research-to-the-hilt

. . . or odditities that can help.

I am all for research that is . . . well out of the norm. You may call this writer’s avoidance, but it is truly research nonetheless. There are the tried and true methods of looking stuff up, sure. The internet. The library. The regular stuff. But there are times when a more . . . unique approach can be more informative and a hell of a lot more entertaining while you’re . . . researching.

Even actors go to odd extremes on occasion to “get into” character–Donny Walhberg went into a park to sleep, to see what it was to be rock-bottom strung out when he was preparing for his role in THE SIXTH SENSE. As a writer, maybe the extremes aren’t as extreme, at least I haven’t had the oppotunites to experience some of the wild things I’d like to. And depending on how prolific you are, it may take a bit of time for this research to come to fruition, but it can be fun, interesting and exhilerating while going through it.

Some fun and different research tools:

–Naughty books, and by this I mean BDSM books, How-to erotic talk books, hell even the Kama Sutra–if it’s out of the norm for you (for some this may be the regular go-to guides)

–sexy movies, se-exy movies with xxxx’s

–adult “toys” stores or parties

–trolling bars, even if it’s just to people-watch

–visit a morgue (ew–I think I’ll pass)

–do something mundane, in drag–see what kinda reaction you get

–exotic travel . . . exotic to me is anywhere I don’t have to take my kids to

–a ride along/talk with the police/citizen academy

–locked in the truck of a car (though I was adviced against this by a hottie officer)

There are all sorts of unusal avenues you can pursue when looking for help with your books. What are some of the weirdest things you did in the name of RESEARCH?