# Medical resources for fiction writers?



## phoenixrising (Jun 11, 2013)

I'm wondering if anyone knows of resources available online that can provide some guidance for writers regarding medical details?

I'm trying to establish a recovery timeline for a character who experienced a pretty complex injury.  I've tried doing research regarding similar injuries, but since it's a combination of a couple things, I'm struggling to determine how it would be approached medically and therefore how long recovery would take.  I don't need tons of precise details, but determining that timeline is important for the pacing of the story.

Does anyone know of any resources that could be helpful in this situation, besides just poking around on medical websites?  Thanks!


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## Gargh (Jun 11, 2013)

I had some trouble with this myself when trying to establish a cause of death for a character. There is a lot of good information on the internet if you know exactly what you're looking for but I didn't. So I stopped, rethought, and figured that if I go to a forum when I need advice on writing why not do the same when I need advice on illness?So I found a medical forum for my research, a student one at that. I figured students would be more likely than qualified medical staff to have the time and inclination to discuss these things. I was really upfront with them about why I was there and they were really helpful. You may not get this response all the time but it may be worth a shot.


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## phoenixrising (Jun 11, 2013)

Using a student forum is a great thought - thanks!


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## shadowwalker (Jun 11, 2013)

And if you google your thread title, you'll find a lot of sites for exactly this - providing medical information for writers.


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