Thank-You Thursday: I'm Always Learning

Happy Thanksgiving, blogfrogs! Today is the last installment in my Thank-You Thursday series, in which I shrug off my usual grumpiness and revel in all that is wonderful about the writing life.

I guess there must be writers out there who hate research. ("Dang! Why did I have to set my novel in 15th-century Belgium? Was there even a Belgium in the 15th century?!") But most of us love it. We love it because we're naturally nosy curious creatures who enjoy learning about new things. Maybe we've never wondered what exactly the procedure is for launching a nuclear missile, but now we're writing a story about it, and we have to find out. And it's fascinating!

The thing is, most places, people, jobs, cultures are fascinating. Or at least they have fascinating components. Stories are everywhere, and if you love them, you'll find that research is just the search for the right one. You get to be the detective searching for that nugget of truth: Where was King Arthur's legendary Round Table located? How fast can a cheetah really run, and what does it look like? Are we ever going to get to drive flying cars?

Learning can take so many forms. It's not all about dusty history books. You can take lessons in archery or fencing or flying. You can travel to Rome and visit the ruins of a great empire. You can even eavesdrop on your middle-schooler and his friends and figure out what the hell they talk about all day.

So I'm thankful for work that's not only fun in and of itself, but that leads me to explore other civilizations and walks of life. That way I can lead a thousand lives not my own.

How about you? What fantastic bit of esoterica have you dug up lately?

P.S.  If you're really into research, see this recent post about how to write about a place you've never traveled to.

image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.