Okay, I’m going to come clean about a couple things in this one.
First off, I’m a bad writer—I don’t like coffee or tea. I’ve tried a couple types of teas, trying to get Just One that I actually like, and I’ve had an unpleasant experience at best and nausea at worst. Coffee, no matter how much cream or sugar I add, is just gross. (And then, too sweet with said cream and sugar.) I don’t like hot bean water or hot leaf water! According to the writosphere, this makes me a bad writer.
I know it’s a joke, but it is also pretty ubiquitous. Thankfully, I have a semi-caffeine-addicted friend I can ask for weird coffee flavors for my characters to order at Starbucks. Sometimes, googling things is just too overwhelming. If you have no clue about something, how do you know where to begin?
And here we have the point of this week’s post: using everyday “experts” in your life to cover up your own knowledge soft areas.
This isn’t a post about how to research for novels. This is a post about realizing what your friends and family are really knowledgeable about and ruthlessly squeezing them for information on very basic things you cannot comprehend. I think everyone has a few of those.
Another example of mine—I’ve been a vegetarian since middle school. I was very picky about the meats I ate even prior to that (fish sticks, fried bologna, and bacon!).
I was well out of college, in my late twenties, when I was informed that filet mignon is not fish. And I was flabbergasted. I know what a filet is! Well, I knew what the verb, to fillet, was. (And for the record, I watch a lot of cooking shows. Whoops!)
I’ve never actually written a committed vegetarian character before. I’ve had to ask a lot of meat questions over the years. Thankfully, my dad is a rancher, and my brother is now a butcher; I have asked them how to butcher a mountain goat, every single detail about backstraps, what they think whale would taste like, if brisket is actually good, and more. Most of these details have been turned into throwaway lines, at best.
But some other things have been infinitely more useful.
My caffeine-loving friend is also a semi-expert on gemstones, herbs, and flowers, as well as their symbolisms and meanings. Is he an actual expert, with a PhD-equivalent in witchy things? No. Is he good enough to use as my source? Yes. Is he convenient to talk to? Yes. Do I know he won’t judge me for incessantly asking questions? Yes. All of these things are vital when asking others for help!
During a stint searching for stimulants, I realized how bad it is to google certain things. (It’s all cocaine, all the way down.) So I consulted three people I knew instead: a vet tech friend of mine, an EMT friend of mine, and my father who is ex-military. (More on that later!) We discussed what an animal tranquilizer would do to a human (spoiler alert: knocks them the fuck out), if a stimulant could wake them, what various stimulants and dosages do to bodies, and my research into military development of autoinjectors. (Definitely landed me on the TSA watchlist for that one.)
I Frankenstein’d them all together to get what I ended up using in my story. It took three or four days of going back and forth between those three people and googling new terms and questions I came up with.
And I think it’s about two lines’ worth of story, plus two lines of dialogue from characters reacting to it. I’m 90% certain it’s not scientifically accurate.
But it sounds accurate, and it’s based on accuracy. Sometimes, that’s all that matters. You have to know the rules before you can break them.
My ex-military father has been a huge source of Information I Would Get Put On A Watchlist For. And since I’d love to travel more in my future, this is definitely something I’d prefer to avoid. He is my gun expert (and is actually an expert) and general material expert. He helped me design a character’s sniper rifle, down to what bullets she uses for what jobs, her usual range, and so on. Yes, I could have googled hollow points and tungsten coatings. But google can’t actually answer questions, especially not super specific writerly ones.
(He also helped me design a hunting knife, which I am constantly forgetting, but I know it’s silver-edged and has a werewolf bone handle.)
Having unconventional sources like this is vital for a writer. Also, having someone not judge you for asking about all of this is just as vital. And if you get to talk with a friend about one of their special interests, even better!
So think of your friends, family, coworkers, etc. Everyone can be used as a source of information. Start looking, and happy writing!
