Forum Guidelines: Please read before posting

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Cath

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Welcome to the Story Research forum! We have lots of super members here willing to share their experience in all kinds of areas of expertise. What follows are general guidelines to help you get the best from this part of AW.

Remember 'respect your fellow writer' is the prime directive on all of AW, including Story Research.

This is the Story Research forum. Here you can:
  • Find resources or information to support a plot point, setting, or character within your story.
    e.g. My story is set in modern-day Sherwood Forest, what kind of trees and vegetation should I expect to find?
  • Seek expert opinion on a wide range of topics.
    e.g. My character is accidentally shot in the shoulder by a poacher, what kind of shot would be used?
  • Get advice on whether a plot point is scientifically or physically feasible.
    e.g. Mary-Sue accidentally cuts her big toe off with a chainsaw. As long as the toe was put on ice, could it be surgically reattached?
  • Seek experts to interview, e.g. for a news or informative article.

Story Research is not:
  • A social forum (sorry!). If you want to shoot the breeze, go here.
  • A place to discuss a fantasy or speculative universe. If you want to know what effect a magical potion will have on an elf you might get a better response here.**
  • Share Your Work. If you want critique go here
  • A place to seek feedback on story ideas. Check out any of the General Writing Interest rooms, or try the Brainstorming Sandbox (password vista).
  • A place to ask for help with your homework. If you're studying, you're expected to do the work yourself.

Before you post:

  • Do some basic research, e.g. in a Library or on Google. Expecting folks to do a Google search for you is lazy and makes me cross.
  • Make sure your question is specific. The more specific you can be, the more likely you are to get the answer you need.
    e.g.
    BAD: Tell me everything about how Australian people dress.
    BETTER: What kind of clothing would people wear in Sydney, Australia in the 1920's?
    BEST: My story is set in 1923 in Sydney, Australia. The lead character is female in her mid-20's, well-to-do, and a socialite. What kind of clothing would she wear every day? Also, what would she wear to the Opera? Would she wear designer clothing, and if so, what designer would be popular?
  • Check that you've been clear what information your plot needs. If you're writing about the seedy underside of St Andrews, for example, you probably don't need to know when the Cathedral was built.
  • Be polite. Politeness includes revisiting the thread to review the answers and thanking people for their help.

** Really not kidding about this folks. I will move or lock with impunity (and very little explanation).
 
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Cath

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I'm seeing a lot of replies that either:

  • Comment on the story rather than answering the question.
  • Suggest the OP 'makes it up' because no-one expects fiction to be true to life (especially if the OP is asking about Science Fiction or Fantasy).
This won't fly here. Posters should expect fact-based or experience-based responses. And this is NOT a place for brainstorming stories ideas without a fact-seeking element to the question, there's a whole other area of the forum for that.

Posts that suggest making up the facts to fit the story or otherwise commenting on the story rather than answering the question may either be punted to another forum or deleted entirely. You have been warned.
 
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Cath

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Going through the forum and necroing a ton of threads is going to trigger a deleting spree. Why? Because it pushes the questions people are currently looking for help on off the front page.
 

Cath

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Telling an OP how to use the information they're seeking, or making assumptions about how they're going to use it also won't fly. People prepare to write in different ways. You don't know how they work or how they intend to use the research they gather. Don't make assumptions.
 
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