I know my day is Tuesday and technically . . . it still is Tuesday.
Today in my online writer's group, we had a little discussion on where to find information. We use each other a lot for information. One of us is an ex cop. One of us worked in the film industry. One of us did live theater, a few of us raise farm animals A couple of us are nurses, and so on, and so on, and--well . . . you get the picture. With all of us together, we create a fabulous resource for weird information. It's nice to have somewhere to go. I foun d a fun little research site filled with links for various weird things that writer's sometimes need to know.
http://www.writerswrite.com/fiction/links.htm#research
And here's another bonus link for cool medical information:
http://www.dplylemd.com/
Showing posts with label internet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label internet. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Research Shortcuts
by Annette Lyon
I've heard it a ton of times regarding my historical novels: How can you do so much research?
Well, I have a little secret: I don't do that much.
Sort of. That's not entirely true. I do do research. But what a lot of people don't understand is that you don't have to bury your head in a dusty library for months on end in order to get enough information to write a novel.
Don't get me wrong; as a writer, you do need to get the facts straight. And the more you've researched, the better feel you'll have for an era, the more accurate you'll be. But if you think you need to be a full-fledged historian, think again.
Here are four tips that can help save time so you can get back to what you love most: telling the story.
1) Find What's Been Done.
Assuming you're researching for a historical novel rather than, say, a biography, there's no need for you to do the primary research. Chances are, someone else has done that, and you can then read their findings.
Find the work of the experts and read it, highlight it, make notes. I've had a lot of success digging up graduate theses on topics I need that were written at a university that is located in the area I write about. Likewise, a state historical society provided with me with a gem of a resource, the author of which was the expert I needed for one book.
Search libraries, especially university libraries, for what you need. Ask a professor in the field for ideas on who you should talk to or read.
2) Find official sites.
Granted, a lot online isn't accurate, and you have to tread lightly there, but that doesn't mean the Internet doesn't have a ton of resources at your fingertips.
One of the best things things you can do is find web sites of official organizations on the topic you're looking for, because there's a good chance they're more accurate than some average Joe's ramblings about it. Plus, you can often find additional links and resources there as well.
If you don't have your questions answered at that site, contact the webmaster and pose your question. Pros in various fields have a treasure trove of information, and if they've made a web site about that passion, they're likely eager to share that information with someone who shows interest in what they love.
3) Ask for help doing the dirty work.
Librarians exist to help patrons find what they're looking for. Take advantage of that. Call (or if possible, e-mail) a library and see if someone can look up what you need. These people are trained like dogs to sniff out information that most of us might have trouble locating. Let them spend time in the shelves and have it ready for you (or even better, e-mail it to you, if they can).
Likewise, if you'll be traveling to an area where you'll be doing research, contact the library there ahead of time and see if they can't look things up for you so your time there is better spent.
Don't be shy here; they're hired to help you. Let them!
4) Note bibliographies.
At the back of any resource you find, be sure to read the bibliography. It'll be like a trail of breadcrumbs that can lead you to other resources you can look up, including many you might not be able to find elsewhere, and definitely ones you hadn't heard of before.
Enjoy the research process and don't be afraid of it. While you won't use everything you find in your book, the journey to discovering the nuggets you will use can be extremely rewarding.
I've heard it a ton of times regarding my historical novels: How can you do so much research?
Well, I have a little secret: I don't do that much.
Sort of. That's not entirely true. I do do research. But what a lot of people don't understand is that you don't have to bury your head in a dusty library for months on end in order to get enough information to write a novel.
Don't get me wrong; as a writer, you do need to get the facts straight. And the more you've researched, the better feel you'll have for an era, the more accurate you'll be. But if you think you need to be a full-fledged historian, think again.
Here are four tips that can help save time so you can get back to what you love most: telling the story.
1) Find What's Been Done.
Assuming you're researching for a historical novel rather than, say, a biography, there's no need for you to do the primary research. Chances are, someone else has done that, and you can then read their findings.
Find the work of the experts and read it, highlight it, make notes. I've had a lot of success digging up graduate theses on topics I need that were written at a university that is located in the area I write about. Likewise, a state historical society provided with me with a gem of a resource, the author of which was the expert I needed for one book.
Search libraries, especially university libraries, for what you need. Ask a professor in the field for ideas on who you should talk to or read.
2) Find official sites.
Granted, a lot online isn't accurate, and you have to tread lightly there, but that doesn't mean the Internet doesn't have a ton of resources at your fingertips.
