Even Fantasy Authors Do Research

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During my recent virtual author events, one question has come up regularly: Where do I do my research? 

Don't scoff at the idea that a fantasy author needs to do research. Readers are savvy. You should never underestimate them. Even though a large part of a fantasy world comes from the author's imagination, much of it must be grounded in some form of reality. So here are some of my research sources:

Giraffes

I've read about giraffes for years--not that there's a lot to find on the subject until recently--and I've connected with people who study and/or work with them. Some of my sources include:


War and Fighting

Other sources:

  • The Emotion Thesaurus (a valuable resource)
  • YouTube
  • Scientific Websites
  • Specialists in their field (doctor and author, Darin Kennedy, advised me concerning appropriate medical practice for a scene in The Watchers at War)
  • The combined knowledge of my critique group


By no means is this an exhaustive list, but I hope this helps you grasp the depth of research that goes into any book of fiction.



Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

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