Yeah, that actually sounds like a great writing exercise. Give it a whirl and see if it works for you. :)
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Have a writing question? I’d love to hear from you, but please be sure to read my ask rules and master list first or your question may go unanswered. :)
Information and Data
These resources can help you to better research a story, offering access to a wide range of data, information, and primary resources.
- Answers.com: Answers.com is an encyclopedia, dictionary, thesaurus, and almanac rolled into one.
- Blackfacts.com: Here, writers can find a searchable database of facts related to black history that can be used to start research on a story.
- ePodunk: ePodunk provides in-depth information about more than 46,000 communities in the U.S. through maps, cemetery listings, and even local newspapers.
- FedStats: If you need government stats, this site is a smart place to look. It brings together data from more than 100 government agencies in one easily searchable site.
- GeoHive: For global statistics, consider using this site.
- InfoPlease: InfoPlease combines an encyclopedia, almanac, dictionary, thesaurus, atlas, and biography reference.
- Internet Public Library: This online library is full of resources that are free for anyone to use, from newspaper and magazine articles to special collections.
- The Library of Congress: If you’re looking for primary documents and information, the Library of Congress is a great place to start. It has millions of items in its archives, many of which are accessible right from the website.
- NACo: If the information you’re looking for is at the county level, this website is one of the easiest places to begin looking for it, with information on everything from county representatives to local events.
- The Old Farmer’s Almanac: This classic almanac offers yearly information on astronomical events, weather conditions and forecasts, recipes, and gardening tips.
- RefDesk: Run a quick fact-check using the reference materials found on this useful all-in-one site.
- State Health Facts: Kaiser Family Foundation provides this database, full of health facts on a state-by-state basis that address everything from medicare to women’s health.
- U.S. Census Bureau: Learn more about the trends and demographics of America with information drawn from the Census Bureau’s online site.
- Wikipedia: While you probably shouldn’t use it as your sole source, Wikipedia can be a great way to get basic information and find out where to look for additional references.
New creatures in stories tend to share a common characteristic:
- Some aspect of them resembles an animal, or multiple animals, from real life. They are often a combination of existing elements drawn from nature.
Designing them this way can give creatures both a familiar and foreign feel. It also makes the reader able to visualize them because they have a point of reference for their design.
As an example, look at the Kaiju from Pacific Rim and see what characteristics they share with real-world creatures:
- Knifehead - He has skin that resembles that of a rhinoceros, limbs that are styled after those of an insect, and a head that is reminiscent of a shark.
- Leatherback - His body is clearly modeled after a gorilla, but his features are reptilian.
- Otachi - She’s a dragon-like Kaiju with wings and basic body anatomy resembling a bat. She even has a bat nose!
Now, obviously writing requires a bit more work than film when introducing new creatures, but it’s still doable.
If the creature belongs in the world, have your characters treat it as such. If I were to reference a giraffe, I would expect everyone to know what that is. If your character were to see or reference a creature that he/she knows, but the reader doesn’t know, make it seems familiar to the character and then provide the reader with a visual description of the creature to make it not only stick in their minds, but also seem normal. Feel free to relate your description back to real life animals with comparisons (simile or metaphor).
If the creature isn’t a normal part of your character’s world, you can describe them in the same manner, but make sure your character doesn’t react to them as we would a pigeon on the sidewalk. They should be surprised, bothered, worried, or fearful of this new creature in their path.
I personally tend to draw out my creature ideas before I try to describe them. If you have that skill, I recommend doing so. if you can’t draw and you know someone who wouldn’t mind drawing for you, then use that to your advantage. There are also a ton of wonderful artists who would love creature commissions if you have the cash.
-Morgan
Because I’ve had these in my bookmarks for a while and I thought it was high time I get a little more organized.
Makeup
Historically Accurate Marie Antoinette Makeup Tutorial
The “Toilette” in 18th Century England
Fashion
Glorious Historical Costuming Blog
More Clothes (Includes sections for men, women, and children)
Crime
Pick-pocketing and Petty Theft
Punishments for Various Crimes
Children
Children’s Toys, Dolls, and Games
Upper-class children: Girls, Boys
Lower-class children: Girls, Boys
Women
Life as a Woman Interactive Quiz
Rebellious Women (Info on pirates, entrepreneurs, writers, promiscuity, and the lives of black women)
Entertainment
Violence in 18th Century Entertainment (Public execution, cockfighting, boxing, etc.)
Food and Drink
Cultural Rules for Dining in England
A Three Course Dinner for Ten (Comes with recipes!)
Romance
England’s Gay Community (Site’s color scheme is pretty hideous; prepare for some eye bleeding)
The Gay Underworld (Molly houses and pickups)
The Lower Class
Servant Life:
A Day in the Life of a Lady’s Maid
Misc.
18th Century Etiquette (Contains brief sections on behavior, fashion, theater, military, social hierarchy, and marriage)
Mid 17th to Early 18th Century Aristocrats and Self Defense
18th Century Language (Greetings, forms of address, etc)
More on Coffehouse Culture (Much more comprehensive)
“I’ve learned that we all have different associations with color words,” Sundberg told Bored Panda. “For example the color sapphire is a light blue to me (since that’s the color of the sapphire on my engagement ring), but a sapphire can also be a very dark blue. I doubt there can be an ‘official color guide,’ as color is so subjective.” Regardless of the subjectivity of color, however, Sundberg’s guide will help expand your descriptive vocabulary beyond green, red and blue.
Painful Character Development
Have some painful character development ideas, because if I have to suffer, so do you.
- What would your character what their last words to be, and who would they want to say them to?
- If your characters’ loved ones were in danger but they only had time to save one of their lives, who would they choose?
- Your character is given the choice to either die an excruciatingly painful death or have one of their loved ones die in a painless way. Do they save their loved one’s life or their own?
- Your character has the opportunity to fix one of their most grievous mistakes, but doing so will ensure that they never meet at least one of their loved ones and they will not have any memory of their relationship with those loved ones. Do they take the chance to fix the mistake anyway?
- What are your character’s deepest regrets?
- Are there any events in your character’s life that they feel wholly negative about, no silver lining whatsoever?
- Does your character have any unfulfilled dreams that can never come true?
- How was your character first introduced to the concept of death? How did they react?
- Does your character have any negative associations with otherwise neutral or positive things–i.e., not liking a certain television show because their parents always argued during the time that it came on and the character watched it as a (failed) attempt to distract themselves.
