Areala-chan
Really Really Experienced
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2003
- Posts
- 379
I'll do minor research while writing all the time, but this is mostly fact checking which can be resolved with a quick internet search. Otherwise I try to stick to writing about things I'm reasonably familiar with and settings that could be "almost anywhere" in nature.
"Crash Into Me" is the exception. One of the main characters in the story is an amputee who lost part of her leg as the result of a car accident. This is something that I have no experience with in the real world, and I knew if I half-assed it or made stuff up, I'd get comments from people who are familiar with the subject calling me out on it. I spent several months reading internet forums, blog posts, and guidelines for both pre- and post-operative care. I followed a woman on YouTube who had her leg crushed in an accident and opted for amputation simply to relieve the pain, and was vlogging about the experience both before and after. I researched and read up on prosthetics, what they could do and what they couldn't, the way they were applied and removed, fittings, and measurements.
I also watched a video of the amputation procedure itself (sometimes through the gaps in my fingers, because holy shit a lifetime of enjoying horror films just cannot prepare you for some things). I did not eat for the rest of the day.
The story does not include any graphic details of the injury or the operation, but I felt it important, as a writer, to understand just exactly what I was about to do to poor Lynn. But beyond the procedure itself, I wanted to hear the voices of those who had gone through it, and see how they adapted to life afterwards. In the end, I'm extremely proud of the story, and have received comments and PMs from both doctors and patients alike who've said their experiences were very similar to Lynn's. I didn't get everything perfect, I know, but I got close enough that people with first-hand experience didn't flame me for ignorance.
"Crash Into Me" is the exception. One of the main characters in the story is an amputee who lost part of her leg as the result of a car accident. This is something that I have no experience with in the real world, and I knew if I half-assed it or made stuff up, I'd get comments from people who are familiar with the subject calling me out on it. I spent several months reading internet forums, blog posts, and guidelines for both pre- and post-operative care. I followed a woman on YouTube who had her leg crushed in an accident and opted for amputation simply to relieve the pain, and was vlogging about the experience both before and after. I researched and read up on prosthetics, what they could do and what they couldn't, the way they were applied and removed, fittings, and measurements.
I also watched a video of the amputation procedure itself (sometimes through the gaps in my fingers, because holy shit a lifetime of enjoying horror films just cannot prepare you for some things). I did not eat for the rest of the day.
The story does not include any graphic details of the injury or the operation, but I felt it important, as a writer, to understand just exactly what I was about to do to poor Lynn. But beyond the procedure itself, I wanted to hear the voices of those who had gone through it, and see how they adapted to life afterwards. In the end, I'm extremely proud of the story, and have received comments and PMs from both doctors and patients alike who've said their experiences were very similar to Lynn's. I didn't get everything perfect, I know, but I got close enough that people with first-hand experience didn't flame me for ignorance.