One of the best things things you can do is find web sites of official organizations on the topic you're looking for, because there's a good chance they're more accurate than some average Joe's ramblings about it. Plus, you can often find additional links and resources there as well.
If you don't have your questions answered at that site, contact the webmaster and pose your question. Pros in various fields have a treasure trove of information, and if they've made a web site about that passion, they're likely eager to share that information with someone who shows interest in what they love.
3) Ask for help doing the dirty work.
Librarians exist to help patrons find what they're looking for. Take advantage of that. Call (or if possible, e-mail) a library and see if someone can look up what you need. These people are trained like dogs to sniff out information that most of us might have trouble locating. Let them spend time in the shelves and have it ready for you (or even better, e-mail it to you, if they can).
Likewise, if you'll be traveling to an area where you'll be doing research, contact the library there ahead of time and see if they can't look things up for you so your time there is better spent.
Don't be shy here; they're hired to help you. Let them!
4) Note bibliographies.
At the back of any resource you find, be sure to read the bibliography. It'll be like a trail of breadcrumbs that can lead you to other resources you can look up, including many you might not be able to find elsewhere, and definitely ones you hadn't heard of before.
Enjoy the research process and don't be afraid of it. While you won't use everything you find in your book, the journey to discovering the nuggets you will use can be extremely rewarding.
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Using Free Research Tools
Writers need to do research, often from home, and usually about obscure details that most people wouldn’t know or think about needing to know. A plethora of free research tools are available to writers via the internet, but as many of you know, using search engines like Google can result in thousands, if not millions of hits, and you’re still not guaranteed the information you most need.
Let me point you to a few free research tools that might prove more fruitful, or at least help your find information from the deep web that a surface website like Google or Yahoo won’t know.
The state of Utah, in an effort to make deep web sources readily available to teachers and students, sponsors an organization called the Utah Education Network. One of the perks of using that site is free access to Pioneer, a multi-level research tool. http://pioneer.uen.org/k12/index.jsp
Pioneer takes you to a variety of resources in the General Reference Collection. These incude:
CultureGrams - Information on countries, the 50 United States and their cultures.
EBSCO - General reference and books, journals, magazines, newspapers, and encyclopedia resources.
eMedia - Search, preview and download educational videos and supporting media.
SIRS Discoverer Deluxe - General reference for elementary and middle schools.
SIRS Knowledge Source - General reference for high school and college researchers.
Visual Thesaurus - A 3-D interactive thesaurus and dictionary.
World Book Encyclopedia - Articles, pictures, maps, audio and video clips.
The special Utah Collection includes:
Deseret News Archives - Search articles from 1988. Also see today's Deseret News.
The Salt Lake Tribune (Today's Online Version.)
SURWEB - Search thousands of images from Utah as well as a media basket to build online presentations.
State of Utah Archives - A repository for Utah's government historical business records.
Utah Collections Multimedia Encyclopedia - Explore Utah video, audio, pictures, maps, text, charts, and graphs.
Utah Digital Newspaper Search old newspapers from various Utah communities.
Utah's Local Newspapers
Counties of Utah
Additional Library Resources available from this site include:
Spanish Resources/Recursos Españoles
MarcoPolo - National curriculum for teachers. Arts, Economics, Geography, Humanities, Mathematics, Reading and Language Arts, and Science.
ThinkQuest - Utah is a state partner for this student-centered, International project.
American Library Association Internet Resources
Library of Congress
So whether you’re in the middle of doing research or not, the Pioneer Library might be a fun place to go and look around. You never know what information you find there that might lead you to your next article, novel, or poetry.
If you have trouble accessing the library from home, the following information may be valuable to you: To access the K-12 Pioneer Library from home, go to: http://pioneer.uen.org.
Username: pioneer Password: cake
Let me point you to a few free research tools that might prove more fruitful, or at least help your find information from the deep web that a surface website like Google or Yahoo won’t know.
The state of Utah, in an effort to make deep web sources readily available to teachers and students, sponsors an organization called the Utah Education Network. One of the perks of using that site is free access to Pioneer, a multi-level research tool. http://pioneer.uen.org/k12/index.jsp
Pioneer takes you to a variety of resources in the General Reference Collection. These incude:
CultureGrams - Information on countries, the 50 United States and their cultures.
EBSCO - General reference and books, journals, magazines, newspapers, and encyclopedia resources.
eMedia - Search, preview and download educational videos and supporting media.
SIRS Discoverer Deluxe - General reference for elementary and middle schools.
SIRS Knowledge Source - General reference for high school and college researchers.
Visual Thesaurus - A 3-D interactive thesaurus and dictionary.
