Surreptitious Research

[Kelliezgirl]

I was working on a story and realized I needed more information about cars, so I ended up texting my older brother and asking him.
He answered but wanted to know why I was asking. I wasn't going to tell him, "Your baby sister is writing porn, but I need this part to be realistic" so I made up a story to cover myself.

I know you can always Google, and everything on the internet is true, but do you ever find yourself using resources and making excuses for why you need the information?
At some point I'm going to need some advanced legalese and will have to figure out how to slip a question past one of the lawyers in the office.

 

[Privates1stClass]

It's always good to have a cover story. You never know when someone will put you on the spot, and it's rather embarrassing sitting at the Thanksgiving table when your younger sibling says, "I saw your browsing history shows you'd logged into Literotica. What's Literotica?"

 

[theWollstonecraftWoman]

Yeah, I have friends who are quite knowledgeable on things I haven't a clue about. So, I tell them I want to know for a made-up reason. Some aren't very convincing, too. So, one younger friend I have and her SO go to adult toy stores, and she's always saying you should've seen what I saw last night at (Insert your favorite adult sexual appliance provider). Rather than saying, Oh, my, and making it obvious I don't want to know, now say, tell me more.

Edited for clarity.

 

[samhasstories]

I generally resort to the internet or books or something for any "research" I do. But I suppose if I did want to ask someone I would just say it's for a story I'm writing that I'm never going to let you read. I'd probably just omit the part about that story being porn.

 

[Smuttyandfun]

As I've said before, if anyone asks, I just say I'm a romance writer. And I'm sure that's the same story a lot of writers are using on here. Lit is just full of romance writers.

 

[intim8]

It's always good to have a cover story. You never know when someone will put you on the spot, and it's rather embarrassing sitting at the Thanksgiving table when your younger sibling says, "I saw your browsing history shows you'd logged into Literotica. What's Literotica?"

I think if it comes to that, it's time to get it out in the open. Are you ashamed of writing here? I assume not, so let them know in no uncertain terms that you are not, and why.

Of course, if it's the kind of thing that just won't be accepted by family or friends, job, etc, and comes with terrible consequences, you can still answer the question honestly. "It's none of your business" or some variation of "that's private, don't ask".

If you have to live with lying to your family or whoever, it was an unhealthy dynamic long before this gets out. And yeah, that's the case for some people. It's a shame.

But generally, in this context, omission is not a lie. And saying "I'm a writer" without saying the genre is perfectly acceptable.

There's only three people IRL that know I do this, and this is the only online venue that I use a pseudonym for. I'm not ashamed of it, but it's private. At some point, I may tell more people, but in the meantime, I won't be ashamed if it gets out.

It's not much different from having a fetish that might make others oogie to hear about, except this is, by definition, a public activity. Everything we write is out there for millions of people.

 

[lovecraft68]

I'd suggest asking here. There's a lot of people here with a wide variety of knowledge in fields/hobbies other than writing.

There's also the how to thread where you can ask for information.

 

[Euphony]

I was working on a story and realized I needed more information about cars, so I ended up texting my older brother and asking him.
He answered but wanted to know why I was asking. I wasn't going to tell him, "Your baby sister is writing porn, but I need this part to be realistic" so I made up a story to cover myself.

Nothing wrong with that. A lot of people come at it from a "hide my shame" mindset but it can be an act of kindness.

Plenty of people have experiences that make talking about completely valid things uncomfortable for them. It isn't always "hiding" a no no, often it's just be considerate of others feelings, experiences, and emotions. Like we don't bring up cancer unless someone we know dealing with it wants to talk about it.

You can leverage the cliches to your own benefit. You write fanfic or romance novels but want the man stuff more authentic "than in the norm." Or you have a multi-catted single friend who asked you to edit for her b/c you're the only one she trusts. People love grabbing on to anything that fits a known pattern so they can categorize it and move on.

Unless you are dealing with a zealot or someone with an ax to grind, you just dangle the right bait and fish hook themselves.

Just set a simplistic story/explanation and be consistent with it. It's reality just an idealized warm, fuzzy one, for others' benefit.

I know you can always Google, and everything on the internet is true, but do you ever find yourself using resources and making excuses for why you need the information?

I'm assuming you mean of friends/family/others where asks could end up prickly. Yes and no. I'll do it when necessary but, the more I've done this, the more I've come to realize how individual an understanding can be. Concrete stuff (did Chevy make a Corvette in the 1920s) you'd just google. More ambiguous stuff, you are really more getting a perspective. If your characters will share that perspective, or your readership has the same understanding (for you to support or subvert) then you're golden. But it's still a singular data point.

