I don’t get people. I really don’t (the last few years have really hammered that home). And that’s a problem because books are all about people, especially romance novels. So I’ve been thinking – maybe I could use reddit for research.
Not just reading existing sections (although that’s definitely a lesson in human behavior) but finding a stream where I can ask questions and get answers from real people. Ask how they’d react under certain circumstances or if they’d think it was strange if someone did x. Learn about different points of view that I haven’t considered or maybe even dismissed.
Anyone else ever tried that? It seems like the obvious crowd-sourcing option for answers now that Yahoo Answers is gone. Or Quora. I could even try both. Get opinions from different user groups. It’s basically popular opinion polling without having to pay a big company to handle the distribution (which makes me wonder if companies ever use it instead).
I know that I can’t take everything people say on there as truth. But even lies are revealing, and that gives a different kind of writing fodder, doesn’t it? I’d have 2 additional perspectives for every response: 1 if they’re telling the truth and 1 if they’re lying. So even without knowing which is which, it could be useful, and other people would probably comment on answers that were really off-base.
The more I think about it, the more it makes sense to me. And the more I can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner. I really can’t think of a reason not to try it.
But maybe you can because you already did. 😋 If anyone has any warnings or tales of experience, speak now or forever hold your peace!
No, I take it back. I still want to hear about it – it just might be too late!
Savannah Knightly 