McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft
Doing a little Author research on......research
MClark:
Dr Google and Professor Wikipedia are my friends. You can go to the external references links and find more even more sources.
People are down on Wikipedia for research papers but its actually pretty good- at least as a first pass for fiction writing. (Although I really wish the article on space habitats had a citation for the phrase "The L5 position is now thought to be too far away and many recommend 2:1 resonance orbits." Thought by whom? And whats a 2:1 resonance orbit and who recommends them?)
Most state university libraries allow any old schmoe to walk in and use the books, microfiches and other resources. Logging onto the university wireless may not or may work. Oddly, I can look through the University of New Mexico library catalog at home, although I cannot log into the wireless network in the engineering library. I did login to the wireless network at the law library. YMMV, so be prepared.
Usually you can buy a pass for a nominal amount (~$50/yr) and then check out books. And you'd probably get access to the wireless network also, though I'm too poor to try this at UNM.
Thoroughily check university parking regulations before parking on campus! Or lock your bike to a proper bike rack, not a landscaping or handicapped railing.
The Deposed King:
--- Quote from: MClark on February 15, 2012, 05:17:11 PM ---Dr Google and Professor Wikipedia are my friends. You can go to the external references links and find more even more sources.
People are down on Wikipedia for research papers but its actually pretty good- at least as a first pass for fiction writing. (Although I really wish the article on space habitats had a citation for the phrase "The L5 position is now thought to be too far away and many recommend 2:1 resonance orbits." Thought by whom? And whats a 2:1 resonance orbit and who recommends them?)
Most state university libraries allow any old schmoe to walk in and use the books, microfiches and other resources. Logging onto the university wireless may not or may work. Oddly, I can look through the University of New Mexico library catalog at home, although I cannot log into the wireless network in the engineering library. I did login to the wireless network at the law library. YMMV, so be prepared.
Usually you can buy a pass for a nominal amount (~$50/yr) and then check out books. And you'd probably get access to the wireless network also, though I'm too poor to try this at UNM.
Thoroughily check university parking regulations before parking on campus! Or lock your bike to a proper bike rack, not a landscaping or handicapped railing.
--- End quote ---
If you are doing starwars fan-fic or just have no clue as to what your ships shoudl be like. A google of starwars warships will take you to wookipedia, there you can find everything from fighters and gunboats all the way up to strike cruisers and star destroyers. Most of them have weapon counts, ship lenths and crew allotments.
For fan fic its a perfect fit. For non-fan-fic its a good starting place.
The Deposed King
۞†Grey Warden†۞:
Thank you for the help, peoples.
Starbeam:
All depends on what you're researching. I've bought books and movies for stuff that there's no way to get practical experience--like angels and demons, planning and pulling off a heist, stuff like that. I know other authors do more if they can--Patricia Briggs and her husband made and shot silver bullets; Shannon Butcher's gone to a writer's police training weekend thing, at least once. I've seen some authors ask quick questions on twitter.
۞†Grey Warden†۞:
Ok im not really looking for novelish research or internet, im looking for maybe quirky, maybe funny, adventuress things.
I'll give you the premise,
We live in a paradise world, people are not drones, but can't deal with conflict, so there is very little conflict. You see a group of writers decided the world was crap, so they got a army together and wrote the book on paradise, they took the world over and made people calm, but they knew that problems would arise so they created a group of writers, who solve the problems by writing them into books to figure out an acceptable ending. So 3000 years later, we find our protagonist who discovers that writers are disappearing, being one of 200 he needs to solve this problem, and goes on the move and researches his book. He has to find out what's happening so he writes it like a book with many alternate endings so he can find a way to stop it. It's him writing the story in first person as he researches what's happening.
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