Writing and research are like peas and carrots!

Writing and research go together like peas and carrots.  Every since I rediscovered my love of writing, my Internet searches have gotten stranger and stranger.  In the past 24 hours, I have looked up cat of nine tails, Prince Sextus Tarquinius’s trip to Gabii, the Oracle of Delphi, a quote from Lord Acton, the common spelling of a few of my favorite Yiddish words, and I double checked the duties of a valet.  Oy vey!

Not everything will end up in my story, but I’m ridiculous when it come to imagining the details while I’m writing.  For instance, I have a character that I’ve “borrowed” from history.  I’ve been researching him and his twisted family for years.  I know from my research that he had “stripes” on his back when he came to the town of Gabii.  He was still bleeding.  What does that even mean?  I’m guessing that meant he was beaten pretty badly.  Next, I’m looking up what that meant in ancient Rome at around 500 BC.  Yikes!  It’s worse than I originally imagined.  Not pretty!!!  After I have these factual details, I have some decisions to make.  How would going through this experience affect the actions of this character?  What would the physical scars look like?  What about the emotional ones?  It’s like putting together a puzzle, and imaging the missing pieces.

I know I’m taking some liberties with my characters, a good chunk of them are vampires, but I love doing my best to throw in a handful or two of reality wherever possible.  I have a lot of fun looking things up, though I’m trying to limit the amount of time I spend on these tangents.

JH

I’ve been on a writing spree!  😉