2007.03.29
Unlikely Sources
I’m working on a short story that I eventually intend on publishing in audio format. So far, I’ve managed to get a very rough outline of the plot completed, and a good chunk of the research done. I now understand the two principal characters well enough to write about them, at least. I still have some more research to go, however. And I’m finding that I’m turning to some sources I never would have thought of at the outset.
My story involves werewolves, and also has two secret societies that need to be researched before I can fill in some of the plot details. Most of my research into my werewolf mythos has come from my own previous notes and writings. There’s a werewolf story I’ve wanted to tell for a while, and in fact it was the genesis of this story. I’ve turned to some other sources of werewolf folklore to make sure my implementation is consistent with other literature, and that’s all well and good. There are two aspects of werewolves that I still need to research further:
- The organization of werewolves as a race. Do they live clans? Packs? Tribes? What are their political structures?
- The extent of the werewolves’ powers.
It also turns out that I really don’t have a lot of experience with the idea of secret societies, so I’m having a bit of trouble with creating the ones I need for the story. For researching all of these, I’ve turned to sources that truly surprise me. Here they are:
- Findley, Nigel D. 1992. GURPS Illuminati. Steve Jackson Games.
- Ladyman, D. 1989.GURPS the Prisoner. Steve Jackson Games.
- Chupp, S. et al.Werewolf: The Apocalypse. Stone Mtn., GA: White Wolf.
Some of you will already know why I find these to be unusual sources for research, based on the titles and / or the publishers. For those who aren’t familiar with these books, they’re all core rule books for role playing games (RPGs). Yes, I mean like Dungeons and Dragons.
I’m using them primarily as a source of inspiration; a starting point. They’re great for this purpose. The GURPS books discuss secret societies from the perspectives of how they should behave as a group and how their members behave individually. The Werewolf book discusses the social and political structures of werewolves in the Werewolf: The Apocalypse role playing universe, and also discusses various werewolf powers and how they manifest.
My story is not set in any of these role playing universes, but they have provided me with some ideas upon which I can base my own construction. They’re great for this purpose owing to their high amount of detail and also their propensity towards roleplaying. The idea behind role playing core rule books and source books is to give the role playing Game Master material from which to create campaigns. In other words, they’re geared to be used for the purposes of storytelling.
I guess the only other thing that I’ve noticed about my research so far is how much time it has taken. I’m working on this story as time permits (in other words, very slowly), but already I have a newfound respect for authors of much longer works. I can’t even begin to imagine the amount of research that must go into writing something on the scale of an epic fantasy where a whole new world has to be created to a high level of detail. This world needs politics, geography, history, and everything else that makes a world real.
I don’t have a time frame for completing my short story, but I will say that I’m happy with the progress thus far. I’ll try to post the odd update as things progress.
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