I once read a blog entry (I think from Laurel K. Hamilton?), who suggested that instead of fact-checking as you draft a manuscript, you should leave spaces as you write, then confirm the things you had questions about later on. The idea, of course, is to allow yourself uninterrupted time to write without constant fact-checking.
It’s a nice idea, but I’m generally too distracted by potentially incorrect facts to leave them be. (And that’s partly the price, I think, of having wireless internet access at home. The facts are out there. Waiting for me. Must. Find. Them.)
And so, while engaging in the first round of edits of FIRESPELL this evening, I found myself checking out the following:
1. Whether addresses in the Loop use odd or even numbers on north and south sides of the street.
2. The name of the curly-haired sidekick from Transformers 2. (IMO, he looks like one of Firespell’s main characters.)
3. Typical items of study in the first week of classes in high school chemistry, Brit lit and European history.
4. The correct spelling of “Madeleine L’Engle”.
5. Names of Chicago banks.
These are smaller issues, of course, that I’m confirming along the way, not the kind of thing I’d research in the first go-’round. Still. They make for an interesting list. (And a fun distraction.)
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve fact-checked lately?
Probably an alcoholic drink titled The 11th Ring of Hell. That and I looked up other weird drink names and their content. Probably not the absolute weirdest thing in the world, but so far that's the strangest thing I've researched. Still trying to do a little more researching, just have to figure out what items/topics/places of interest require more in depth research! 😉
Ley lines on Dartmoor, the social function of underwolves, and poi (fire dancing).
Last night, sitting on the ground, waiting for Stevie Wonder to come out on stage, I had a friend whip out his blackberry to see if it was true that a group of kittens is called a litter, as it was just driving me crazy.
Interestingly, they can also be called a kindle.