Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Plunging into Research & Prepping to Gamble

It's been a few weeks for a "regular" post here, I've been busy entertaining children, keeping my house in some sort of order so I don't shame my mothers when they come to watch the kids, and plotting my newest project. Some of you may know I started a new Work-In-Progress (WIP) a few weeks ago. One week and 10K words, I was so proud! But, a great writing partner of mine suggested I find a new way of introducing it, and with much thought, have come up with a better idea. (Thanks friend, you know who you are!)

But it requires a butt load of research. I've changed the setting to Greece, and I am now determined to immerse myself in everything Greek. Hello, search engines, here I come! Half of me really wants to start writing, I've had scenes play over and over in my head and I love the story already, but the other half of me wants the first draft to be only less than perfect, which means I need to know lots about Greece to make sure every wonderful detail comes through in the writing. Phew, that was a long sentence.

Tell me, have any of you done extensive research on something? What was it like? I wish I had the funds to travel there and research that way. Maybe it won't be so hard to do eventually ;-) But I've known writer's who've taken classes about things their characters know about or do, and I can only imagine how great it's impacted their way of telling the story.

In my personal areas of life, I LEAVE TO VEGAS IN THREE DAYS! Friday hubs and I head out on a plane, leaving the kiddos in the care of his mom, and then my mom is coming over the weekend. I'm honestly not anxious about it like I probably would've been if it was back when Big Girl was a baby. Been there, done that, ready to have an anxious-free, kid-free vaca with my man. And Vegas! Woo! Sleeping in, drinking new concoctions, eating great food, seeing great things, and gambling!!! What better ways to spend four days away from the kids than those?

This, of course, is the main reason I've done diddly on work. But, I've considered myself on vacation from writing for two weeks. When I get back, Tuesday I'm going full steam ahead. But, I AM doing research tonight. Wish me luck!

5 comments:

  1. Don't remember if I mentioned it, but we went to Vegas three years ago in July for our honeymoon, and it was a blast. Stayed at Treasure Island, which is right in the middle. Spent alot of time checking out all the hotels, and the coolest one is Luxur the pyramid. Even the casino and the upstairs is awesome. Mirage is really neat, too.

    Find a convenience store and stock up on bottled water, because it's a rarity there and you'll pay $4 for it otherwise. It's hot hot hot hot this time of year and you do alot of walking! Oh, and get the day bus pass. It goes up and down the strip all day and you can jump on and off easily instead of constantly walking. It's worth it.

    Have fun!! Win me a nickel!

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  2. Thanks Sharla! We went for our honeymoon 7 years ago. We're staying at the Rio, but I really want to find a shuttle or bus that takes us to downtown so we can go to the Freemont and see the last show. We're only walking outside one day and we're going to try and do it late day to avoid the outrageous heat, but good idea on the water!!

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  3. Take notes in Vegas for some future part in a WIP. Busy lady, have a great trip. (hey, that rhymed) :)

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  4. Just remember, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. :)

    Seriously, hope you have a great time and win something too! As for research, I've done that for every book. The Internet and libraries were invaluable in that regard. I just had to make sure I didn't overwhelm the reader with information - you know, the "I've suffered for my art and now you will too" syndrome.

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  5. lol Marian on the "suffering" part. And thanks!

    We had a great time. I won some in Black Jack, then spent it all, cause you know, that's what we went there for! It was great fun! But I'm glad to be home with the girls and back to a normal life and writing.

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