Seven

I really hope that a lot of you will agree with me on this one. I’m a huge fan of BBC’s Planet Earth series. Seriously, I watch those over and over and over until I can quote it, and then I keep watching. But really, it’s a great way to make sure I don’t stop doing what I do best.

Watch documentaries

Like I’ve said before, everything we do has to be grounded in reality. It really does, whether you want it to be that way or not. Nothing you can do about it. We have to have everything grounded, or else it’s too far out there for most readers to understand, and very few people will really understand what you were trying to do with your work.

We don’t want that.

So, watch some documentaries.

If you need to get better at your battle scenarios, watch some stuff about the World Wars. If you need to know about the world under the waves, go watch Blue Planet. There’s tons of stuff out there for you to choose from, and a lot of it is great material. Plus, there’s a boatload of it on both Netflix and Hulu (and Amazon, for those of you in that crowd), so you have no excuse not to watch it.

I find it quite helpful to have it on in the background while I’m working, so I can channel what I’m hearing into what I’m doing. Plus, a lot of the narrators have very soothing voices, which is just really nice to listen to.

But you’re probably after some specifics on this one.

See, there’s a lot that we sci-fi/fantasy writers can use in documentaries, especially in the animal kingdom. Again, everything needs to be grounded in reality, so use reality as your springboard. Need to make an alien? Watch Blue Planet or Planet Earth, and mash some animals together. Need to design a spaceship? Find some cool bugs and make a ship that looks like them. I’m telling you, it’s a great way to really solidify what things look like in your head, so you can fully explain them to your readers.

And artists, don’t think you’re out of this one. You can use the real world as a way to inspire you, as something that can influence what you’re painting or drawing or sculpting in some new and exciting ways.

Try it. Documentaries are great.

Yes, I’m a nerd. I’ve never denied that.

[love]

{Rani Divine}