Romance Weekly

Wow…the phenomenal Carrie Elks has presented us with a secret-baring challenge.

What did you Google? The internet is an invaluable research tool for writers, but sometimes we google some searches that would raise more than a few eyebrows if seen out of context. So this week I challenge the Romance Weekly writers to ‘fess up on what the strangest thing they googled was, and then give them a chance to explain why they were grubbing around in that particular search string.

What do I google not related to writing? Well, I could claim that everything I do is related, since maybe I might use some of this unusual information in a book…someday. It’s possible. But truth be told, I google everything from recipes to where to buy hard to find stuff. One of the most unusual things I have googled is more information on The Bachelor/Bachelorette. I admit it. I love those shows. Of course I do. I write romance.

I also googled this question: how do actors keep their eyes open when they play dead on camera. I was curious. After all, it was just Halloween and so many played dead on TV. The answer: The camera shots are usually only five seconds long and the actors are told to visualize breathing in their throat, not their chest. Fascinating.

But mostly, I look up information pertaining to my writing. Everything from historical facts to how to change smart quotes to curly ones. I know. Boring. Sometimes I follow headlines to get more information, but overall I use google as the phenomenal information tool it is for research. In the olden days, when I first started to write, I would spend hours in the library trying to find a single fact so I could be accurate. Now, I type in a key word or phrase and boom! And the fabulous part is that one thing leads to another, which has helped me in more than one plot construction. It is a wonderful tool and I don’t know what I ever did without it.

Let’s see what the incredibly prolific and talented Betty Bolte has to share.

www.bettybolte.net