Today, I’m the bug. On the interstate. I can see a deadline approaching (with the word “Peterbilt” emblazoned across the grille) and I’m flapping my little ladybug wings as hard and fast as I can over the keyboard in hopes that, like a quantum butterfly, I can effect change. Mostly the change from “X words” to “(X+5000) words*2^The End” words.

This one is research-intensive. I’m constantly tabbed-over to wikipedia, and Google Books (and lemmetellya–whatever issues I as an author or the Author’s Guild or publishing companies have with Google Books, it is an INVALUABLE research tool for extant material and out of print primary source material. If I had to plumb the library for this, it’d be weeks and probably more than a couple bucks). Also, there are a hundred and ten other sites I’m constantly flitting to and from, including the library in meatspace.

The trick to researching is that you only research what you need to continue. It’s too easy to dig into something just for its own sake and end up two weeks into the project and not have written a damn word. But I got a handle on this one.  And now I’m gonna go read a little bit more.  For research purposes. No, really, I need this…