|
|
|
|
When I want to accurately describe a known area, Google Earth allows me to see more details then I might if I go there. If it's a building, Google street view allows me to look at it while I write about it. Even if I've been to a location, these tools can refresh my memory.
What other tools are particularly useful? Is there a wiki or dictionary or forum -or whatever- that you can recommend?
|
|
Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
|
I am writing historical comic fantasy. My experience has been that, no matter what I'm researching, from sixteenth century trading vessels to what Queen Elizabeth received for New Year gifts to the history of Natural Philosophy, the most valuable and abundant information is found on Wikipedia.
|
|
Joined: 12/13/2011
Posts: 15
|
Hello GD,
What you've brought up is very interesting to me. There was a time, long before the '3 dubyas' when you couldn't get me out of a library for love nor money - well, certainly not for love. It was my number one research tool and physically very satisfying to walk along the ceiling high maze of books, knowing you were passing thousands, nay, millions of words in mere seconds. Now my research is done mainly on the internet and it's not nearly as satisfying and I might even argue not necessarily more expedient either in terms of like for like research. Why? Well, I google what I need but like to cross reference Wikipedia with other sources where possible as I've sometimes found Wikipedia allows inconsistencies in their information, certainly on the subject of the Gypsy traveller community which my story has as one of it's central themes. So I trawl the internet for as many hours as I would normally trawl a well stocked reference library... I can't say i find it as much fun, but that's just me, missing the feel of the books. If only libraries stayed open 24/7 then I might still be using them. In this regard I'm eternally grateful to have finally learnt a form of wet-free surfing. But, now I have a question? Do you or anyone else have a better search engine than google? That i'd be interested to note.
|
|
|
|
Hi'yas M Romero,
You are exactly right: Libraries are more satisfying than the Internet. A good library has an atmosphere conducive to learning. It is organized for research and staffed by helpful people who have a Masters in Library Science. By comparison, the Internet can be a lonely place to bungle about for information.
Still, Wikipedia and any search engine is faster if you just want information.
But I don't think that research should be confined to researching information. Books offer deeper understandings than we get from information alone. Reading Wikipedia's article on Frankenstein is a totally different experience from reading Shelly's book. And, I'm sure that your book gives readers a better feel for the Gypsy traveller community than does Wikipedia.
|
|
Joined: 8/21/2011
Posts: 394
|
Just scrolling through the older discussion threads and came across this one - I worked in a library for almost 5 years, and while I agree that libraries certainly have their appeal (books, books, and more books!), you still have to know what you're looking for and need to be able to recognize authoritative sources (GD - unfortunately, not all libraries hire MLS folks and, to be honest, some of the MLS folks I've worked with in the past were more caught up in categorizing information than actually using it!).
But I also spent 10 years of my professional life locating and evaluating scholarly web sites. I don't think I have to tell people that there is, quite frankly, a lot of crap out there on the Internet. Wikipedia, while an enormous presence on the Internet, definitely has its share of crap. When I'm researching something, I use Google (never liked any other search engine I've used - especially anything put out by Microsoft) and more often than not, have to click through two to three screens' worth of Google results before I find the true gems. Wikipedia - by virtue of Google's page rank algorithm - almost always appears at the very top of the search results. Stuff at the top is not necessarily the best. I have used Wikipedia in the past as a jumping off point. I go to the reference list in a Wikipedia entry an click through to the primary resources (either from academia, societies or organizations focused on the topic, or government).
Also, if you're looking for research-oriented source material, use Google Scholar to refine your search (scholar.google.com).
I just googled "Gypsy traveller community" and yes, Wikipedia was right at top. But I also found several government resources and several different societies representing various Gypsy communities as well as human rights organizations with pages dedicated to these communities.
Another good resource for free digitized books on a variety of topics is the Project Gutenberg web site (www.gutenberg.org). The site currently has 38,000 books (fiction and nonfiction) that are now in the public domain.
Basically, whether you're using the Internet or going to a library, you just need to be sure that the information you're collecting comes from a reliable, authoritative source.
|
|
|
|
You nailed it, Angela! There is more information on the Internet than there are facts.
