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Skill set/ lived experience resource thread.
Hallo,
After one of our forum discussions, I started thinking about how much lived experience there is in our group. I was wondering whether anyone might agree that it might be useful to have a thread where a question about lived experience could be asked, and hopefully answered by an understanding writer!
For example – recently a question came up on a FB group about what it smells like in an operating theatre, which I could help with, as I previously worked as an anaesthetist. Or, in our forum, someone asked about identification of a weapon from the powder pattern on the bullet that was found in one of their characters, and someone from the group had experience in ballistics.
Would anyone be interested in this?
P
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9 Replies
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Oh yes! That’s always useful. I have located a couple of useful places in the net just for that, but of course they don’t always have what I want, and although a few hours of search can yield interesting results, there are things that are best obtained from people with the experience. So yes, I’d love to have a thread that’d be like an information exchange market. You never know when you’re going to need that really weird bit of info that’ll make a difference in your manuscript.
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Great! Well I can help with aspects of medicine. Possibly some plant/ horticulture related stuff too.
I would LOVE to speak to someone who knows about cybersecurity for my teen protagonist!
Thanks PAtti
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This reply was modified 1 year ago by patti carter.
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This reply was modified 1 year ago by
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Hi Patti. This is a good idea. I recently discovered a webpage about getting the science right in crime novels, run by a biochemist called Brian Price. He was able to help me with information about a botanical poison I want to write about. I’m happy to share his url http://www.crimewriterscience.co.uk.
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Great, and thanks for posting this great link, which I shall be exploring! I was researching ethnobotany and found a wonderful series of papers by Professor Lee in Edinburgh: and example is here
https://www.rcpe.ac.uk/journal/issue/journal_35_1/Curare.pdf
but links to toxins are here: https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/MR-Lee-2036603031 hemlock, atropine amongst others. Are you still writing on these?
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Thanks Patti, they look good too. Because my project is based in actual historical events, the poison in question in my work is the rough and ready one the people concerned actually used. It was only for faking illness, not killing anyone. Kingcups were used to cause a rash, and gastric upset. Brian helped me with hints as to the number of leaves necessary for a realistic dose but I will see if Kingcups are mentioned in the links you’ve provided..
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A great idea, Patti. Just to be argumentative, why is it now called ‘lived experience’ rather than just ‘experience’? I would genuinely like to know the answer to this!
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Hallo,
Hm, an interesting question, why is that now such a common term that it slipped into my post almost without me realising?
I think it is to do with definitions and closeness to an experience.
For example, I might be a medical student and study the condition known as Cotard’s syndrome. In this case I would consider myself to have book, or learned experience.
I might then become a doctor and treat a person who suffers with Cotard’s syndrome. In which case I would have experience in working with a person with Cotard’s syndrome.
I might be a doctor and have a sister who suffers with Cotard’s syndrome. I would have lived with an aspect of the experience of the condition.
I might then succumb myself to Cotard’s syndrome. In that case only would I claim to have ‘lived experience’ in Cotard’s syndrome. I think that only then would I really be able to describe truly what it feels like.
I think Cotard’s syndrome on reflection, was a bad example to choose. But do you see what I mean? I meant the smelly, raw, reflected – upon experiences that we all have had first hand. P
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I think this is a very good idea, Patti. I may be able to help with cybersecurity.
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I’m late to this post but this idea is great!
