Frustration and Research

Some days I really wish I could tell you more about my project. I could fill up entire blog entries about what we're doing there. Suffice it to say, today was a big day for it. I'm a little emotionally drained, but still happy. Things are coming along. I've just figured out all the little nooks and crannies and, brother, we have a lot of paperwork to get filed. And perhaps a mandatory vacation. Maybe I can sneak another trip to Disneyland in.

In the meantime, I've been waiting for inspiration to strike me with the creation of my new antagonist for The Paladin. I know that waiting isn't the best idea, but I'm running out of active things I can do. My research is coming up dry and I'm resorting to more and more... unconventional methods. I may have to binge some Supernatural. I thought I'd said goodbye to the Winchester brothers a long time ago, but like one of Dean's STIs, they keep coming back.

So I suppose the conundrum I have now is this: what sources are okay for my research? Obviously if I was doing historical fiction like some of my friends in my writers group I could just research history. It may be sparse, but I'd know what I'm looking for. But for this, looking for how to build the characters, the races, the abilities of people in my story, where do I go? Do I restrict my research only to historical accounts? To the old myths and legends? Or do I include contemporary interpretations. I mean, I'm not going to make my vampires sparkle, but how new can I go before I'm not interpreting and just using someone else's stuff?

They're all fictional creatures. I know this. I know that I can make them do anything I want, yet there's a line. I don't know where the line is, but I know it's there. And on one side there's characters that can be recognized as the thing I call them and on the other side is something that's only a name. Its frustrating. And yet, I seem to live for this crap. Oh well. Back to the books, I suppose.

Be Excellent to Each Other