The Things We Do To Write

Yesterday I downloaded two items essential for my writing. One was SimCity, a simulation game where I build up a city. The second was a book called Sweet Valley High (Book 1). Why would you do that, you ask?

In The Last Place to Stand (Book 2), whose title is still to be decided, I need to come up with realistic ways a spaceship would run. I have a small society living on the ship and I wanted to consider aspects I might have forgotten. Like how do they distribute or barter items they might need? What is their system of money? What utilities should I discuss in the book? SimCity helps me itemize what would be needed in a small self-sustaining community. These are the things I would have never thought of if I had not tried such a game.

Sweet Valley High is for another book. Even after releasing Danger Under Ocean’s Tides, I realized there are aspects about Tracy I did not give enough attention. I needed to think like a young girl. Something, I’m afraid does not come very naturally. My wife suggested this series to brush up on being a girl. Besides having an identity crisis, I hope it will help me do one last revision of the book and make it even better than it is.

So there you have it! The things I won’t do to lend my books more realism.