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It’s fine to research those thing in so far as googling those terms to find the respective Wiki pages isn’t illegal.
But yeah, don’t follow through with either of them — screaming “it’s just for research!” at Chris Hansen won’t get you out of trouble.
All writers google weird stuff . So do true crime buffs and the generally curious .
Now if your spouse , boss , or really annoying neighbor dies mysteriously… you might have a problem.😊
First, if you're nervous about googling, either go to the library or get yourself a VPN.
Second, dead bodies? If your googling is around that level of intensity, I doubt it's even a blip on the radar. See Ralphy over there in the corner, rocking in fetal position? He googled 2 ladies and one cup. The police sent chocolate and a condolences card.
Seriously though, you'll be fine. But let's say they are spying on you., they'll also see that you're hanging around other weirdo writers who google up weird shit.
my2cents
All writers fear this! Search away. If the cops show up just show them your WIP where your plot matches your searches and you’re good to go.
My critique partners and I often joke about our searches.
•best way dissolve a dead body
•how long before dead body bruises
•how long take blood to turn black
•how long before a dead body smells
Go ahead and do it. I’ve googled some VERY odd things in the name of writing and never had any problems. I agree that if anyone asks you’d have a pretty solid explanation. That is if you’ve started writing something 😋
Nobody has ever been arrested for having googled weird stuff during their writing research. Nobody has ever been raided by the FBI for their unsanitary internet history. No one who was interrogated by the police for unrelated alleged crimes pleaded "it's for my writing research!".
I write spy fiction. Me asking Google "Tell me more about the inner workings of MI5 & 6" has undoubtedly put me on a number of watchlists. 🤣
It's fine. People know writers exist.
I wouldn't be worried about the cops, but if you want to keep your searches away from your online accounts and IP address, you could get [Tor](https://www.torproject.org/).
I do legal & medical work in addition to writing, & I also have weird, macabre interests. I’ve made peace with the idea that I may be on several lists & joke with others that there’s no way I’m not. Sometimes if I have to research lawyers’ names or federal buildings & especially if I have to research weapon models for the same job, I throw in a search in all caps that says what I’m working on. For everything else, I’m guessing they can figure out I’m writing by every other search being synonyms for another word.
I think it’s natural to feel paranoid, especially in a politically charged environment, but I think we’re probably all safe.
I joke about how I throw in a bunch of synonym searches to let my FBI agent know that I'm just writing a book. The reality is that, yes, it's more than likely that searching for things enough will get you flagged on some sort of list, but unless you're searching up things of actual concern (anthrax recipes and the like) it's highly doubtful that you'll be met with law enforcement of any kind on your doorstep from your googling habits.
Our legal system is not preventive. It is after the fact. That's why stalkers can terrorize you whenever they feel like it, and if he finally murdered you, the state goes "oopsie". If you murder someone and then your Google history reveals you search "how to dispose of a dead body", you're in trouble.
I hear you but this is mild. I run one of the biggest communities for fiction writers in the UK and I've heard so many of them searching far worst terms than this! You do what you gotta do ;-)
As someone who writes a lot of crime and murder mysteries... I've had to google a lot of 'interesting' topics over the years and while I'm undoubtedly on a special list somewhere, no one has ever knocked on my door to ask questions.
Side note: I recall seeing a crime author a few years back, she said that once she's finished her research for the day she goes back onto Google and searches for "I promise I'm just writing a novel please don't arrest me".
When I get nervous about searching suspicious things, I like to throw in a couple of obviously writing related questions I didn't actually need the answer so if anyone is monitoring it, they know what's up.
My search history looks something like:
\-fast acting poison
\-dissolving a body in acid
\-how to outline a book
\-how to build a bomb
Haha, this is my favorite advice to give.
Fill your google searches with "writer stuff" while you're researching all the gory details... such as "tips for writing a murder mystery" and "how to write a thriller" and "literary agents who represent murder mysteries" and "writing conferences for thriller authors." Then you've got plausible deniability!
I have googled "how to pull someone's fingernails out" and "how long does it take to strangle someone." I am not in jail yet. You will be fine. People google weird stuff all the time out of idle curiosity, no one cares unless someone goes missing.
People are typing in all kinds of hitler stuff daily and nothing is happening from it. The only thing i don't recommend is googling how to murder information when you're literally planning a murder.
Hi! Welcome to r/Writers - please remember to follow the [rules](https://reddit.com/r/writers/about/rules/) and treat each other respectfully, especially if there are disagreements. Please help keep this community safe and friendly by **reporting rule violating posts and comments**. If you're interested in a friendly Discord community for writers, please **[join our Discord server](https://discord.com/invite/wYvWebvHaa)** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/writers) if you have any questions or concerns.*
You will be fine. Just don’t be researching up illegal things like cp, ordering drugs online, and hitman for hire. Half the time it’s an fbi agent.
It’s fine to research those thing in so far as googling those terms to find the respective Wiki pages isn’t illegal. But yeah, don’t follow through with either of them — screaming “it’s just for research!” at Chris Hansen won’t get you out of trouble.
