Still, I bet my searches are very tame compared to those
of crime writers. After all I've also asked google,
'How old is pocahontas?' 'How much is a small piñata?' and um, examples of 'men with big curly hair'.
Curious to know what was in other writers' browsing histories, I put the question to Twitter. Here's what they said. I'll leave it to you to guess the genre and possible plot of their works of FICTION* (*I hope, anyway).
@EmilyBenet Obituaries.
— Fiona Mitchell (@FionaMoMitchell) January 11, 2014
@EmilyBenet The effective range of a hunting rifle.
— Lindsay Bamfield (@LindsayBamfield) January 11, 2014
@EmilyBenet 'flies and free will' was on my work computer. Can't remember why.
— Julie McDowall (@ariel_mcdowall) January 11, 2014
@EmilyBenet serial killers... which freaks my partner out when he comes home late & wierd stuff pops up in google ads.
— Viccy Adams (@ViccyIsWriting) January 11, 2014
@EmilyBenet For my novel, Queen of the World, I googled the jetstream, macaws, Suzi Quatro, biodegradable paint & when Crossroads was on.
— Sal Page (@SalnPage) January 11, 2014
@EmilyBenet Erm, research-related? How about 'top london landmark suicide spots - Google search' FYI I didn't find what I was looking for!
— HJ Hampson (@heatherjhampson) January 12, 2014
@EmilyBenet Stalkers, texting and mobile phones! (For a short story though)
— Jan Baynham (@JanBayLit) January 11, 2014
@EmilyBenet Numerology, eco houses, and types of tree, apparently! Not quite sure what story that's all adding up to...
— Emily Wells (@Techpoet_org) January 11, 2014
@EmilyBenet @Isabelwriter *chloroform doses teenage girl**chloroform burns**chloroform administration* Themes are important, I find.
— Lucy Inglis (@lucyinglis) January 11, 2014
@EmilyBenet I've researched poisons...especially ones that are undetected or common items. Also torture. But it's common for crime writers?
— Viviana (@viviloana) January 11, 2014
@TamsynTweetie @EmilyBenet how long it takes to die from a severed hand, whether quick lime dissolves bodies & sentence for manslaughter!
— CL Taylor (@callytaylor) January 11, 2014
What about you? What's ended up in your browsing history in the name of research?
6 comments:
When I was in my twenties my father used to ring me fairly regularly - not for a general chat or to ask for news, just to ask things like 'do you happen to know what the gestation period is for dolphins?' or 'what poisonous plant would leave no trace in the victim's blood stream, do you think?' It was years before I realised he was researching his latest stories. He'd have adored Google ...
As for my search history: the mummification of bodies in peat bogs. Did you know they only mummify if they are submerged during the cold winter months? Completely ruined a key plot point for me, that did.
Brilliant! I'd be lost without google, I'm a bit of a lazy researcher really, I just want to get on with the writing bit.
And no, I did not know this mummification fact, thank you, I'm sure this knowledge will come in handy one day... Thanks for your comment Jane!
An acid that could cause serious harm, but also might be mistaken for fake blood is the weirdest search I've done of late. It took much googling, but I think I found the answer...
Wow, that's quite specific Hayley! Especially since it should look like fake blood not even real blood... I bet your google search brought up some nasty images along the way! I think I'm glad you found it, but I'm not sure... :S
Oh yeah, I forgot 'how long does it take to bleed to death if your tongue is cut out'. Fortunately someone had already asked a Yahoo question on this!
I really hope that person who'd asked Yahoo was a writer doing research too!!
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