Absolute Chaos Discussion Boards
Fic Talk => General Discussion => Topic started by: rebellious_one on July 28, 2008, 06:01:32 PM
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So... I'm working on a new story, and I guess this is the first story that I'll be writing where I'm gonna be doing research or whatever. Besides wikipedia and google and ask jeeves or whatever, anyone know of something that could help me better with researching a place or whatever?! Besides Cali, Florida, and Louisiana, I've never really been anywhere else and so I really don't know much about the outside place.
Like, could anyone tell me anything about Brooklyn, New York?! Anyone know anything?
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It depends on how much you need to know about it, really, and what the story entails.
If you need to look up specific places, then you should try your best to find out as much information as possible.
The thing about research is that it also depends on your audience. Do you care if they call you out on uninformed details?
It's things like that.
That was kind of a bad response, so I'll let Julie answer instead. lol
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Depending on what I am writing about, I will go to the city's webpage sometimes, or I will look up pictures of a town on Google images. If it is somewhere I have been it make it much easier, but if it is someplace I know little about, I ask my friends. For Brooklyn, here are some links:
http://www.visitbrooklyn.org/
http://www.brooklynonline.com/
http://www.brooklyn.net/neighborhoods.html
http://www.rumproast.com/index.php/site/rumpegory/why_i_love_living_in_brooklyn/
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080523223413AAMK3Yh
http://mylifeinbrooklyn.com/
A lot of times if I am doing a residence, I look at actual houses for sale in the area so I get a vibe, then take the descriptions from things I have seen I have liked, some things from my own home and then things I like in magazines that may go with the style of the home.
Good luck!!!
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No, you brought up good points Dee!! Lol. I want to be descriptive, but not go into too much detail about the location, say like the street and the places that's surrounding the location or whatever. The reason I want to know about Brooklyn is because when I think Brooklyn, I think ghetto, and I don't want to run with that misconception. Anyone ever saw the movie The Professional? Well, my story is based off of that movie and I'm kinda looking for a run down place in New York.
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Depending on what I am writing about, I will go to the city's webpage sometimes, or I will look up pictures of a town on Google images. If it is somewhere I have been it make it much easier, but if it is someplace I know little about, I ask my friends. For Brooklyn, here are some links:
http://www.visitbrooklyn.org/
http://www.brooklynonline.com/
http://www.brooklyn.net/neighborhoods.html
http://www.rumproast.com/index.php/site/rumpegory/why_i_love_living_in_brooklyn/
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080523223413AAMK3Yh
http://mylifeinbrooklyn.com/
A lot of times if I am doing a residence, I look at actual houses for sale in the area so I get a vibe, then take the descriptions from things I have seen I have liked, some things from my own home and then things I like in magazines that may go with the style of the home.
Good luck!!!
Thank you hun!! I went to google and tried looking up images and all that jazz, lol. But thanks for helping me!! :)
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No, you brought up good points Dee!! Lol. I want to be descriptive, but not go into too much detail about the location, say like the street and the places that's surrounding the location or whatever. The reason I want to know about Brooklyn is because when I think Brooklyn, I think ghetto, and I don't want to run with that misconception. Anyone ever saw the movie The Professional? Well, my story is based off of that movie and I'm kinda looking for a run down place in New York.
Or you could be anal like Julie, Rose, and I and go as far as determining the distance between places on Google maps. lmao
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:o LMAO!! :D I commend ya'll for doing that man, I ain't that smart!! :P
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It just takes a lot of looking up. lol
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Ahh... I didn't realize how hard a fanfic story containing real information and all that jazz would be!! :( I was searching earlier, and the more negative results came up, the more lazier I became, and the more my high school memories came flooding back. :o Memories of projects and homeworks I would NOT like to relive, lol.
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Awe, you just have to love what you do. lol
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Or you could be anal like Julie, Rose, and I and go as far as determining the distance between places on Google maps. lmao
LMAO we have been very anal lately. But at least we'll be accurate! Go us lol
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Or at least we'll be very CDO. lol
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Yah, go ya'll!! ;D Lol.
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Dee, I think thats the Julie side of our 3-way brain lol
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I'm borderline CDO myself. ;) lol
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Maybe I'm weird, but I actually kinda like doing research LOL. Research for stories, that is. Fun research. I think of it like a quest, a quest for information! :D LMAO no but really, it's like a mission, and the more specific it is, the more determined I am to find what I'm looking for.
As far as places go, it really does depend on what kind of info you're looking for. I use a lot of Wikipedia, Google image search for maps, Mapquest and Google Maps, Google Earth... Those are good for the physical aspects of a place. As far as the "feel" of a place, that's a lot harder. Maybe you could see if you can find someone from Brooklyn or who knows Brooklyn well who you could ask questions. Maybe a thread on LD; I'm sure there are some people there who could help you.
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See, I knew Julie would have a better answer than I did. lol
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Thank you hun!! I went to google and tried looking up images and all that jazz, lol. But thanks for helping me!! :)
You are very welcome!
And I agree with the other girls, research can be fun...a lot of times when I am uninspired I will do it about a place and starting looking at potential locations for where scenes could take place, it is kind of fun and helps get me back on tracks sometimes.
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^ Yeah, I have found that too. Researching helps get me inspired because usually it helps put a more vivid picture of what I'm trying to write in my mind, whether it's a specific location or just a situation.