Just Google It

This one’s for all those researchers out there.

True confessions: I am old enough to have used microfiche.

Yes, I know. It’s not cool to be that old, and certainly not cool to admit it, but I know I’m not alone, and I do consider it quite an accomplishment to have survived all the way from microfiche and card cataloguing through the traveling encyclopedia salesmen at my parent's door, all the way to googling (it’s a verb) and commanding Siri to look stuff up. Right here is where I’d like to insert the wide eyed emoji displaying my shock at how much the world has changed in my lifetime. 🤯 ( Also, an exploding head.)

While many losses of the good old days could be lamented on a topic like this—such as flipping through 30 volumes of the Britannica before bed—we’ll save those for another more nostalgic day. Instead, today I’d like to revel in the sheer madness of now having the world at our fingertips.

The information superhighway—or the internet for those who don’t like fancy terms—is literally full to the brim of everything you might ever want to know about. This is excellent news for those of us authors who like researching while writing our books. Even better news if your library card is expired. (Mine is not. I’m just saying.)

I am always highly entertained by the social media posts where authors reveal their google search lists. The index of weird stuff people look up when writing books is in some cases more interesting than the book itself. The memes about how we are authors, and not serial killers could crack me up for days. (The large number of people being harmed in books, though, is something to ponder.)

Of course, I don’t need to know about toxic gas that smells like sulfur in my real life. Even though this is obvious to me, if my neighbors saw my list, would they be worried? Would I be the focus of the evening news interview where the whole neighborhood is surprised? She seemed so normal. Do the police have a tracker on my search bar? Could they show up at my door some afternoon wanting explanations? (Just because I use the internet doesn’t mean I understand how tracking my search bar works.)

These questions should give me pause, but do they? Nope. I just google away, fingers racing over the keys, learning about everything from guns with silencers to how fast a car can drive before it explodes into small pieces. Where do criminals attach under the car bombs? Which wires exactly need to be touched together to hotwire a car? (Can you tell I’m writing a suspense novel?)

Siri doesn’t judge me when I ask what’s considered a misdemeanor in Oklahoma or if you can wear your hair long when you’re an inmate at a super max prison. It’s none of her business. She just sprints out to find the answers and brings them back to me lickity split. I’m pretty sure I would’ve had to look through a lot of microfiche to find those answers. (I think Google has made me a smarter person. For real.)

So whether you’re a spry young tech lover or an old dinosaur like me, I’d like to recommend you give Siri and Google a try. You’ll be amazed at what you can find out there in the wild wild west (www) of knowledge-land and if you’re lucky—you’ll even find a video on how to hotwire a car because readers LOVE those realistic details. (Don’t get me started on the videos. They are amazing.)

Here’s a few search terms for my recent WIP:

Average income of Mendocino County California

Distance from Tonga to Hawaii

Polymetallic nodules

Is it called a highway in Virginia?

How far into water will bullets travel (There’s a video! A guy tried it in his backyard pool. 🤣)

Are assault rifles legal in California?

Can large ships evade detection?

Where do Navy SEALs carry their weapons when parachuting?

Have you been googling lately?

Drop some of your searches in the comments so we can all wonder what in the world your next book is about. (Plus, when the cops show up we can vouch for you and tell them you’re just an author.)

Until next time!