  Action/Adventure
This week: Adding Injury Edited by: Storm Machine  
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| “There is no ghost so difficult to lay as the ghost of an injury. ~Alexander Smith |
| ASIN: 1542722411 |
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Amazon's Price: $ 12.99
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That is to say: research, research, research. Every reader comes to a point where the believability gets stretched too far. I'm lucky my mother is a writer - she gives great advice. Yet the thing she most recently gave me advice for wasn't about writing in general. She used to work in a hospital, so she knows a lot about pain.
Injuries accrue. They don't heal to the point where they're good as new. The worse something is broken, the more the character will notice that it isn't the same as it was.
This morning I saw a documentary about a woman from the Boston Bombing. She had bones exposed from both legs and one of her arms. One leg was much worse than the other two, and after 16 surgeries in a year, she might be ready to amputate her leg. It is impossible for her to bear weight and she uses crutches to go everywhere. This kind of injury will change your character quite a bit. It will also make it impossible to go on a long journey, hobbit-style.
Take a look at the movies we see from Hollywood. The hero gets shot in the arm, barely notices, and still takes out the villain while hanging from the injured arm and holding on to the damsel in distress with the good arm. Believable? Not for a moment. As watchers, we can get wrapped up in the story to overlook a few things. But at some point, we get drawn out of the make-believe world to frown at our companions because it just couldn't happen.
In books we get less leeway than Hollywood. Use your resources, from WebMD to your local physician, nurse, or other health professional. I had a First Responder co-worker ask me if my teeth hurt after I injured my ankle. He said that would tell the difference between a break and a sprain. My teeth didn't hurt and it turned out my ankle was sprained. I also had a nurse-midwife volunteer to help on my teen pregnancy book to get the symptoms right because she was intrigued by the premise. An elevator pitch works not just on editors, so know the book you're writing and what kind of information will make it real for the readers. Find those details and people who can tell you exactly what you need to know. |
| |  | What if? (ASR)
Daydreams can be better then real life sometimes
#1987009 by L.K.  |
| |  | Invalid Item
This item number is not valid.
#1987055 by Not Available. |
| | | Invalid Item
This item number is not valid.
#1987590 by Not Available. |
| | | Chaos (13+)
This story follows four women; each of the four different spheres in their world(not done)
#1987645 by Dobby |
| | | Kingdomnation (13+)
A book, a story, a journey, about unwanted responsibility, love, and change.
#1986306 by a.w |
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| ASIN: B01CJ2TNQI |
Product Type: Kindle Store
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Amazon's Price: $ 5.99
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LJPC - the tortoise
Hi Storm! You brought up a good point about locale. Although you should "write what you know", most of us haven't lived abroad. You gave good suggestions on how to go about research. This is one of the reasons I write fantasy and S/F -- I'm the expert on the worlds I create!  - Laura
That is another reason to love SFF. It can be as real or imagined as you please!
A thinker never sleeps
It's difficult when setting stories in a place you haven't been. Online blogs help a great deal with this, as do travel guides, local newspapers etc. Great newsletter.
Good ideas.
Raine
For spot shots, internet research works. I've downloaded maps and pictures of places I've used (such as Central Park) but the trick is to not get too indepth there. If you start talking about the lovely brick buildings in an area where there's glass and steel high rises, people will figure it out pretty quick. Sometimes having friends who have travelled are your best resource. Pick brains and don't be shy!
Being shy never suits a writer.
SkyHawk - Into The Music
Storm,
Something to add to this -- take an area you know, and "fictionalize it" to appear as a different / new place. One of my long-term projects has its setting based on the major metro are I lived in / near for years. However, instead of plunking in the real place names, I substituted names of my own creation. In this particular case, I used many British-sounding names, even though the story is very much in the United States. To show the U.S. connection, I had a visiting character fly in from Fort Dix, NJ, with a plane change in Minneapolis.
Another option (especially in short stories) is to limit the locations used in your city. One story I did this with has two travelers thrown together by chance at the Minneapolis - St Paul Airport due to a blizzard, and takes place either at the airport or at the Marriott Hotel near the airport.
Let me know what you think.
Sometimes stories work that way. Other times they have minds of their own.
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| ASIN: B083RZ37SZ |
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Amazon's Price: Price N/A
Not currently available. |
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Action/Adventure: April 23, 2014 Issue [#6282]
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