At some point I'm going to need some advanced legalese and will have to figure out how to slip a question past one of the lawyers in the office.

"So, I was just curious, if one were to accidentally injure a play partners coccyx with a pink fuzzy, but fully functional, riding crop during consensual BDSM, what kind of civil liabilities are we talking? No real reason I ask, was just bored while eating yet another lunch salad."

Research is everywhere but most won't be nearly as concerned or as educated as you might worry. And there's a certain subset of readership that will always be above your pay grade (unless you do publishing house level research) or flat out believe what they choose to believe no matter how thoroughly researched you are. (the more you read sexual research studies, the more you realize how little we actual know and can know when having to depend on self-reporting)

Research is one of my best motivators but it can also be a terrible procrastination crutch if you let it.

As always, don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

Write.

 

[LoquiSordidaAdMe]

I'd suggest asking here. There's a lot of people here with a wide variety of knowledge in fields/hobbies other than writing.

There's also the how to thread where you can ask for information.

I second Lovecraft's suggestion. I needed to write a realistic scene on a sailboat, which I know nothing about. I posted my questions to the general board and got a lot of good suggestions and a very helpful and knowledgeable beta-reader to boot. There's a lot of esoteric knowledge floating around these message boards.

 

[MrPixel]

I think if it comes to that, it's time to get it out in the open.

I disagree, strongly. You don’t and can’t know the culture each of us lives with. My wife lost her job when she/we were outed after stumbling into another couple from our small town at an adult theater 80 miles away. The difference was that the other couple were known flakes, and we held positions of responsibility.

 

[Euphony]

I disagree, strongly. You don’t and can’t know the culture each of us lives with. My wife lost her job when she/we were outed after stumbling into another couple from our small town at an adult theater 80 miles away. The difference was that the other couple were known flakes, and we held positions of responsibility.

That sucks man. Amazing the damage people justify putting on others even when they live in a glass house. (apparently you had more square footage so had to take you down)

It's easy for some here to throw around all their bravado when they can't conceptualize or empathize that others have completely different situations.

It's an epidemic.

 

[Devinter]

I was working on a story and realized I needed more information about cars, so I ended up texting my older brother and asking him.
He answered but wanted to know why I was asking. I wasn't going to tell him, "Your baby sister is writing porn, but I need this part to be realistic" so I made up a story to cover myself.

I know you can always Google, and everything on the internet is true, but do you ever find yourself using resources and making excuses for why you need the information?
At some point I'm going to need some advanced legalese and will have to figure out how to slip a question past one of the lawyers in the office.

When I wrote The (un)Lucky Girl, which I believe you read and commented on, I actually called up my friend who is a brain surgeon to make sure I got all the details regarding brain tumours right, because I felt it was such a sensitive subject. In the end, I didn't really use much of the information he gave me - I don't think I ever even mentioned that her tumour was benign rather than malignant, but located at a truly dangerous part of the brain. But I got a clearer picture as the author of what the character was going through, and I think that the extra knowledge on a topic sometimes shines through even if you leave most of the details out.

Google is great, and often enough, but drawing from the experiences of real people can often paint a more personal picture that I think us authors can absorb and weave into our stories, and it resonates with the reader.

 

[MillieDynamite]

You're researching superstitions? No, wait, it's surreptitious. You're secretly researching kinks, right? Clear your history to be safe.

 

[Stimtheone]

I just research stuff on the internet. Here I have Brave New World and Fate of Empires (Historical essay by Sir John Glubb) in other tabs to help me imagine the development of this empire.

At times I ask other people, but never those too close to me unless they know what an absolute weirdo I am. Last night I talked with my tabletop group about this. I often forget that our cleric has a doctorate.

 

[intim8]

the extra knowledge on a topic sometimes shines through even if you leave most of the details out.

It really does. You may not use the knowledge directly, but a subtle detail of what it is like (not specifically what it is) can make a huge difference.

I saw the author David Baldacci's Masterclass. He's known for very in depth research. He took out a stack of material notes he had for one of his bestsellers. It had to be two feet high. Orders of magnitude more words than went into the entire book. He writes the kind of books that use a lot of that specific knowldge, but it dawned on me then that his breadth of knowledge is what makes his books feel rich and detailed, not just the factual details.

