS makes. The imagination is a probably disgusting looking lump of brain tissue.

In conclusion, both the TARDIS and the imagination are very nice way to travel.  If you want to go in style though, go with the TARDIS.