Blogging Around -- Robin

I’ve been unfaithful lately. I’ve been “checking out” those other blogs…the ones that aren’t kidlit blogs (but it was only this one time and I’m sorry and I had too much to drink and it was reckless and cruel, but if you just took out the trash more often maybe I wouldn’t have to stray).

Nah, I’ve been visiting political blogs because my new middle grade novel has a political/historical thread to it and I needed to do some research. And when you start doing research on political blogs…you can lose three hours real quick.

Everyone and their cousin and their cousin’s invisible friend has a political blog nowadays. You can find an opinion on anything. Even opinions on having opinions! Which I find to be a good thing, but you have to scrape through the muck and the gunk to find the one nugget of information that will actually make it into your novel. And that takes time, especially when you can’t help yourself from reading through the comments sections and, in the political blogging world, they can get really nasty…and very entertaining!

One thing I’ve found useful when researching public opinion on historical events is to read the blogs of those on “the other side.” Because, of course, I take with me my own opinions when researching, but knowing both sides to an event is critical when presenting information to kids (or anyone).

So hopefully I’ll get this fascinating research done soon so I can start planting these nuggets into my story. But meanwhile, I gotta get back over to the comments section at LaughAtLiberals.com and find out if Suzanne and Dave are still slinging obscenities over gay marriage!

I love being a writer.

- Robin