(or \u201cPlease Ignore My Browser History\u201d)<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve heard it said that a good exercise for writers is to ask \u201cWhat if.\u201d What if a team of scientists went to Mars and one of them got accidentally left behind? What if a white journalist in 1960 Mississippi decided to write an expose on the treatment of black maids in her city? What if someone bequeathed to you a tidy sum of $300 million if<\/em> you can completely blow $30 million in 30 days?<\/p>\n The \u201cwhat if\u201d question opens the mind to possibilities inherent in a given situation. Other questions then round out the story, put meat on its bones. How would the scientist survive on Mars long enough for rescue to reach him? Why would the black maids in Jackson, Mississippi, agree to help a privileged white socialite when it could only bring trouble to them and their families? How could you possibly spend $30 million in 30 days and have nothing to show for it?<\/p>\n Of course, it isn\u2019t just writers who do this. Everyone asks questions. Everyone wants answers. Where we sometimes differ is in the subjects that spark said snooping. Writing a story about almost anything provokes curiosity in my busy brain. Not just big, universal subjects. Little ones too. Topics I might never have considered before tumble out of my brain via the keyboard and stare back, blinking, from my computer screen, begging for supporting details. How many types of martial arts are recognized today? Which ones are specific to which cultures? What is the average lift weight likely for most deadlifters, and what percentage of their body weight does it comprise? What is public healthcare like in northern Norway?<\/p>\n I know you\u2019ve probably asked yourself these very same questions, so maybe I was late to the game. But every time I write, I have a browser window open. I have to admit, it\u2019s hard sometimes to refrain from following my inquisitiveness so far down the rabbit hole that I forget my initial question\u2014you know, the one that prompted my research in the first place. Google is my friend. Still, I\u2019d rather learn these answers by asking people who know. One-on-one dialogue is a much more dynamic way to inform myself, and I can ask the weird questions that are hard to answer on the Internet. An added plus: it\u2019s often hilarious to see the expression on the other person\u2019s face when you present your query.<\/p>\n About ten years ago, I was making notes for backstory on my current novel-in-progress. For purposes of the plot, I needed to explore the short- and long-term effects of an enormous coronal mass ejection (CME) on surface and orbital tech. I was able to connect with a director at the Space Weather Prediction Center who provided me with great data on how to make my story\u2019s tech failures believable\u2014at least until my queries edged into the realm of super-sensitive information, when he gently and graciously steered me in a different direction.<\/p>\n Around the same time, I asked a banker connection how such a thing would affect the international banking system and, if it wouldn\u2019t take the whole thing down, what would. She looked at me like I\u2019d grown a second head and said, \u201cYou have to be careful about asking questions like that or the men in the black sedans will come knocking at your door.\u201d (She never did offer an answer.)<\/p>\n Shortly after that, I sent several e-mails to the local power company through their \u201cContact Us\u201d link on the page where one might schedule a facility tour. I explained that I am a writer and would love to talk to someone about how to take down an electrical grid, that it didn\u2019t have to be factual info, as long as it was believable. For some reason, they\u2019ve never responded. Odd, that. (I\u2019m probably on someone\u2019s List somewhere.)<\/p>\n Writers research weird stuff. Once I asked a healer friend how to shoot someone in the torso without actually penetrating any vital organs or perforating the bowel. Fortunately, she\u2019s seen my work, and knows me well. Rather than give me that \u201chave-you-lost-your-mind\u201d expression, she dragged out the anatomical diagrams and helped me figure it out so I could write my scene.<\/p>\n When I can\u2019t find an on-hand expert, I look it up online. Believe it or not (and if you\u2019re a writer, you already know this), there are numerous online forums where you can ask questions like \u201cHow long does it take an adult human to bleed out if the jugular is severed? How about the carotid?\u201d (Why yes, I did research those very questions. Why do you ask?) Most contributors and querents are writers and understand the need for this information to connect plotlines in a work-in-progress; it\u2019s interesting to follow the discussions and see what the contributors had to say in response to these inquiries.<\/p>\n Just so you know, we don\u2019t just seek info on the really eyebrow-raising topics. Sometimes it\u2019s a search for gambling terms or what types of edible aquaculture one might cultivate in a given setting. Even ho-hum topics fascinate me when I\u2019m on the hunt for story details. World-building is at its best when it\u2019s believable, so I try to base as much of it (even my extra-terrestrial worlds) as possible on known science. At least then, the speculative elements of my fiction have a solid skeleton on which the less scientific flesh of the story might take form.<\/p>\n For the record, it isn\u2019t only writers who research odd topics online. I queried my friends on social media to share the weirdest thing I would find in their browser histories. Answers ranged from Portuguese law enforcement hierarchy to synonyms for \u201cvagina.\u201d Some of my favorites were: how to disembowel someone; formal Victorian dresses from the 1880s; habits of the predatory wasp of the Palisades; apocalyptic cloud formations; uses of cheese mold; characteristics of assassins; how to destroy a retro-virus outside the human body; and (my personal favorite) the caloric content of human blood. Every one of these made me laugh and a few prompted me to ask, \u201cReally? What did you find?