A recommendation for writers writing about a place they are not intimitely familiar with, use Google Earth to "walk" around the neighborhoods your story is set in, if the setting matters. (Maybe not so much here, GE does not give views into bedrooms ). I have a mainstream novel working that takes place in a city I've only been to once, very briefly and a long time ago. A few remembered details went into the story, but I did the Google walk, and it really helped a lot. It even spurred a plot-forwarding scene that I hadn't thought of, just from seeing what was at this one street intersection.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

When I wrote The (un)Lucky Girl, which I believe you read and commented on, I actually called up my friend who is a brain surgeon to make sure I got all the details regarding brain tumours right, because I felt it was such a sensitive subject. In the end, I didn't really use much of the information he gave me - I don't think I ever even mentioned that her tumour was benign rather than malignant, but located at a truly dangerous part of the brain. But I got a clearer picture as the author of what the character was going through, and I think that the extra knowledge on a topic sometimes shines through even if you leave most of the details out.

Google is great, and often enough, but drawing from the experiences of real people can often paint a more personal picture that I think us authors can absorb and weave into our stories, and it resonates with the reader.

I did read it, it was wonderful.

I agree with how the information resonates with the reader, and really with author as well.
You aren't just sharing facts you gleaned from Google, but something more.
And when we know the source that guides us in how we look at the information. The emotion they bring to it.

 

[Zootonius]

Sometimes, I try to imagine what the MFC is wearing, and do an image search on, say, 'silk blouse' or 'chemise.'

What was the question again?

 

[MillieDynamite]

If you write historical fiction, you have to put in the research. You must get a feel for a place and time and convey that. When you're in New York City in the 1940s, they need to smell the stench of the East River as they read. The reader needs to get the feel of the music, the crowed streets, and how oppressive some folks felt in Manhatten with all those damn sky scrapers around them.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

If you write historical fiction, you have to put in the research. You must get a feel for a place and time and convey that. When you're in New York City in the 1940s, they need to smell the stench of the East River as they read. The reader needs to get the feel of the music, the crowed streets, and how oppressive some folks felt in Manhatten with all those damn sky scrapers around them.

The Alienist by Caleb Carr is wonderful for that very reason. He really captures the feel of the time period.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I was working on a story and realized I needed more information about cars, so I ended up texting my older brother and asking him.
He answered but wanted to know why I was asking. I wasn't going to tell him, "Your baby sister is writing porn, but I need this part to be realistic" so I made up a story to cover myself.

I know you can always Google, and everything on the internet is true, but do you ever find yourself using resources and making excuses for why you need the information?
At some point I'm going to need some advanced legalese and will have to figure out how to slip a question past one of the lawyers in the office.

If writing erotica could potentially become an embarrassment for you, become established (real or imaginary) as a writer of some other genre.

I questioned a total stranger in a pub the other day about the metro stops in and around the Washington, DC area since she lived and worked there. I had no problem explaining the synopsis of the story and how the content I was asking her about was relevant to it. I have also asked my dentist about the proper topical anesthetic to use in certain circumstances.

Unless your research is related to the sexual acts themselves, there usually isn't any problem as long as your credibility as a writer is established.

Also, be prepared when six months or so down the road someone wants to read that story that you had asked for their advice on.

 

[ElectricBlue]

The Alienist by Caleb Carr is wonderful for that very reason. He really captures the feel of the time period.

I read that book ages ago, and have never been able to remember its title, so thank you for that. It was exactly that immersion that I remember.

 

[Dearelliot]

My wife was born and raised in Berlin, and came here with me when she was 21, but I still ask the German group here for info regarding the language. My wife knows I write but has little to no interest in it.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

I just use the internet, I've never had to ask any personal aquaintance anything about anything for a book. If I did, they wouldn't ask why I wanna know, they'd just answer without the bullshit. I rarely ever need to do research anyway.

 

[bestkeptsecret678]

My research Sources, in order of frequency:

Internet Search (with BS meter turned up to max)
Conversing with a Lit friend
Conversing with Lit strangers

To address the point others have made in this thread: no one outside of Lit knows I am on Lit. Someone above called it "lying", I comfortably think of it as compartmentalization.

 

[Rustyoznail]

My research Sources, in order of frequency:

Internet Search (with BS meter turned up to max)
Conversing with a Lit friend
Conversing with Lit strangers

To address the point others have made in this thread: no one outside of Lit knows I am on Lit. Someone above called it "lying", I comfortably think of it as compartmentalization.

Basically, that's my methodology.