I have always considered myself as a lucky person. I seem to blunder through life with probably far too little thought about what I am doing, and where I am going, and still seem to end up landing on my feet, and finding that I have arrived at the best possible outcome.
I know that this could just be the result of me looking at the word through rose tinted spectacles, (and if that is the case, please don’t tell me – I like the view), but, yet again, I seem to have had a stroke of luck that has saved me a fair bit of work on my WIP that I would have had to do later, if I ever manage to get representation.
I tried to do some research on our nuclear defence in the UK. For obvious reasons, the information is virtually nonexistent. So, undeterred by the lack of information, I decided to make some logical deductions based on what I had managed to find. My reasoning went that my YA readers would be unable to find out any more information than I had, and for the purpose of the story, it seemed credible enough.
So far, so good, you might think. I was feeling quite pleased with the story. I passed a synopsis to my writing group, and it turned out that one of the members has written military articles about this subject! I had been completely off track with my assumptions. Luckily, he gave me a few pointers, and I now have a credible part to my story.
The question that I’m left with is...
Do you think that I was lucky that he knew exactly what I needed to know? Or do you think I am finding things that aren’t there?
Oh, I have these kinds of serendipitous moments too. I like to think they aren't just random. Like you I tend to stumble through life, landing on my feet more times than not.
ReplyDeleteStephen King said in a recent interview that whenever he's working on a project the exact thing/research he needs to write it often shows up just when he needs it. :)
It's good to know that I'm not alone :o)
DeleteAll I need to do now is learn to write to the same level as Stephen King. lol
Research is one of those things that never stops, just like revising. :) I think it's better for you to know, but man, it stinks to have to make revisions to make your book accurate, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteYou're right Emily. And then you leave most of it out of the book!
DeleteIt stinks a little bit, but I now have a glow inside that tells me that it'll stand up to a bit more scruting than before :o)
Wow! That's some incredible luck!
ReplyDeleteAnd I say, if you're finding things that aren't there, keep finding them! That's what makes you truly lucky.
What are the odds eh?
DeleteMaybe I should make some things up too. Like winning the lottery and then seeing if it happens. lol
You lucked out! That's so cool. :D
ReplyDeleteWhat can I say? Lucky would be my middle name if I changed it by deed poll ;o)
DeleteWowza that's super lucky. I'm a pretty lucky person too. I always get the closest parking spot and I win contests a lot. And the other day I got out of getting arrested. That was lucky.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE your titles. You're hilarious. If you win, I'll have to fly to England and shoot you.
I went through a phase of winning competitions too. 10 in one year, including a trip to LA, tickets to a couple of gigs, and a weekend doing a simulated Formula 1 pit crew thingy in Barcelona.
DeleteWhen are we going to see the post on you getting out of arested?
And... how do I fix it so that I win your comp? lol
I wish I was a little more lucky myself. I do consider myself lucky though to have found your blog though! Your comments crack me up on Erin's blog so I had to hunt you down myself. Good luck with your research! That sounds like quite a challenging subject to be researching but very interesting.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting Leslie :oD
DeleteIt was certainly an eye opener finding bits out. I just hope that my Google searches aren't being monitored. lol