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| Leigh Russell |
A writer's (worrying) browsing history - all in the name of research
Whenever possible, I prefer
to conduct my research by talking to real people. Whether I'm seeking guidance
from a professor of forensic medicine, a police detective, or someone working
in WH Smith's, so far everyone I have approached has
been really helpful. Many of the
details included in my books are barely noticeable. Nevertheless, they are
important, because they help create an illusion of reality.
A market trader in one of
my books has a stack of banana boxes in her front room. Only someone working in
a market would know that these are the boxes favoured by stallholders, because
they are strong. Although readers might not be conscious of that tiny detail,
the scene would seem authentic to any market trader reading the book. This is
just one example of the care I take to create the illusion that the world of my
books is real.
Like anyone involved in
writing, I also research on the internet. It never ceases to amaze me how much
detailed information is readily available online. In fifteen easy steps, with
pictures, you can learn how to handle a gun. You can find out how to blow up a
car, or rob a safe, or how to obtain fake documents.
Browsing the internet feels
safe, but in reality the activity is a two-way process. Recently a man was, quite rightly, prosecuted
for posting a racist comment on twitter. If the comment had been made in a pub
the speaker might well have been punched in the face, but he certainly wouldn't
have ended up in court. We've probably all said something offensive, in
private, but posting an offensive comment online is very different. It's out
there in the public domain and you can't take it back, or claim to have been
misunderstood.
So what is the position
with browsing histories on computers? What I do at home is my own affair. It's
no one else's business. My browsing history is private, and hidden from other
people. At least that's how it seems. But it remains accessible to anyone who
wants to look for it. Even if it's deleted, the information can be retrieved.
Like leaving invisible traces of your DNA just by breathing when you enter a
room, every search you make on a computer leaves a footprint, some of which
might, potentially, land you in trouble.
Of course it's possible to
click on an unsavoury website by mistake. Although it may not be not easy, it's
possible. But what about a browsing history that shows its user has regularly
searched for questionable material? From poison to paedophilia, guns to
gambling, torture to terror, homicide and horror, murder and misery, drugs trafficking,
people trafficking, my browsing history includes research into many seedy and
illegal activities.
Writing
this post has started me wondering... What if someone put a writer in the frame
for a crime that involved material the writer was researching? The police might
reasonably treat the writer as a suspect. Perhaps, on balance, it's safer to
carry out research by speaking to real people!
And
now I'm off to delete my browsing history on my computer, as fast and as far
back as I can...
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