Wikipedia is usually my first research stop, and sometimes my last, depending on what I need or how detailed. Often, I know what I’m after and I’m looking for specific facts to round out the fiction I’ve decided on. Other times I’ll start with a nebulous idea then click random, related, interesting links, searching for a spark.
In Spice “n’ Solace, tungsten is an important element for the back story. I needed an element or compound that might have value to an alien race. So I pulled up the periodic table and started clicking through the various elements to read up on them. I started with names I like (which, coincidentally is how I pick horses to bet on”¦ but that’s another story). I finally settled on tungsten for three reasons.
One, its alternate name is wolfram, with the ore called wolframite. What a cool name, eh?
Two, it’s used in alloys and military applications. So far, it’s useful and has a cool name.
Thirdly, it’s the “heaviest element know to be used by living organisms”. Well, that phrase sparked the idea I needed”¦
Ultimately, when you read Spice “n’ Solace, you’ll see that the actual references to tungsten/wolframite are few, but the element was the basis of an interspecies war that sets up the conflict between my protagonists. I could have picked anything: gold, diamonds, uranium. But it was the three traits above that had me zero in on tungsten and definitely influenced the story.
Later on… building an alien!
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