Research Leads to Strange Places

Suzanna Anderson Creates ♦ August 15, 2011 ♦ Leave a comment

I have never liked spiders or ants. I would scream, freeze, or smash them whenever I saw them. Yet earlier this summer I wrote a short story about spiders. The last couple of days I’ve been working on a short story about ants. Writing a story about something I don’t like or fear removes the fear, at least partially. Today if I am surprised by spiders or ants, I freak out once in a while. I discovered bags of eucalyptus tea in dark corners work marvelously as a spider repellant. Last night I researched ant repellents. Eucalyptus is shown to work sometimes to repel ants too.

It’s strange where writing takes you. The benefit is that I don’t screech like I used to when I see them. At least I learned something to use for real life while working on stories.

Now if only I could find a story idea for fireflies. I like them.