As a writer, I use the internet heavily when I’m doing research. there are times I would hate for someone to actually look at my search history, and when I know I’m going to be asking some strange questions I drop into “incognito” browsing.
So, what strange things might a writer look up? For crime fiction you can bet they are looking for forensics, weapons, poisons and anything else murderous you can imagine. For a romance writer it might be hormones, relationships, or personality types. For me? I have looked up all of those things and more.
I write in a variety of genres so my search history is also varied. For a historical fiction I am working on I needed to know what life was like in a mining camp in the early 1900’s. It was rough to say the least. For The Manx my research not only includes everything and anything about the Isle of Man, but the rich folk tales of the island as well along with the royal history of Castle Peel. Murder in Sulpher Gulch is a mystery. I join my crime writing friends in looking up everything about murder and the Mafia.
The strangest bit of research I’ve done has been in the area of crime. It is so far outside my realm in life that I never knew much about it except what could be gleamed from cops shows on the television. (BTW…most are very inaccurate. Don’t go off television shows). One short story I needed to know what kind of poisonous plants grew in the south eastern areas of Tennessee. Once I found a few good ones it then took more research to see if a person could be poisoned with them and how it would be done. Weird stuff.
The one place on my list of to-do’s is to pay a visit to my local police station. I have a few story lines that involve murder. I don’t know the first thing about police procedure so I expect to get to know the local police quite well.
This post inspired by:
Insecure Writers Support Group.
The awesome co-hosts for the November 6 posting of the IWSG are Sadira Stone, Patricia Josephine, Lisa Buie-Collard, Erika Beebe, and C. Lee McKenzie!
arbitrarydustbunnies 
Cop shows are inaccurate? The horror…
I know! Right? hahaha
LOL, yeah TV is for drama. I worked in police dispatch for over 20 years so get that. Happy Belated IWSG <a href="https://www.junetakey.com//"<Juneta @ Writer's Gambit
Fortunately, I have some friends who are cops. They are my go to people whenever I have something to write about arrests etc.
I saw a meme the other day that cracked me up. It was someone watching people’s searches (assuming it was a government organization) and asking his workmate if he should report one where the person was searching about how to hide a dead body or something. The workmate told him to wait just a second. Then the next search had to do with author-related stuff. Of course, the meme was funnier…
I love watching some of those shows, but I would never use info from them. Hence, my browser history needs to be cleared every now an then.
My sister’s Denver PD if you ever want me to try to arrange maybe a dinner with the three of us or something. And, of course, you can arrange ride alongs with your local PD.
I have a contact in the local PD, but we could still do dinner. Fun times! Thanks Shannon!
What? The TV lies to me? I am forever scarred now. And here I thought the procedure was right and that when you hit someone on the head they just easily go night night. lol
I am so sorry I burst your beliefs in TV. It’s like a band-aid…it only hurts for a little while. hahahaha