"Stop Knowing All the Things, Mom!"

Not so very long ago, Jay was telling me about a friend of hers who is Wiccan, with, I suspect, the intent to shock me. My response was to ask if said friend was a solitary or belonged to a local or Internet coven, if they had a preferred pantheon or deity, etc. At which point she huffed loudly from the backseat with her friend (not the one we were discussing) and said

Stop knowing all the things, Mom

I've been thinking about this a lot of late because I'm finally working on a new piece of long fiction and dove head first, with great enthusiasm, into the research whirlpool (which will suck you down if you're not careful).

Current reading includes information on the history of India from pre-Vedic cultures (Harappans were cool) to just before the British invasion, pre-industrial revolution fabric dyeing and weaving, the history of perfume, and more.

Curiosity is a mainstay of writing life - if we're not curious then we have nothing to say. I am a firm believer that every story begins with someone somewhere saying, "What if...?"

But, best of all, all this research means I will know a little more every day about, "all the things." Much to my teenager's annoyance :-)