Research on the Web

Last month I wrote on the subject of Informational Resources in General and the Internet in particular but forgot to mention one thing that I think is widely acknowledged but ignored constantly.  And that is that not everything you read on the internet is necessarily true or accurate.  I know, hard to believe isn’t it? 

This was brought to my attention recently when I was having a conversation with one of my coworkers and she stated that she uses Wikipedia as a major source for information for everything.  I asked her if she knew what the philosophy behind it was and she had no idea but did compare it to the Encyclopedia Britannica.  She was a little shocked to learn that almost anyone can add to a wiki.  As they state on their own website, “Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone having access to the site.”  This doesn’t necessarily make it any less valuable as a resource but one must keep this in mind.  Unlike the Encyclopedia Britannica which uses experts to write all of its entries, Wikipedia uses layman.  In all fairness independent studies have shown that it is very accurate and that the people who add entries are for the most part very confidant.

But while Wikipedia is very accurate there is no way to police the hundreds of millions of websites that currently reside all over the Web.  People do have their own agendas and they will write what they want when they want to push their personnel views.  In some cases entries are erroneous but the writers believe them to be true.  Sometimes faulty research makes for faulty entries. 

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t use the web as a resource.  As a matter of fact I use quite extensively but you have to use common sense when weeding through the plethora of websites available.  So what can one do?  Compare notes and never use one site as your sole resource.  Look for sites that are written by “experts” and not just interested hobbyists.  Use the Web in conjunction with other resources such as Books and Magazines.   Multiple sites and a little common sense will take you a long way when it comes to accuracy.

As I have mentioned before I used the Web to research some points of information for my soon to be released novel entitled “Voodoo Street”.  It certainly made my life easier!  So I will continue to use the web, but I will proceed cautiously.

Write what you know!

I think I have always been interested in the paranormal. My interest certainly became more focused in my junior year of high school when I took an elective course call “Parapsychology”.  In this course we not only looked at different paranormal events and phenomena but we also looked at different ways to research and examine the events in a more scientific vein. 

From here I remember taking out every book my library had on any subject that I felt pertained to the unknown.  In truth there weren’t many and those they had were pretty outdated.  But periodic trips to Manhattan to visit the big book stores and the few occult book stores I found in the “Yellow Pages” helped to quench my thirst.

This interest in the occult also included reading any fiction that involved paranormal mysteries.  To this day this genre is still one of my favorites.  Of course today we have the internet, this is a huge help in researching any paranormal event or topic.  However the biggest problem here is separating the truth from the B.S.  Unfortunately there seems to be a lot more B.S. then truth but with a little knowledge and some common sense you can weed through the B.S.  In addition 100s of podcasts have popped up with everyone having their own opinion.

So why am I telling you all this?  Well they say when you write you should “write what you know”.  That’s what I am doing.  The project I am working on now deals with the paranormal.  The plot line on which my book Voodou Street is built revolves around the occult topic of Zombies.   Relying on the subject matter that I know I can make my book more believable.  Certainly this is every authors wish.  If the story doesn’t ring true no one will read it.  A lesson I learned very early in my writing career.  This background knowledge also makes it easier to write the story.  I spend a lot less time researching and a lot more time writing.  Not to say that I’m not double checking things, after all no one can remember everything but it certainly makes the writing go quicker.

My upcoming novel, Voodou Street is coming along nicely.  We are in the 2^nd revision stage and think it will be ready this fall for publication.  More information will be released in the coming weeks.

Why write?

Why do I write?  That’s a great question, and its one I’m not sure I can answer.  I did not grow up as some people do wanting to be a writer. As a matter of fact the thought only popped up in the last few years.   While I was a competent writer in College, I certainly was not exceptional at it.  What I did have was an idea for a story that I carried around for a long time.  But that’s probably not unusual for those of us that like to read.  When one reads a lot you come in contact with many different plot lines.  Some good, some not so good.  When you come across one that’s not so good you think of ways to improve it.  This leads to the stockpiling of many “new” plot lines.

That’s where I got the idea for my first book, “Gargoyles”.  I carried this idea around for a few years thinking ‘One day I’m going to write this book.’  I finally started that book a couple of years ago though I still have not finished it.  In November of 2011, I discovered NaNoWriMo.  What a great idea, to write a book in only 30 days.  It seemed like a terrific challenge so I picked up the gauntlet.  And lo and behold I finished my second book, or is that technically my first because I finished it.  Either way that book which is named “Voodou Street” is very close to being released.  Hopefully by the end of this year it will be available on Amazon as well as other book vendors.

So let’s get back to my original question now.  Why do I write?  I guess I do it for a one main reason.  I enjoy it.  Of course that may be because I don’t have to do it.  It’s not my job; it’s not how I make a living so there is no pressure to succeed.  It is always easier to enjoy something when you do it because you want to and not because I have to.  It also gives me a reason to read more.  I truly believe that the more you read, and the more styles you are exposed to the better your writing will be. 

Really sounds like a WIN, WIN to me!