I find it easier to use Wikipedia than to think  But I sometimes use it legitimately as a starting point because their articles usually cite references and often provide me with key words to use for further research.
Hard facts of course, like the distant to Venus on a given rainy day, how long it takes blood to dry on snow, or what Europeans wore in the Year Without A Summer can be verified with authorative sources. It is all that other stuff we writers want to know that makes shallow research dangerous. Some things we know are not factual. They are, at best, an understanding based on sifting through incomplete or contradictory information. News from the Middle East comes to mind. Still, as writers, we are responsible for what we believe and we owe it to anyone who bothers to read what we've written as much truth as the story demands.
Thank you for scholar.google.com -I did not know that existed. It's great!
|
|
Joined: 12/1/2011
Posts: 35
|
I utilize both the internet and the library when it comes to research. The criteria for which I use is: how fast do I need the information, how much detail do I need, and how important is it to the story?
Example 1 - Early on in my current fantasy book, I have pair of characters in an observatory. At the spur of the moment, I thought having an irising ceiling which opened up would be cool. Not being anything close to an engineer, I had to get information on how that would work. I did some quick research for images, looked at a couple of different styles, and designed something simple that worked with the technology in my setting. But since it is just in that 1 scene (and possibly others in the future, but not for certain) I didn't sweat the details.
Example 2 - same as above, but sailing vessels. I started with types of ships through wiki, then hit the library and copied reference work and took out a few books on naval warfare, plus borrowed a few DVDs. Naval combat is something which interested me anyway, but there are a great many scenes in this series of books which will involve combat with ships, so I wanted extensive details which would be prohibitive to print on my own.
I should also mention that my wife is a librarian, and she is standing behind me with a yardstick watching every word I type. So please, I beg of you all, go to the library! Please! Wikipedia is evil! Burn your Kindles and Nooks!
|
|
Joined: 2/9/2012
Posts: 427
|
How about primary documents?
Libraries have so many primary documents from the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries...online! I didn't realize the scope of everything they have until I had to track down primary documents for one of my Brit Lit professors in grad school. I went to the NYPL -- it turns out that even though a lot of resources are online, you can only access them at the physical location -- and I was able to download 9 of 10 primary sources (mostly essays on the morality of the novel).
How cool is that? Yay libraries!
|
|
|
|
I'm a frequent flier of both the USGS and KYGS. They have maps, maps, and more maps. Oh, and maps. Did I mention they have maps? You can find a map for just about anything on that site.
I'm also a frequent flier at NOAA.
Also, if you live near a university or college, check out their library. Apply for a non-university borrower's card. And check out their websites. You can find a wealth of ... well ... stuff ... on university websites. I found weather records for eastern Kentucky for 1950 on the WKU site a few years ago.
|
|
|
|
Maps, yes! I use Google Earth to make sure local readers don't boot out of the story because of obvious (to them) errors. Knowing the terrain also allows realistic timing of journeys and can add detailed depth to scenes. Knowledge can make the writing feel right.
|
|
|
|
Google streetview is a real blessing. They finally got some views for Harlan County KY. I have gigs of photographs I've taken on my own, but sometimes GS is more of a time saver for me than digging through files and files and files.
I also call my in-laws if I need to know the history of something or to find out if something has changed. :snicker:
Knowledge is power!
|
|
|
|
That's awesome!
|
|
|
|
Great suggestion, INCspot! I love to talk about the things I collect, but (Duh! it never occurred to me use collectors as a source of information.
|
|
|
|
GD - that's why I call my father-in-law. Between the two of us, we know enough about Harlan County that we probably could give lectures and write a book series (non-fiction).
|
|
|
|
If you're looking for very specific details about anything, go to message boards. You're writing a novel on the Civil War? Go to a message board where Civil War history buffs hang out - or even better, a re-enactment society's message board. You want to learn something specific about stage magic in the early 1900s? Go to a message board for stage magicians.
Library and online texts are excellent resources for overall information, but if you really want to be nitpicky about all the minor details, talk directly to people who are into that kind of thing. Most likely they'd love the opportunity to share what they know.
|
|
|
|