Yes, you read that correctly. I thought we'd have some fun around here. I don't know about anyone else, but it's been a hell of a year for me, and not in a good way. BUT, I'm not getting into that now.
My writer friends and I have often joked about the kinds of things we end up researching for our books. The conversation is always hilarious, and normally ends with several of us agreeing that if we ever die suddenly, someone should probably erase our browsing history.
And for the curious, NO, I have never researched anything about sex for any of my books. I don't look up porn for ideas or anything like that. As soon as someone hears that you write romance, these are the types of questions you will get. Ugh. To be blunt, I use my imagination, and my own life experiences for those parts. For me, writing a sex scene is a natural progression from writing about any kind of emotional response. You just take all that stuff you feel and put it into words. For those who think that's all a romance novel contains, I feel sorry for you, you're missing out on a great genre that's not porn on paper. Ha. Ha. Ha.
Actually, given that the subgenre of romance I prefer is paranormal, I end up looking at some strange shit. Really strange shit. As many of you already know, paranormal romance is a very broad category. It can contain ghosts, witches, vampires, werewolves, any variety of werecreature really, and all kinds of magical practices. Oh, and murder, there's usually some murder in there.
Feel free to leave some topics you've wondered about when it comes to writing research in the comments below. Or, if you're also a writer, share some of your crazy research topics. :)
Right off the top of my head, here's some of the things I've looked up recently, in no particular order.
- Various methods of poisoning (Still looking into this one.)
- Chemicals that dissolve bones
- Photos of gunshot wounds. Okay, I know this one is really grisly, but I needed to be able to accurately describe someone's injuries and how extensive they were. I'm not a ghoul, I swear. lol
- Best ways to hide bodies (Really, not a ghoul.)
- Creative murder methods
- Cult rituals
- Human sacrifice/various methods thereof (Not crazy either, I promise.)
- Sex magic (No, this doesn't count as looking up sex. That is so not the part of the ritual I had questions about. lol)
- What length blade is needed to hit the heart when stabbing upward through the ribs
- The best/easiest ways to poison someone (Still looking into this one.)
- What chemicals break down flesh
- Illuminati conspiracies (Typing this alone probably put me on some crazy lists. Yes, it really was for a book, though I admit I found it so fascinating I plan to do further research just for fun.)
- Curses to break up a couple (So I could write one that sounded believable and yet WAS made up. If you know me personally and your relationship ends any time soon, SO not my fault.)
- Werewolf mythology (I've read this stuff off and on since I was a kid. Love it.)
- Vampire mythology (Also love this.)
- All varieties of fairy tales
- Various works of classic literature
- Medieval torture devices (Also love this. Yes, really. I've been fascinated with this topic since my early teens, at least.)
- Blood splatter analysis techniques (Because Dexter can't answer all my questions.)
- Layout of different large cities
- Gothic architecture (Ah, a normal topic.)
- Various gun calibers, styles, ammo, basically everything you can think of about guns. I've also fired different guns and a variety of ammo to see how it feels. Hey, I need accurate descriptions. I've used weapons more than once simply for the experience.
- Names, always looking for new names. Speaking of which, if you ever see your name in a book of mine, it was a total accident. I say this because I've been asked before. With the exception of a few first names, all of mine are either selected at random, or are chosen because of their meaning and how it relates to the character.
And those are just the tip. Ha. Ha. Ha.
