The 'It's For Research, I'm a Writer' Thread

[Holly Tinsley 562]

Adding this so people can add to it as and when they like. As we all know, writer search histories are a veritable treasure trove of the weird and wonderful. Just for the fun of it, and because it may lead to people learning some potentially new and  interesting things...

Writers: what did you research today?

Readers: what did you read that made you go, 'huh, I'm going to google that'?

 

[Paromita Mukherjee 1,659]

Reader here: This is pretty pathetic but I went down a rabbit hole of Kingkiller theories because the new novella is coming out in November. 🤭

I also read up on the challenges of translating Proust and what the successive translations achieved.

[A_FROG_IN_TIME 898]

https://a-z-animals.com/blog/wolf-teeth-everything-you-need-to-know/
https://www.bwf.org.uk/choose-wood/glossary-of-joinery-and-woodworking-terms/
 

[Steve 7,530]

Reader here: After finishing the Prince of Nothing and Aspect-Emperor series I've been googling information about the Crusades (I won't get too specific to not spoil anything) and some biblical references

[Holly Tinsley 562]

1 hour ago, A_FROG_IN_TIME said:

https://a-z-animals.com/blog/wolf-teeth-everything-you-need-to-know/
https://www.bwf.org.uk/choose-wood/glossary-of-joinery-and-woodworking-terms/
 

I once lost a whole day of my life to researching horse dentistry for a book I never finished writing 🤣

[Jozua B 181]

Another reader here:

After reading Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany, a book that explains how drugs helped the Germans do everything so fast and made them feel unstoppable in the beginning of WW2. I needed to check if this was true because I had never heard of that in school or other WW2 books i have read 🤔.

[Holly Tinsley 562]

31 minutes ago, Jozua B said:

Another reader here:

After reading Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany, a book that explains how drugs helped the Germans do everything so fast and made them feel unstoppable in the beginning of WW2. I needed to check if this was true because I had never heard of that in school or other WW2 books i have read 🤔.

Just googled this and now I've a) learnt something new and b) found a whole new rabbit hole to fall down 

[Steve 7,530]

2 hours ago, Jozua B said:

Another reader here:

After reading Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany, a book that explains how drugs helped the Germans do everything so fast and made them feel unstoppable in the beginning of WW2. I needed to check if this was true because I had never heard of that in school or other WW2 books i have read 🤔.

Rabbit hole here I come!

[Layla Azmi Goushey 377]

Writer here.  Researched the origin of the evil eye superstition. 

 

As a reader, I'm reading Ships of Merior and there was an item of clothing Janny mentioned I had to look up!  Now I've forgotten what it was so I'll have to look for it again.   

[Susana Imaginário 431]

Writer: Researching the Ogdoad (Egyptian mythology) and types of volcanic ash.

Reader: Not much apart from old English and unusual words. I was surprised to find a few 'Portuguese' words in a Feast for Crows, like leal (and another one that for the life of me I can't remember now). Not long ago I found litoral in another book. This got me wondering what other 'portuguese' words exist in English and how I can use them for worldbuiding in my next project. 

[do unicorns read 116]

Not a writer but a painter: rummaging around the rabbit hole of Norse Mythology especially that corner where the Norns live, the three ladies of fate that spin the thread of live, measure it out and then cut it off. Bit obsessed with those three right now.

Reader: Started Book of the New Sun and now want to know if Gene Wolfe read Angela Carter's The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hofmann.

[Varsha 664]

I went down a rabbit hole of sword based dancing martial arts - as research for my May story. I ended up incorporating it a lot less than I would've liked, but I'm glad to have done the research - it's filed away for later use. I found the following martial arts for anyone interested

 

Kalaripayattu - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalaripayattu#:~:text=Kalaripayattu is a martial art,and philosophies inspired by Hinduism. [Some of the hands-free stuff looks very similar to Aikido, so I'm intrigued about the origins/inter-relationships between these forms]

Thang Ta - https://themanipurpage.tripod.com/culture/thangta.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword_dance

 

Some of the videos for these forms were a lot of fun to watch as well  

 

[Steve 7,530]

7 hours ago, Varsha said:

I went down a rabbit hole of sword based dancing martial arts - as research for my May story. I ended up incorporating it a lot less than I would've liked, but I'm glad to have done the research - it's filed away for later use. I found the following martial arts for anyone interested

 

Kalaripayattu - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalaripayattu#:~:text=Kalaripayattu is a martial art,and philosophies inspired by Hinduism. [Some of the hands-free stuff looks very similar to Aikido, so I'm intrigued about the origins/inter-relationships between these forms]

Thang Ta - https://themanipurpage.tripod.com/culture/thangta.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword_dance

 

Some of the videos for these forms were a lot of fun to watch as well  

 

That's so interesting! So many cultures and traditions to learn about, so little time.

I wonder if Miles Cameron is familiar with this

[Varsha 664]

1 hour ago, Steve said:

That's so interesting! So many cultures and traditions to learn about, so little time.

I wonder if Miles Cameron is familiar with this

Interesting… does that mean you have read sword/dance martial arts forms in Cameron’s work? Gotta check them out pronto if so. I was really scratching my head on how to write about this. Big gap between intent and ability 😅

[do unicorns read 116]

16 hours ago, Varsha said:

I went down a rabbit hole of sword based dancing martial arts - as research for my May story. I ended up incorporating it a lot less than I would've liked, but I'm glad to have done the research - it's filed away for later use. I found the following martial arts for anyone interested

 

Kalaripayattu - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalaripayattu#:~:text=Kalaripayattu is a martial art,and philosophies inspired by Hinduism. [Some of the hands-free stuff looks very similar to Aikido, so I'm intrigued about the origins/inter-relationships between these forms]

Thang Ta - https://themanipurpage.tripod.com/culture/thangta.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword_dance

 

Some of the videos for these forms were a lot of fun to watch as well  

 

Fascinating stuff. I like that Kalaripayattu is practiced by women as well. [Note to self: Do not under any circumstances rub Varsha up the wrong way].😁😜

[Steve 7,530]

12 hours ago, Varsha said:

Interesting… does that mean you have read sword/dance martial arts forms in Cameron’s work? Gotta check them out pronto if so. I was really scratching my head on how to write about this. Big gap between intent and ability 😅

I'm not sure, but he's very well versed in combat and the history