Beta Reader Group discussion
Writing Advice & Discussion
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Writers are Weird
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lol, Man I've done all this! Especially, missing my turn because I was thinking of my plot.
lol, for sure the internet searches!! The government probably thinks I'm a spy training to become a ninja."Pants are uncomfortable. They restrict my leg hair." haha, this made my night.
How did people write without internet? LOL Yes, my searches are a little crazy.
Taylor wrote: "lol, Man I've done all this! Especially, missing my turn because I was thinking of my plot."I've probably wasted so much gas passing my exits!
Danielle wrote: "lol, for sure the internet searches!! The government probably thinks I'm a spy training to become a ninja."Pants are uncomfortable. They restrict my leg hair." haha, this made my night."
Haha, right? I like to draw my characters too, one of which is supposed to look middle eastern. I had to explain that to my husband when I turned on my computer and my screen was stuck on 'Persian Men' :P
Sandaidh wrote: "These are so cool. Good job."Well thank you very much! :)
S. wrote: "HAHAHAHAHA all so true!!"Thank goodness! For awhile there I thought I was crazy!
Emily wrote: "How did people write without internet? LOL Yes, my searches are a little crazy."I have NO idea! I have to look stuff up constantly. How do you stitch up a wound? How do you skin a deer?
I actually watched a skinning a deer video.....and that wasn't even that important of a thing in my book :O
Elliot wrote: "Emily wrote: "How did people write without internet? LOL Yes, my searches are a little crazy."I have NO idea! I have to look stuff up constantly. How do you stitch up a wound? How do you skin a d..."
You visit the library...a lot! Visit historical sites, find people with expertise in the subject(s) being researched, take classes in subject(s) being researched, make copious notes and then more notes. Yeah, the internet makes it a whole lot easier and faster.
Some of the subjects I've researched are:
closing wounds
how long it take broken bones to heal
sewing with sinew
dislocated shoulder
symptoms of malnutrition
symptoms of starvation
alcohol withdrawal symptoms
brain tanning a fur hide
death by dehydration
edible wild plants
felling a tree by hand
square dance steps
signs of stroke
left brain stroke
stroke and memory
digging a well by hand
starting a fire with sticks
ancient medical terms/words
making jerky
Elliot wrote: "Danielle wrote: "lol, for sure the internet searches!! The government probably thinks I'm a spy training to become a ninja."Pants are uncomfortable. They restrict my leg hair." haha, this made my..."
LOL try explaining 'How much force does it take to snap someone's neck'
My husband doesn't even blink anymore. Lol
I write erotic romance. Please don't ask what I google.
This discussion is brilliant and definitely lol. Someone should write a book - oh, we all are doing.I managed to hit a parked car (the only one on a country lane) with my 4 mph mobility scooter while dog walking, because I'd got a particularly knotty plot to work through.
This discussion comes as a relief, because I have wondered about what my browsing history suggests about me. No erotic writing, but my list includes:
thigh high stockings
alternate contraception
primitive explosives and pipe bombs
location of major naval bases worldwide
nuclear explosions, size and height/distribution to maximise casualties
Insects that can either kill or be eaten
how much nutrition in potatoes, caterpillars or a rabbit
location of major shipping lanes worldwide
removing an eye with the minimum of damage to the person
medieval underwear
Celtic language and gods - welsh vs Irish version
location of red light district in Birmingham
Can runes be inscribed on bone in a live person and do they last
age of consent in various countries
range of a sugar rocket
how to penetrate steel with home made ammunition
slashing vs stab wounds - treatment and recovery times
composting toilets
effects of a variety of street drugs and their current pricing
buying sniper rifles and anti-tank weapons in various countries
tanning, hunting with a bow, fire starting,
how to sell blood diamonds and hide illegal money
how to infect a population with several types of deadly disease
Fuel-air bombs
I do sometimes wonder if MI5 have my name. No cars with blacked-out windows parked on the street yet. :-)
I find the internet like a giant encyclopedia. In my distant youth I used look in an encyclopedia for information, then spot an article on something else, then a poem, then something else completely unrelated and I'd spend two hours just following my nose
Now the internet search either gives me twenty enticing wrong answers, or six conflicting opinions - its lovely but I really should write as well.
