As a writer, I have become aware of the odd, disturbing, and questionable things that you generally do and research when writing your story. It can be embarrassing and hilarious simultaneously. One of the responses I get most often when I confront someone about a piece of my story is "Um, what?" It makes me laugh every time. Being young and having the wild imagination that I do, I get very random at times. Sometimes I will pop a question to someone that is so out of context, I throw them for a loop. And sometimes my search history makes me look like a serial killer.
A common thing that I look up is names. You need names for every character that you bring to life. First, middle, last, and so on. For every single one. Even for the student that has one line. Finding names for characters is tricky without making your parents think you're pregnant or something along those lines. The easiest place to find good names are baby name websites. I mean, how are you supposed to explain that list of baby names in your binder? "It's for my story!"
I have had to look up stab wound references, bird proportions, how fast all sorts of creatures run, and the technology of the 1800's for stories. Not to mention the prices of certain precious metals and stones, and the size of planets, countries, and oceans. You will have to do a lot of seemingly random research in order to have a fully rounded and deep story. So, you might want to have a lot of paper and ink.
That leads me to another absolutely insane thing that writers do. Despite the very obvious name, most people fail to realize exactly how much we write. A common writer will have dozens of pens is all sorts of colors, styles, and sizes. Some prefer to keep their work digital, but the visual outcome is the same. They will have pages upon pages of colorful paragraphs, notes, and scenes that make no sense to outside eyes. However, to the highly skilled mind of its creator, this random compilation is the groundwork to a fantastic, thrilling, novel.
When I get into a writing kick, my mind will think of nothing else but my story. During these times, my friends and family get very annoyed with me. My papers and pens will be everywhere, I will be a mess, and my chores will not get done. But on the upside, I figured out how to twist the minds of my characters so that a specific detail that I MUST add in works out. Sometimes during conversations with them, I will ask them their opinions on what I should do for certain scenes or characters and they more than likely have no idea. But it helps my brain flow a bit easier. "How do I get this character to sail across the ocean and leave their entire life behind? I need them in another land to meet this character." "Um, excuse me?" "Never mind, I figured it out." That's pretty much how it goes.
Being a writer is fun and crazy, and I couldn't have asked for a better hobby and passion. It may not make a lot of money, but it's good for the soul, and very rewarding when you see your work get out to people who enjoy it. Good luck to all writers out there, and good luck to all of you who know a writer. It's a crazy, random world out there.
