do you ever research things to make your daydream realistic?

[ashlee]

for example, ill google what their wages would be for their jobs just to see how much money they make. and to see if they could actually live on their own with that wage.

or if i give them a job, but i dont really know what that an average person would do at that job, i google it to see what they'd do everyday

or   if theyre in college or something, ill google which classes they'd have to take for their career choice.

and my daydream takes place in SoCal, so sometimes ill google map how long it takes to get from one place to another

or if its one of my characters birthdays and it takes place in the future, I check the calender on my phone to see which day of the week it lands on (because if its on a weekday they could be working and if they had kids at the time theyd be at school, so id need to know which day their birthday landed on to make the daydream realistic)

i dont know...i just check weird things like that so my daydream is realistic
is that a little extreme? or does anyone else do that? i hope so

[Ana Suau]

I do this a lot with every new daydream story I come up to. I make genealogical trees (I'm a little obsessed about genealogy) of the family involved, stating their age, birth date. I also research about the place where it takes place (normally a major USA city), the cost of living there, and also research about the characters jobs to get an idea of what their income would be, and then I create an Excel sheet where I do this crazy thing: knowing their estimated income, I calculate approximately the detailed expenses of the household, having in consideration the specific needs of individuals of different ages (babies, teenagers)… I also, once I decide the location of the story, look in real estate websites for the perfect home for the story, depending of the income of the characters and what they could afford to have.

I know this all might sound crazy and it does consume a LOTof time, but I'm a control freak and I'm obsessed with realism when it comes to DD, which has prevented me in the last years to enjoy some old scenarios, because they involve magic or supernatural elements that are not logical or realistic. So sometimes it's frustrating, but also, it's great free entertainment for  me and also important, it's an instrument to do a little research in places and jobs I was unfamiliar with, so I find it a great little way to learn about things I normally wouldn't.

[Alta Morden]

Yes, I have done this.  I like to get details as correct as possible.

[Jenna]

I completely understand.  For me personally, I love to look up metal illnesses and cruel things such as child abuse (I'm a negative dder, don't judge.) I feel rather guilty that I do this but I just can't help it. I feel like it makes the dds make more sense.

[Nicole]

I used to do this, but realized that doing it only made matters much much worse, so I have forced myself to stop.

I think when it comes to MD, it's a lot worse an addiction than most because, unlike alcoholics, you can't just not go to the bar. The "bar" follows you everywhere. The "bar" is your mind. I think that is what makes it so hard to get rid of!

However, when it comes to "researching your world", this is a "bar" you can avoid. In an effort to stop my DD, I decided to avoid this "bar".

[taffle]

Yes, I do that! I want my characters to be as glamorous and fashionable as possible so research clothes for them to wear.

[Wakethenight]

Yes.  I honestly chose my major in  college based on a need to make my daydream just right. Now I have a BA in Ancient History and Latin LOL---way useful in this economy! :) I don't regret it, though. That particular MD storyline (the one that inspired my major) closed a couple of years ago.

I don't research small details (like classes), but more cultural things because all my MDscapes have always taken place in different times.  

I like to know exactly on what day of the week events happen too :)

Google is the best thing EVER! I especially like to look for music that might fit.

I don't actually do a lot of research anymore. I have stopped completely now that I'm trying to lesson my MD.

[Wakethenight]

I like your "bar" analogy. It's spot on and I agree researching is a "bar" we can avoid.

Nicole said:

I used to do this, but realized that doing it only made matters much much worse, so I have forced myself to stop.

I think when it comes to MD, it's a lot worse an addiction than most because, unlike alcoholics, you can't just not go to the bar. The "bar" follows you everywhere. The "bar" is your mind. I think that is what makes it so hard to get rid of!

However, when it comes to "researching your world", this is a "bar" you can avoid. In an effort to stop my DD, I decided to avoid this "bar".

[Juanita]

I do that all the time.  I prefer my scenarios to be historical, so I read books on the time periods I'm interested in, and look up clothing styles, etc, so things will be more realistic to me.  

It's so nice to see that others do the same thing.

[Audrey Montgomery]

Oh wow. Yes I have. I thought I was the only one for sure.

 

[Ziggy Valentine]

I read a lot about pregnancy, babies, labor, etc. because I've never experienced it in my real life but I have in my "other" life and during lucid dreaming. (I have taken care of babies though because I come from a big family and have lots of nephews and one niece.)

[otakugirl]

Nope the sky is the limit in my dd to its very unrealistic

[Shadow Cat Sam]

I do this but it isn't DD specific.  I am a total knowledge and research geek about most everything.