Sparks of Curiosity
Researching both before and during writing projects is highly enjoyable.
Curiosity fuels the writer’s research.
An author’s life experiences offer kindling.
Pairing them becomes a passionate pathway for storytelling.
I want to share my thoughts on this research topic, which is close to my heart.
I believe it’s the best time in recorded human history for people like me who are curious and want to gain a better understanding.
Gaining wisdom?
That’s another matter, but online learning platforms are more easily accessible than ever before.
We need only a desire for knowledge.
Let’s take, for example, D&D.
You might remember D&D as standing for the popular game, Dungeons and Dragons.
My own introduction to D&D came from an aunt giving it to me as a birthday gift.
She knew my interest in fantasy started back in third grade when I read Terry Brooks’ The Sword of Shannara.
A funny thing about that book, The Sword of Shannara, which I loved then and still remember to this day, is that it was an accidental purchase.
My parents bought me this book via a weekly order form that schools used to distribute.
Kids dutifully brought these colorful advertisements home for our families to look over, and we’d beg for the books we wanted.
Our cut-out checklists of selections and the exact change needed came back to school in sealed envelopes.
Book order day was always exciting.
We’d come back inside from our second recess of the day (yes, our class had three daily recesses) to find our purchased books on our desks.
Order forms were stuck inside the covers like bookmarks.
I picked up my book and brought it to my teacher.
I thought there must be a mistake. “I didn’t order this one. I picked another book.”
She showed me on my bookmark receipt where I’d checked the box for the Terry Brooks story.
I’m sure I cried.
Many an hour was spent in the cloak room, crying for one reason or another.
When I emerged from the cloak room with puffy eyes, I started reading my new book like the rest of my classmates during silent reading time–and fell in love.
I couldn’t put the book down, and more questions formed in my mind with each passing page.
The natural jump from Terry Brooks’ excellent story was reading Tolkien, which further inspired my curiosity.
I couldn’t say that I fully understood The Lord of the Rings the first time I read the series, but enough of it resonated that I reread it later, and again to my children.
When the series ended, I literally wept.
When I ripped open my birthday gift, I held in my hands the utterly inspirational game of Dungeons and Dragons, otherwise known as D&D.
Dialogue & Dialects (the other D&D)
The D&D focal point for this blog isn’t the board game, but rather researching ways to add depth to dialogue through studying dialects and endangered languages.
Regional dialects and authentic speech patterns, phrases, and vocabulary can be researched online.
Here are some of the best sources I’ve come across so far.
If you know of any others, please email me at [email protected] or drop a line in the comment section.
Mission: Protecting global languages that are endangered
The Ojibwa People’s Dictionary
Lakota Sioux. In 1997, Lakota was spoken by 2,100 people.
There are efforts to preserve this language among all age groups. omniglot.com
Irish is a Goidelic language, and there are current preservation efforts. alliance.org
The Welsh Language Board was established in 1993. www.welsh-language-board.org.uk
Ainu language–Northern Japan. courier.unesco.org
Chilean Patagonia is documented as having fewer than 20 individuals who can speak Kawesqar. chileprecolombino.cl
| Words always matter, but when your dialogue calls for greater authenticity, do your research. |