World Book Encyclopedia - Articles, pictures, maps, audio and video clips.
The special Utah Collection includes:
Deseret News Archives - Search articles from 1988. Also see today's Deseret News.
The Salt Lake Tribune (Today's Online Version.)
SURWEB - Search thousands of images from Utah as well as a media basket to build online presentations.
State of Utah Archives - A repository for Utah's government historical business records.
Utah Collections Multimedia Encyclopedia - Explore Utah video, audio, pictures, maps, text, charts, and graphs.
Utah Digital Newspaper Search old newspapers from various Utah communities.
Utah's Local Newspapers
Counties of Utah
Additional Library Resources available from this site include:
Spanish Resources/Recursos Españoles
MarcoPolo - National curriculum for teachers. Arts, Economics, Geography, Humanities, Mathematics, Reading and Language Arts, and Science.
ThinkQuest - Utah is a state partner for this student-centered, International project.
American Library Association Internet Resources
Library of Congress
So whether you’re in the middle of doing research or not, the Pioneer Library might be a fun place to go and look around. You never know what information you find there that might lead you to your next article, novel, or poetry.
If you have trouble accessing the library from home, the following information may be valuable to you: To access the K-12 Pioneer Library from home, go to: http://pioneer.uen.org.
Username: pioneer Password: cake
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
The Techno World
by Julie Wright
This last weekend, I was a participating guest in a science fiction and fantasy writer's conference. We had a panel on things you could learn from the internet. I am (obviously) pro-internet, but I imparted a word of caution to the audience and I will now share that caution with you.
The world seems like a huge place, the internet makes it seem larger still, but the writing community is very small (and smaller still when you do something stupid and you're wishing everyone would forget).
I am a big believer in blogs and forums. I've made several fabulous acquaintances through these mediums; I've sharpened my own skills, and I've gained insight into the publishing world. But there have been times when I've commented on a blog, or responded to a post on a forum, and had second thoughts as my finger hovered over the left mouse button prior to hitting send.
I'm happy to report that most of the time, my greater senses kick in and I delete the message, or soften the tone. This has saved me from looking like a bitter hack, whose only joy is flaming other authors, publishers or agents.
Others haven't been so lucky.
Watch your words in public forums. Remember that emails can be forwarded. Remember that, even though you're commenting on an editor's website who you would never dream of publishing with, there is a good chance that editor will switch publishing houses and you just might need to be in their good graces. Am I saying I believe in censorship?
No.
I'm saying I believe in self-censorship.
Do not commit career suicide just because the internet seems so anonymous. Just because you're in your office hiding behind a screen doesn't mean the arrow you loosed from your bow doesn't have a return address on it.
The internet offers many ways of networking, research opportunity, and self marketing. I believe those tools are important to survival for new authors. I encourage you to use those tools to further your career. But beware the knee-jerk reaction. Beware arrogance, gossip, and flamatory remarks. A comment made in a moment of self righteous anger will haunt the internet--and you--eternally.
This last weekend, I was a participating guest in a science fiction and fantasy writer's conference. We had a panel on things you could learn from the internet. I am (obviously) pro-internet, but I imparted a word of caution to the audience and I will now share that caution with you.
The world seems like a huge place, the internet makes it seem larger still, but the writing community is very small (and smaller still when you do something stupid and you're wishing everyone would forget).
I am a big believer in blogs and forums. I've made several fabulous acquaintances through these mediums; I've sharpened my own skills, and I've gained insight into the publishing world. But there have been times when I've commented on a blog, or responded to a post on a forum, and had second thoughts as my finger hovered over the left mouse button prior to hitting send.
I'm happy to report that most of the time, my greater senses kick in and I delete the message, or soften the tone. This has saved me from looking like a bitter hack, whose only joy is flaming other authors, publishers or agents.
Others haven't been so lucky.
Watch your words in public forums. Remember that emails can be forwarded. Remember that, even though you're commenting on an editor's website who you would never dream of publishing with, there is a good chance that editor will switch publishing houses and you just might need to be in their good graces. Am I saying I believe in censorship?
No.
I'm saying I believe in self-censorship.
Do not commit career suicide just because the internet seems so anonymous. Just because you're in your office hiding behind a screen doesn't mean the arrow you loosed from your bow doesn't have a return address on it.
The internet offers many ways of networking, research opportunity, and self marketing. I believe those tools are important to survival for new authors. I encourage you to use those tools to further your career. But beware the knee-jerk reaction. Beware arrogance, gossip, and flamatory remarks. A comment made in a moment of self righteous anger will haunt the internet--and you--eternally.
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