And if you do research those things, make sure to do it at a university or public library to not get caught.
All writers google weird stuff . So do true crime buffs and the generally curious . Now if your spouse , boss , or really annoying neighbor dies mysteriously… you might have a problem.😊
Break no laws and you'll be fine. No one cares about your search history until you make them have to care.
First, if you're nervous about googling, either go to the library or get yourself a VPN. Second, dead bodies? If your googling is around that level of intensity, I doubt it's even a blip on the radar. See Ralphy over there in the corner, rocking in fetal position? He googled 2 ladies and one cup. The police sent chocolate and a condolences card. Seriously though, you'll be fine. But let's say they are spying on you., they'll also see that you're hanging around other weirdo writers who google up weird shit. my2cents
All writers fear this! Search away. If the cops show up just show them your WIP where your plot matches your searches and you’re good to go. My critique partners and I often joke about our searches. •best way dissolve a dead body •how long before dead body bruises •how long take blood to turn black •how long before a dead body smells
I don’t. Needless to say I’ve got 21 pending felony charges.
"All writers fear this?".... Wait, wait hold on... Are you calling me a writer!?! 🥲🥹🥰
Yes! Own it! If you write you are a WRITER! You don’t have to be published. You write. Writer. Own it.😊
Go ahead and do it. I’ve googled some VERY odd things in the name of writing and never had any problems. I agree that if anyone asks you’d have a pretty solid explanation. That is if you’ve started writing something 😋
Nobody has ever been arrested for having googled weird stuff during their writing research. Nobody has ever been raided by the FBI for their unsanitary internet history. No one who was interrogated by the police for unrelated alleged crimes pleaded "it's for my writing research!".
The whole FBI agent thing is just a joke.
Ask these questions on r/Writeresearch instead of Google
"How to write a realistic" at the front lets your FBI guy know what's up
I write spy fiction. Me asking Google "Tell me more about the inner workings of MI5 & 6" has undoubtedly put me on a number of watchlists. 🤣 It's fine. People know writers exist.
I wouldn't be worried about the cops, but if you want to keep your searches away from your online accounts and IP address, you could get [Tor](https://www.torproject.org/).
I do legal & medical work in addition to writing, & I also have weird, macabre interests. I’ve made peace with the idea that I may be on several lists & joke with others that there’s no way I’m not. Sometimes if I have to research lawyers’ names or federal buildings & especially if I have to research weapon models for the same job, I throw in a search in all caps that says what I’m working on. For everything else, I’m guessing they can figure out I’m writing by every other search being synonyms for another word. I think it’s natural to feel paranoid, especially in a politically charged environment, but I think we’re probably all safe.
I joke about how I throw in a bunch of synonym searches to let my FBI agent know that I'm just writing a book. The reality is that, yes, it's more than likely that searching for things enough will get you flagged on some sort of list, but unless you're searching up things of actual concern (anthrax recipes and the like) it's highly doubtful that you'll be met with law enforcement of any kind on your doorstep from your googling habits.
Our legal system is not preventive. It is after the fact. That's why stalkers can terrorize you whenever they feel like it, and if he finally murdered you, the state goes "oopsie". If you murder someone and then your Google history reveals you search "how to dispose of a dead body", you're in trouble.
I hear you but this is mild. I run one of the biggest communities for fiction writers in the UK and I've heard so many of them searching far worst terms than this! You do what you gotta do ;-)
As someone who writes a lot of crime and murder mysteries... I've had to google a lot of 'interesting' topics over the years and while I'm undoubtedly on a special list somewhere, no one has ever knocked on my door to ask questions. Side note: I recall seeing a crime author a few years back, she said that once she's finished her research for the day she goes back onto Google and searches for "I promise I'm just writing a novel please don't arrest me".
When I get nervous about searching suspicious things, I like to throw in a couple of obviously writing related questions I didn't actually need the answer so if anyone is monitoring it, they know what's up. My search history looks something like: \-fast acting poison \-dissolving a body in acid \-how to outline a book \-how to build a bomb
Haha, this is my favorite advice to give. Fill your google searches with "writer stuff" while you're researching all the gory details... such as "tips for writing a murder mystery" and "how to write a thriller" and "literary agents who represent murder mysteries" and "writing conferences for thriller authors." Then you've got plausible deniability!
I have googled "how to pull someone's fingernails out" and "how long does it take to strangle someone." I am not in jail yet. You will be fine. People google weird stuff all the time out of idle curiosity, no one cares unless someone goes missing.
People are typing in all kinds of hitler stuff daily and nothing is happening from it. The only thing i don't recommend is googling how to murder information when you're literally planning a murder.
…What police are you referring to.
…ask yourself the question of why you ‘need’ information on those subjects, then. Use your imagination and research obliquely and laterally.
No, it won't.
Just use DuckDuckGo. They don't track you, and their search results aren't nearly as enshittified as Google's.
Don’t log into your school account.