\u201d<\/p>\n So now it\u2019s your turn to share! What\u2019s the weirdest thing I might find in your browser history in the last month? Is it related to a writing or other art project? If so, how?<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" (or \u201cPlease Ignore My Browser History\u201d) I\u2019ve heard it said that a good exercise for writers is to ask \u201cWhat if.\u201d What if a team of scientists went to Mars and one of them got accidentally left behind? What if a white journalist in 1960 Mississippi decided to write an expose on the treatment of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog-posts","category-on-writing"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8n0kX-dK","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":180,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2017\/04\/09\/why-bad-things-happen-to-good-characters\/","url_meta":{"origin":852,"position":0},"title":"Why Bad Things Happen to Good Characters","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"April 9, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019ve heard it stated over and over at conferences, in blog posts and articles, and from my editor, Paula. Good writing isn\u2019t about a character, or group of characters. It isn\u2019t even about those characters doing things. It\u2019s about those characters being prevented from achieving a goal. The whole point\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1039,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2018\/09\/10\/empower-your-skill-online-community-with-big-heart\/","url_meta":{"origin":852,"position":1},"title":"Empower Your Skill: Online Community with Big Heart","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"September 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Looking for a critique group, but can\u2019t find one in your area? Try Critters Workshop. I found them online several years ago and became enamored of the concept. Critters is an online critiquing community wherein writers submit their own works (mostly short stories or short segments of longer projects) for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/20180910-BlogPic1.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/20180910-BlogPic1.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/20180910-BlogPic1.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/20180910-BlogPic1.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/20180910-BlogPic1.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":905,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2018\/07\/09\/puzzling\/","url_meta":{"origin":852,"position":2},"title":"Puzzling","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"July 9, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I am a huge jigsaw puzzle fan. Oh, it\u2019s been a while since I put one together on my kitchen table; I seem to be too busy doing something else these days\u2014writing. You know the drill. Worldbuilding, working out plot, defining and enlivening characters who you then \u201cput up a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Puzzling-300x200.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":174,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2017\/04\/09\/48-slaves-guilty-pleasures\/","url_meta":{"origin":852,"position":3},"title":"48 Slaves: Guilty Pleasures","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"April 9, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Mmmmmmm \u2026 can you smell it? That warm, rich, inviting aroma of freshly brewed coffee? Over 75% of all U.S. adults look forward to that first-sip moment, most on a daily basis. The morning beverage of choice is in fact the second most valuable commodity in international commerce, after oil.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Archived Writings"","block_context":{"text":"Archived Writings","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/archived-writings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":796,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2018\/05\/14\/autonomous\/","url_meta":{"origin":852,"position":4},"title":"Autonomous","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"May 14, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"By Annalee Newitz Tor Books, ISBN: 9780765392077 Paperback, 304 pages. \u00a92017 Big Pharma owns the patents to all the essential medicines, and prices them so high that only the wealthy can afford to buy them. Pirates\u2014intent on a) making money or b) helping those who can\u2019t afford the medicine they\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/AutonomousCover-198x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6331,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/25\/im-baaaaaack\/","url_meta":{"origin":852,"position":5},"title":"I’m Baaaaaack!","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"July 25, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi! Remember me? I know it\u2019s been a while. But I haven\u2019t been slacking in the interim, honest. I\u2019ve been busybusybusy. Since my last post, nearly a year ago, I\u2019ve released two-point-two-five books (weird, right? see below), worked with the award-winning Stacey Lind to also release three audiobooks, managed to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Black background, shadowy hallway with many doors, highlighted in a red central focus. A broken crystal in black-and-white shows multiple faces, one on each of the different facets.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/BrokenEbookCover573KB-188x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=852"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1462,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852\/revisions\/1462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}