I still email companies and ask about their prices/conditions or the best product for an application, after explaining I'm an author. So far the replies have been courteous and helpful.
Hah! Sounds an awful lot like the things I search for:Aerosol Anaesthesia
Most common tranquillizers
Rail gun technology
Energy to vaporize a human body
Energy yield of explosions
Speed of bullets
Common mutation pathologies
Growth control hormones
I won't even start on airline flights and large city destinations.
The list is actually kind of scary. One could wonder how it is that authors are not carted off to Git Mo every day. I admit I do have reservations before I start searching for stuff.
Two of my characters shared a first kiss under a waning half moon 10/9/93. Their last kiss, at novel's end, is under a waxing half moon 6/14/05. Thank you, http://www.sunrisesunset.com/calendar...
Indispensable of you want to know how many hours of daylight you'll have on [date] in [place] (so you know if the porch lights would be on).
Real writers know this is meticulous. In other people it's OCD. (Nice video, Elliot.)
It pays off in the long run. There's nothing more frustration for a reader than to be in the middle of a fascinating story and come to a crashing halt because of an inaccuracy.Spinning wheels did NOT exist in 8th century Ireland. - *bangs head on desk*
That's one I found in one of the books I read years and years ago. Guess what? It made an impression, but not a good one.
Don't forget there are readers who WILL chase down that interesting bit to see if it's accurate. (Guilty!) Or you run across the one who actually has expertise/knowledge of whatever subject. (Guilty again LOL)
Seeing some of the stuff you all have searched is hilarious. How have we all not been brought in for questioning? Btw, I made a second part to the 'Weird Writer Habits' video. Here's the link: https://youtu.be/BrP_jCwXfIs
Happy writing!
Love your video studio backdrop. It almost looks like a real home!
Ha, I'm not sure if you're joking, but that is my kitchen :) super cute though right? Can you see the one drawer where my husband accidentally pulled off the front? :P
I catch myself narrating things going on around me. In my head, of course, because I don't want them to know that I'm crazy.
I definitely do all of these lol funny videos
Omg it's so funny!!. I LOVE BEING A WRITER.
Sandaidh wrote: "Elliot wrote: "Emily wrote: "How did people write without internet? LOL Yes, my searches are a little crazy."I have NO idea! I have to look stuff up constantly. How do you stitch up a wound? How ..."
Yeah my internet search history might get me arrested or put on some kind of watch list. One of the things I searched was: 'Who deals with sexual assaults and rapes - police or federal'
I can bet when the police knock on my doors and I go 'Yeah it's for a book' they'll have heard that one a million times ...
I used to document my research on a blog.Here is a sample of the research I HAD to do about bra technology:
http://projectsaviorreborn.blogspot.c...
Positively heroic, Darrell. Your diligence raises the bar for all of us.
Writers aren't all that weird, mostly, as everyone has something hiding in his/her/zir head that will make someone somewhere say "WTH?" if the quirk became known.Weird is when you go to the local cemetery or morgue to pick up your next date or your next meal.
Spot on! If my husband dies, my browser history is getting me the death sentence.
R.F.G. wrote: "Writers aren't all that weird, mostly, as everyone has something hiding in his/her/zir head that will make someone somewhere say "WTH?" if the quirk became known.Weird is when you go to the local..."
Um, Phillip K. Dick claimed his sister co-wrote all his books. She died when he was around 9. That qualifies as weird.
Happy Thursday everyone. I've been struggling with the feeling recently that all the weird writer quirks I've developed are just me, and that "normal people" probably don't, you know, search info about people's throats being slit. But, I was talking to some other writer friends (via the internet of course. how do you even talk to strangers otherwise?) and I realized that I think a lot of us do some pretty strange stuff.
So, to possibly lighten the angry mood your in after someone sent you a frustrating critique, I thought I'd make a lighthearted video to discuss all the weird stuff us writer people do. My video quality is NOT top notch, I'll admit, but I don't have a lot of money, so....deal ;)
Hope this gives you a good laugh!
https://youtu.be/wqyOliK1Cy0?list=PL-...