I think almost every writer has had that moment they’ve gone to check something—usually inane little details—and three hours later they found themselves down a rabbit hole on the exact physics behind a fire tornado. In the best case, you’ve found the detail you needed and remembered what it was for. In the worst and most common case, you completely forgot what you were actually looking for to start with.
I know I’ve been there.
And inevitably I know I’ve wished I had a quick and handy reference guide so I could check my details and not get bogged down in the research. Wikipedia is a great resource to have on hand, and a good starting point when doing detailed research. But when I just need the basic, dirty facts about a name, a date, or even a superstition? The information I need specifically is probably buried somewhere in a paragraph that links to other information and details that I don’t need but are still fascinating.
This is especially true when trying to find something specific for writing.
Which of course brings me to the point of this: The Writer’s Research Guide for Nonsense. It’s for all those tiny little things you need to fact check like the scientific name for the Rook (Corvus frugilegus in case you needed to know.
At least, eventually it will be.
There are a lot different topics to cover. From animals to occupations and plants to injuries, the world is full of stuff and writers need to know a lot of different things. I’m planning to keep it as basic and bare-bones as possible. Enough to cover the basic questions and prevent any research rabbit holes. The guide is planned to cover the name, location, description, basic dates, superstitions or myths, and any relevant symbolism of a given topic. Topics include plants, animals, injuries and illnesses, materials, items and occupations.
I already have several specific guides I’ll start posting as I get them fully researched and written, but if there’s any specific topics you’d love to see a guide on, let me know!
The Written Vixen 