People don’t think a lot about research, but honestly it can be pretty fun. I have, as you all know, a love for young adult novels. I kind of relate to the awkward outcast character in a lot of them. Eleanor and Park is a book I love for that reason. So is Perks of Being a Wallflower. Now, I intend to do some research today by watching the movie version of Perks of Being a Wallflower. In fact, after I finish this blog, I’m going to turn it on. It’s either that or cut grass which looks a lot like a jungle because Missouri has gotten a lot of rain this summer. I’m sorry, California, I wish we could send you some. I’m sure Texas would like to give you some of theirs too.
The awkward outsider is an interesting character type, and I think one of the challenges of a writer is keeping that character from being a type. Sorry, I’ve strayed from the subject. Another thing I’ve discovered within the last year is the Urban Dictionary online. I warn you, “It isn’t your mother’s dictionary.” However, if you want to keep up with some of the slang that’s out there, it’s a great place to look. Don’t look into though if you are upset by sensitive subject matter because believe me when I tell you, the urban dictionary makes no attempt to mollycoddle anyone. Isn’t mollycoddle an interesting word. I love words and their origins.
I read an interesting article the other day that said that many women have an aversion to the word “moist.” It explained why in the article, but I don’t have time to go into all the reasons. It’s interesting how certain letters work. Take the letter D for instance. How many bad words can you think of that start with the letter D. Depression, despicable, decimation, decay, destruction just to name a few. I’m sure you could come up with more. Do you know the origins of the word decimate. It is Latin. When Roman legions were experiencing rebellion in their ranks, they would line up the soldiers and kill every tenth one. Look it up if you don’t believe me. One of the quirks of my character Dean Knight is that he likes word origins and he is almost a genius with them. I’ve found that to be fun to write into his character.
Well, I am going to come to a point here. I want you to look up one of the greatest reference sites on the Internet. I don’t have enough words to explain how great this site is, but let me tell you that if you wander too far into the site it might take you forever to get out. The links are like a never-ending set of tunnels in underground caverns. Enjoy.
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