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| IWSG |
Today's post will be based on the prompt provided in the monthly newsletter:
What's the strangest thing you've ever googled in researching a story?
I can truthfully say that the only thing that I actually googled for a story was how to properly drive a non-automatic motorcycle. My main character for this particular book drove a motorcycle as her choice of transportation, so it was imperative that I should write intelligently about it.
However, for the same story, I will tell you the strangest thing(s) that I researched which involved talking to my co-workers/friends of the opposite sex.
Cup sizes and breast sizes.
Yes, you read correctly. Because my MC was a mid twenty-something woman who was going through crisis of conscience (so to speak), I wanted to make sure that I was writing an accurate portrayal of said character. Because of business she was immersing herself into, the character had to be realistic as possible.
So....this required asking a friend about breast size. And you can just imagine how that conversation went. Like it was a seriously awkward (at least for me) ten minute phone conversation. But in the end, I got enough of an explanation on how to properly write my character w/o turning her into a caricature for the business she was going into.
Asking questions about cup sizes was just as delicate, since I really knew diddly/squat about the difference between A, B, C, & D sizes (although I know something about DD from back in the day when I would occasionally "read" through....lad magazines). So I had a few co-workers who were kind enough to give me a five minute crash course on cub sizes. Again, awkward as anything, but I got the answers that I needed.
I would not suggest asking questions of this kind to any female co-worker unless 1} it's someone that you absolutely trust not to complain to people above and 2} absolutely no-one is even remotely eavesdropping on your conversation.
And there you have, the strangest (and quite frankly, the most dangerous) thing that I've ever researched for a story.
{c} 2019 by G.B. Miller. All Rights Reserved
You win! That's hilarious. No way I'd ask anyone at work.
ReplyDeleteIt definitely helped that I had co-workers in the same age bracket and temperament, otherwise there would be absolutely no way I could pull it off.
DeleteGreat points! I like your motorcycle research. I had to conduct that myself. It helps with realistic action. As far as the personal side of research for a woman, that would be tricky. I'm glad you had friends to trust.
ReplyDeleteit was actually pretty hard to research since most of the modern motorcycles these days are automatics.
DeleteThat other research was definitely tricky and I was glad I had those people that I could turn to.
Don't ever pose those questions to a millenial! You'd be brought up on sexual harassment charges in a flash. ☺ Good thing your colleagues were broad-minded and willing to help.
ReplyDeleteOh most definitely. All of my colleagues are/were north of 35/north of 40. Most millennials/Gen X/Gen Z wouldn't have a clue to begin with on how to answer my question (for I've had to explain pop culture stuff from the late 90's/early 2's to them).
Delete