I’m really excited to be participating in the “Teens Can Write, Too!” May blog chain.

This month’s prompt is:

“What are some of the coolest/weirdest/funniest/most disturbing things you’ve researched for a story?”

I think it’s in the back of our minds – the acknowledgement of the cool, weird, funny things we Google search – but it’s something we don’t really think about until we’re asked the above question.

When I began thinking about what I could write for this post, it all came back to me.

I seriously began writing my first novel when I was 12, about a young girl who lives in a city in the sky and must journey to earth. I researched maps of Italy (boring, I know) and images of Venice to create a folder with info about the setting of my book.

Shortly after that, my search history log took a turn for the worse.

I began researching poisons (which poisons kill, and how long does it take to die? which poisons move slowly through the bloodstream?) and various weapons. (Might I remind you that I was probably only 13 at the time?)

I turned to the Internet only after I’d asked my parents. They were my first “search history log,” and unfortunately I can’t go back and delete…

“Dad, can diamonds cut through metal?”

After I’d completed my trilogy, I moved through a dragon phase. I was still caught up in fantasy novels, and reading Eragon by Christopher Paolini definitely influenced my strange fascination with dragons.

More recently, I’ve researched spies. I’ve always wanted to write about spies, so I walked out of my local Goodwill bookstore one day carrying a large nonfiction book about spies, which pictured a large gun on the front cover.

Here’s what I think: the worse your search history log, the better. We’re writers. It’s what we do.

(If you’d like to check out a recent post I wrote about a similar topic, you can find it here.)

Please visit the other blogs also participating in the chain!

Participants:

5^th – http://theloonyteenwriter.wordpress.com/

6^th – http://deborahrocheleau.wordpress.com/

7^th – http://bloodoverithaca.wordpress.com/

8^th – http://charleyrobson.blogspot.com/

9^th – http://musingsfromnevillesnavel.wordpress.com/

10^th – http://nonconformistwriter.blogspot.com/

11^th – http://dearsaul.wordpress.com/

12^th – http://missalexandrinabrant.wordpress.com/

13^th – http://insideliamsbrain.wordpress.com/

14^th – http://cinderscoria.blogspot.com/

15^th – http://emilyvaneaton.wordpress.com/

16^th – http://www.brookeharrison.com/

17^th – http://thespasticwriter.blogspot.com/

18^th – http://veewhoa.wordpress.com/

19^th – http://www.mandilynn.com/

20^th – http://theteenagewriter.wordpress.com/

21^st – http://avonsbabbles.wordpress.com/

22^nd – http://realityisimaginary.blogspot.com

23^rd – http://miriamjoywrites.wordpress.com/

24^th – http://anomalous93.blogspot.com/

25^th – http://thelittleenginethatcouldnt.wordpress.com/

26^th – http://ktlemonhead.wordpress.com/

27^th – http://dreamerheadquarters.wordpress.com/

28^th – http://paulinaczarnecki.wordpress.com/

29^th – http://www.lilyjenness.blogspot.com/

30th – http://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com/ (We’ll announce the topic for next month’s chain)