Another WIP finished, another ms to add to the pile. Yeah, finished Mr Rough yesterday. And I mean finished very loosely. My endings are so bad, mainly because I hate writing em. Usually because it’s not until I write that I figure out what’s missing in the rest of the ms. With Mr Rough I was so concentrated on the hero’s thorny and knotty conflict, that I completely forgot about a major loose thread with the heroine! Argh.
Anyway, I always feel depressed after finishing an ms, usually because the ending feels so rushed and blah. But I do try to resist the urge to go through and fix it up immediately. I find that some time away from the ms and the characters does wonders when it comes to editing. A fresh eye and all that. Doesn’t help with the blahs though.
The best way to help with that – apart from a couple of stiff martinis – is, of course, to get stuck into the next idea. And this one, since it’s kind of connected to Mr Rough, is one that is going to be HARD. Because the conflict for the hero is REALLY HARD. You see he’s a gambler. And a womaniser. And he’s giving the big finger to the world in general. Which means that something really bad happened in his past and with a little help from Ms Yates, I decided what it was. And it’s baaaaaaad.
And it’s going to be fantastic to write because if there’s one thing I love it’s a tortured hero who really does have a reason to be tortured and not just because his mummy didn’t wuv him enough.
*rubs hands* *is evil*
But I really should do some research first. Because he’s a gambler, I am now going to have to go off figure out the finer points of poker etc. In fact, now I think about it, I’ve had to research a lot of very odd stuff over the years I’ve been writing. Chess. Astronomy. Handguns. Genetics. Anyone looking at my search history is going to get an eyeful of WTF.
So what about you? What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever had to research for the sake of your story??
Weirdest research? The american presidential detail. Had to send an email to the White House! Also had to ask how the President’s doctor can treat the president anywhere in the world or in any state in the US when he isn’t registered to practice there. All because I wanted a couple of sentences in my President baby books to be accurate. Ho hum. I should’ve just made it up!!!!!
Scarlet – okay, woah, that IS weird! And also, Lol! Just goes to show how dedicated you are, I reckon. No one is going to nitpick you and tell you that you got it wrong, that’s for sure!
I have to say, half the research I do actually never ends up in the story but it IS way fun!
Wow, you both have a pretty fun list! Mine is much more mundane. Maps so I don’t get the geography wrong. When the oak trees would be in bloom in a certain area. That kind of thing.
Now I want to have something wild and weird in the next book!
Oh geez. My personal fave was (while pregnant) googling paternity testing and how you tested against brothers. And it was for RESEARCH FOR WRITING! (I said to the husband!) I SWEAR!
Have also spent far too long researching types of cupcakes, physics, most recently, and adoption laws.
Hmm. Nothing that sticks out as mega weird (or hilarious, like Maisey’s), but definitely things that I’d never have researched otherwise. Compulsive lying. Wine-making and wine blends. Seasons around the world, and like Julia, when certain plants are in bloom. How to raise a baby (felt a bit silly with this one, but not having any experience, kinda important!).
My favourite research was when my heroine was a grape-picker in Spain, so I visited a berry picking farm and spent hours picking so that I knew what parts of the body would hurt the most after a day’s work. Then I got to make blackberry pie and boysenberry jam 🙂
Julia – actually, sometimes the research is tiresome. Especially when I can’t find the answer I need. I think perhaps I should have less weird and wild in the next book!
Masiey – Lol! Oooooh, suuuure…. Physics FTW!!
Madeline – Oh, that sounds wonderful re the berry picking! Did you get to go to Spain to do it?? That would be my ideal sort of research… 🙂
Oh, I wish! No, just a farm in the hills not far from home. Still, it was fun. I think I could only justify travelling overseas for research if the book’s publication was guaranteed!
Madeline – It sounds fun! Yeah, me too re the research overseas. I guess we can dream… 🙂
Reproductive cycle of dugongs.
Ros – that’s awesome! If you can fit a dugong into your romance, I take my hat off to you!
There is a whole family of dugongs in a romance I have coming out in a couple of months from Entangled.
Ros – that sounds awesome! Must check it out. 🙂