My Favourite Resources
Feb. 22nd, 2011 01:49 amI do a lot of odd research, but there are some places I find invaluable for their very specific collections of information. Others are quite diverse, but may only give you a general idea.
Here's a list of places I have bookmarked, some of which I visit almost daily:
And, when all else fails, Google.
Here's a list of places I have bookmarked, some of which I visit almost daily:
- Cab fare! Gives you an estimated fare and route to expect. Combine this with...
- Google Maps, particularly Street View, and there's no reason whatsoever for location!fail. Even if Street View may not be exactly up to date, it still gives you a good idea of what the area looks like.
- There's also a very high-quality map of Great Britain, which outlines all of the counties. It's a couple years old, but I doubt anything's changed too terribly dramatically since 2009.
- Speaking of Great Britain, my not-British friends may find this video helpful. It explains the differences between the UK, Great Britain, England, the Commonwealth, and more.
- On the subject of maps, how about a Map of the Sky? Has information on distance, right ascension, declination, composition, alternative names, and everything else on more celestial bodies than the mind can comprehend. If you're really detail-oriented, you can use this information to...
- calculate the distances between celestial bodies. First, you'll need to get a bit more info on triangulation. I spent about two days doing it by hand in a notebook during Nano, before I found these sites. They have saved me hours of tedious maths.
- The Law in the United Kingdom category on Wikipedia has come in amazingly useful for four different fandoms over the last three years. I think every fandom person on my F-list should find this one helpful, since you all come from one of two, both which are about solving insane mysteries somewhere in England.
- Similarly, you may want to familiarise yourself with UK police ranks, should you be writing for a fandom which would involve them. Especially if you are quite familiar with American police structure. It's very different.
- Speaking of which, get your British slang right. You really don't want to embarrass yourself by calling a condom a 'rubber.'
- Need to display a telephone number? Use one of these. The don't belong to anybody.
- You may also want to familiarise yourself with London postal districts. They can make that cab fare thing in the first link so much easier.
- One for the Sherlock fandom in particular, although still useful for other areas, is this collection of first-hand reports from drug users.
- Another one the Sherlock fandom may find helpful is AVEN - the Asexual Visibility and Education Network.
- There are also a few places I go for general searching. Yahoo!Answers can have some really obscure questions with some great answers. Great for simple questions.
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little_details is probably the best place to go for research. If they don't have what you're looking for, you can post a question, and someone will know the answer. This is great for those questions that have multiple parts, or are just so strange, you don't even know where to start.
- Perhaps surprisingly, TVTropes can be terribly helpful as well.
- And, of course, we can't forget Wikipedia in general. BE WARNED: these last two links have a reputation for sucking away entire hours of a person's life. Click at your own risk.
And, when all else fails, Google.