why god why

[nahco3]

I didn't realize writing Landon Donovan would force me to start watching the MLS. or tracking down bad, crappy books about David Beckham's tenure at the Galaxy. or reading trashy tabloids.

is this too much? I mean, no one's really going to know if I make some stuff up, are they?

how much research are you guys doing?

Comments

[angualupin]

I know I'm lucky because I have a) several good English-language blogs about Spain; b) plenty of coverage from all the usual sports news outlets because they won; and c) Lee, and therefore do not have to sink to such depths, but -- if it were me, I'd draw the line at trashy tabloids.

Then again, it's Landon Donovan. Isn't "trashy tabloids" just about the level of class he's at? Slumming it might just be necessary in this case.

[nahco3]

I was at the dentist, reading a tabloid about how he may/may not have fathered an illegitimate child when he was playing for Everton. and I wondered when he had become an actual famous person, and if I was morally obligated to find out more about these shenanigans for cornerflag.

[angualupin]

Good god, woman, you are not morally obligated to read trashy tabloids for a cornerflag fic, even if you are writing about someone who habitually appears in trashy tabloids. (Although I am rather with you in the "...erm?" over when did Landon Donovan become a famous person? And then I wonder whether ending up in trashy tabloids or getting the Guardian's sports pages to give you a nickname ["Landycakes", if you're curious] is more a sign of having Made It.)

You can easily avoid all necessity of having to find out more about Donovan's tabloid travails by not including them in the plot, yes? No one will know the difference. Or care, frankly. The story will be good without them!

[nahco3]

(everyone I know calls him Landycakes. I am not sure if this is proof of the Guardian's far-reaching powers, or just that Landycakes is kind of a ridiculously awesome thing to call anyone.)

this is brilliant advice, and I intend to take it, although the goodness/potential goodness of my story is definitely in question.

[bustedflush]

Hey, MLS isn't so bad! I mean, there are way worse things you could be watching, right? Like any number of CSIs, for example!

Really sorry about having to read that book though. Ick.

(Am at the early stage of research, and plan a lot more. Mostly b/c I still have no plot ideas, and hope that, if I keep reading, something will happen in my brain. Please, let something happen in my brain.)

[nahco3]

it's true. and I live in an area where it's actually possible for me to watch games. it isn't all that bad.

the book, though, I would not wish upon anyone.

(I hope something happens to your brain! but that kind of preliminary research without too much direction is fun, no?)

[cheryl_bites]

Writer's block-curing page. (Also, to think of plots, I tend to assign a footballer to each HP character and use the Harry Potter Title Generator, but perhaps that's a bit left-field.)

[hoppipolla]

I've watched a few youtube videos, mostly to see if there are any hidden moments as well as getting a better feel for who I'm writing about. And a few articles but I think videos are better for me, I may not understand a lot but you can get mannerisms/tone/etc.

[nahco3]

youtube! so amazing. and that would be a good way to do research across the language barrier.

[hoppipolla]

It really is, even if just to see how they act during training or amongst teammates you can use settings as parts of the story.

[stickmarionette]

I am perhaps not the best person to offer advice on this, since I'm a research nut. *g* But I think the key is to research until you feel like you have a decent handle on the person, and then you can stop, or else you'll get too bogged down in unnecessary details.

[nahco3]

this is good and helpful advice. :)