I'm not pushing myself for Camp Nano this time. I feel guilty, because I've written much more for NaNo and Camp NaNo -- 50,000 words in one month is my usual challenge. But most of my novels have been contemporary fantasy, set in enclaves where the rules of the world were a little different. Or else they happened in familiar parts of the United States ("you write what you know") and I didn't have to do much research to write them.
Not so this novel. One of the characters comes from Poland and two from Japan. Because of this, I want to get the customs, beliefs, taboos, body language, and natural character correct -- not as stereotypes, but as character traits. Big difference. Because our characters are currently in Poland, I want to get the details of Polish rail travel, popular food, even the sound of sirens correct. I read maps in Polish (and mangle the pronounciations badly, because 'Glowny' is pronounced 'Goovneh' or something like that). I use Google Translate a couple times a day, sometimes to translate whole pages. This is how I discovered that "Krakow Misalliance" is a food item at an all-night pierogi place in Krakow (which is pronounced 'Krakov').
I feel like I'm writing a term paper.
People who write historical fiction read the above sentence and have no pity. They do this process every time they write. This is why they're called 'historians'. I fantasize. It's what I do. I had a dream where Ichirou shows Grace a screen saver he had drawn and animated that brings her into an unnatural state of calm. I wanted to explore these characters, Ichirou's strange talent, why they're in the same place at the same time, and the ethical considerations of Ichirou's talent. In other words, I interrogated the dream again.
Little did I know I would be interrogating Google as a result.
Oh well, that which does not kill me makes me stronger.
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