IWSG November 2018: Strange Research


What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever googled in researching a story? Come with me and I will tell...

This post was written for The Insecure Writer's Support Group monthly blogging event and brought to you by founder and writer Alex J Cavanaugh. This month Alex has the help of these awesome co-hosts: Sadira Stone, Patricia Josephine, Lisa Buie-Collard, Erika Beebe, and C. Lee McKenzie! Please visit them.
Optional question of the month, should you accept to use it is: What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever googled in researching a story?
First of all, I love strange or weird stories or events so I google way too much. One year for the Blogging from A-Z April Challenge, I wrote 26 short stories, using Grimm’s Fairytale titles (only). I created my own mostly weird little stories. To this day, I love those quirky stories. I googled a lot during their creation. After the blog hop was over, I redid most of them, swapped out a couple for other stories, had a professional editor edit, then self-published. I loved them that much!
Stories that trap me into reading them are definitely those with a bizarre element.
This is a sample of things I’ve researched:
~ How to fist fight. Although I might have slapped someone, okay two people, on my brother’s behalf (as children), I’ve never “fought” someone. I didn’t know how to put a physical fight scene in a story.
~ Wasps, yellow jackets and hornets why they sting and where they live. Yes, it is odd, but I have reasons….
~ Crickets.
~ There is this one type of diet (kind of) that I will not name because it is a part of a story wannabee and I’m that paranoid someone will steal it. J  I looked it up to only find a small amount of information on it, therefore, I’ll probably need to make up the rest.
~ Two phobias that were main characters in two separate short stories.
~ I watch a lot of crime TV, thriller movies and read those types of books, but if something odd in the news catches my eye, I will google the heck out of it. Sometimes story babies are born. Sometimes those babies are not pretty.
What about you. If law enforcement goes through your internet history, what will they find?
T.

Comments

I am (mostly) very boring.
However, I am fascinated with spiders (venomous or not) so that may raise an eyebrow or two.
The original Grimm fairy tales were just that. Did yours follow the same path?
Pat Hatt said…
Sometimes they aren't pretty indeed. Is there more than one way to fist fight? lol
Pat Garcia said…
Hi,
If law enforcement were to research my googling history they will find I do an extreme amount of research on weapons.
Wishing you a lovely month of November.

Shalom aleichem,
Pat G @ EverythingMustChange
nashvillecats2 said…
I write poetry m,ainly about what has or have been in my life. Travels and family things.
I find it hard to write when not much is happening in my life.

Yvonne.
Your list is making me want to Google the same things, ha!

I think I must have a file. I'm always Googling poisons and such.
Are people eating those crickets? I know some do, but no thanks.
EC, I only used the title. I did let the title inspire my story, though. Cinderella to me is a Cinderella story of sorts, but quite different. haha
I don't fist fight, so I wasn't sure I would be able to describe it. It sounds like you've had experience? :)
Any research out of the ordinary makes me glance around the room. :)
It sounds like you are writing from experience on the meaning of life sometimes. I LOVE that.
Google research is such a time waster for me, HOWEVER, I've learned a lot of new things over the years.
I'll send you some!!! I ate a roasted grasshopper once only because of peer pressure. So gross.
I once looked up the ingredients in Napalm. I figure that put me on a government watch list.
I guess there is software that flags terms, but I'm harmless in real life. Not on paper.
Chrys Fey said…
I like the sound of the A to Z Challenge you did. :)
It was years ago, but so much fun.
Anonymous said…
The authorities will find the usual "undetected poisons" "how long does it take to die if your arms are cut off with a sword" "how to move about a public street and avoid being seen on cameras." My stranger searches involve the physical properties of Hell. Presumably, because based upon my other searches, that's where I'm headed.
Lisa said…
Not much that's too threatening I think! I love what you did with the A to Z! Great idea, and then to make it into a book, wonderful! I follow J. H. Montcrieff's blog because I like the spooky strange things she finds and writes about. Recently when I found something I thought would interest her, I sent her the link! https://www.jhmoncrieff.com/blog/ I wouldn't know how to fist fight either, even though I've taken a self-defense class!
Jemi Fraser said…
Fun list!! I think I've forgotten most of it, but at one point I'm pretty sure I would have been able to steal and fly and small plane :)
The most difficult thing was to learn how to sail a trow, a small sailing boat on the River Severn, so my little characters could get home! 🤗
Fist fighting has to be an art in the acting world, right?
Hee hee. You will come in handy, fictionally speaking.
It would be cool if someone was researching how help me in my life then write it into my own life story.
Carol Kilgore said…
Any law enforcement entity would likely, at the very least, commit me for observation. I Google about like you do. The littlest things fascinate me.
Sadira Stone said…
Yes indeed, those internet rabbit holes can lead to interesting story ideas.
emaginette said…
Your A to Z idea was awesome. I might try my hand at it if I get back into shorts. Thanks for that. :-)

Anna from elements of emaginette
Fundy Blue said…
I enjoyed your list of strange things, Teresa! You have me very curious about the crickets! I hope that you are having fun today!
You research interesting things. I do that thing too where I see something in the news and research it further.
Gwen Gardner said…
Ha! The A- Z sparked a lot of quirky stories. I published one of my A-Zs as well. Had tons of fun with it!
cleemckenzie said…
I like those bizarre elements in stories as well. Why are we so fascinated by that sort of thing? My guess is we crave anything that's different and stimulating. Thanks again for the help during my launch. I really appreciated it.
Tamara Narayan said…
These days I'm researching bipolar disease for one of my characters. Fascinating stuff.
Beth Camp said…
My current research involves art crime and connections to the mob, which surprisingly involves several billion is thefts each year. I'm not paranoid, but occasionally, I get that 'spidey' sense someone is watching. I liked your list -- especially that sword. Your self-published anthology also inspires me. May the coming year be good to you!
Damyanti Biswas said…
Fist fights, wasps & diet... Wonder what we could cook up from that!
I've often heard it recommended to block out fight scenes with Barbies or other dolls/action figures. I haven't done it yet, though.
Stephen Tremp said…
If law enforcement went through my search history there would be a lot of 'splaining I would have to do. Maybe lawyer up.
Nick Wilford said…
I like the idea of a phobia being a character - that intrigues me. I imagine some shady figure in the background that follows someone around and makes their life hell. Would they steer them towards the thing they are frightened of? Are they on commission? That definitely sounded like a fun A-Z Challenge!

Popular Posts