Have you ever had a piece come to a screeching halt because you just couldn't track down that one tiny piece of information you were searching for? That little extra something that would make a good plotline great?
Well, Calli didn't exactly come to a screeching halt, but the book was limping along with a large piece missing. I had to skip over the entire voyage from Greece to Rome because I had no idea how long it would take to get there, etc.
But yesterday my mom saved me. Yup, you heard me right. My mom. She got an email, from AARP of all places, containing a link to free online courses taught by MIT. MIT? The MIT? Yup again. So I followed the link. ** Ok, here it is, I know you're wondering - http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/courses/courses/index.htm
Aaanyway, there are some really interesting sounding courses on there. One in particular that I thought would be helpful with Calli - The Ancient City. I wasn't expecting it to solve my particular problem of sea travel during ancient times, but it has a website listed in the syllabus that did just that. (http://www.ostia-antica.org/) (On an aside, every time I see Ostia, I laugh to myself. I was an exchange student in Malta. Ostia means sh*t in Maltese.) :-O
So, now I can go back and fill in the HUGE gap that was just sitting there mocking me. Of course that will mean changing some of what I've already written because there will be some things that have to be adjusted about Calli's attempted escape from Zeno, etc. But I finally have the knowledge to write it.
And today I got a pretty good start. I was working down in our bargain store (cool books, cheap prices - but dead as far as customers go once Christmas passes by) so I grabbed one of our mark down journals and started scribbling. I haven't typed it up yet, but I got a pretty good chunk of it written!
**SIGH** That's a sigh of relief all. Pure, sweet relief. I can now finish the rough draft of Calli by April as I've recently set that goal for myself. The final draft however, well . . .
P.S. Thanks Mom!!
4 comments:
I always find it amazing that sometimes information that is crucial to our research can pop out of the most unexpected sources. It's happened with me too, and when I least expected it.
Jai
I've been through that so many times, trying to put together details when you know there's something huge missing! It's cool you found it at such a random place, though. I'm inspired to keep looking for information for my creative work now!
It is strange how some connection you think is insignificant turns out to be crucial.
I've also found bits of knowledge and ideas from my customers at the book store. People who read are people who learn.
Never give up looking. :-)
That's fantabulous!
And sometimes looking for one piece of info helps you find something else you'd needed. I did that the other day. I went looking up a monarch's duties and found http://www.royal.gov.uk/ (the Official Website of the British Monarchy). Not only did I find some great stuff on my search query, but I ran across info about the Household. Now I can finally give one of my characters an official title.
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