Do You Know Something I Don't?
10
I'm writing a book which covers some aspects of life to which I'm completely ignorant. Between working fulltime, fulfilling requests, writing and applying edits, I'm left with very little time (and motivation) to do the research myself.
The things I need to know won't change the way the story unfolds once I apply the proper facts, but the three main things I need help with are:
What's it like to be a murder suspect in Crawford County Pennsylvania, or in general? What are your rights? In the eyes of the law, are you treated like a criminal even when there isn't any solid evidence against you?
What's it like to be a Japanese American woman who's lived through the times of the American internment camps (but was, at the time, a child with a white adoptive father, so didn't have to go)? What's it like to be that same woman, today, in day-to-day interactions? What micro-aggressions and flat-out racism does she still need to put up with?
Also, and this is a scene I'm nervous about my readers getting to, but there's a rape. It's necessary to the plot, otherwise I wouldn't have written it, but it's an experience I haven't had. I'm more confident in the way I've written my survivor's perspective than I am in how I portray the reaction of the close friends when they're left to piece together the information and figure it out for themselves, but I know I want more outside input before I claim to have handled it well.
I'm not asking anyone to do research for me (though if you want to, I won't stop you), but if you have any knowledge or experience with any of this and are willing to share it with me, please do!