At the suggestion of one of my reviewers, I’m posting this warning at the start of each Google article.
Look at any site with caution when using Google in particular or the Internet in general. Not all you might read is 100 percent accurate. Some might contain outdated information, some are on the web with unchecked facts, and some might just be urban legends meant to fool you. If in doubt, read more than one site on a particular subject or follow through the old fashioned way, by reading a book.
A Writer’s Tool: Google Part I
For any writer who wants to stray from ordinary knowledge and refuses to “dumb down” their pieces, there are many ways to research. Having a large collection of books in your home is one way, but it’s rather expensive and takes up quite a bit of space. As a person who owns hundreds of books, I can attest to this. It’s also time consuming to spend time deciding which book contains the information you need.
Enter the Internet and, in particular, Google. For any of you who have been living in a cave for the last few years, Google is a search engine and is a play on the word
googol, which refers to the number represented by the numeral 1 followed by 100 zeros. There are many ways to use Google.
http://www.google.com/
We’ll start by going to the link above. Google has many features:
Web Images Groups News Froogle Maps More
Web is the simplest way and used by the majority of people since it’s the default.
Let’s try a couple examples. Type
CSI into the rectangular box then click on the
Google Search icon. I used my favorite TV show as an example, but any word will do. You’ll see that there are many web sites for CSI, so you get to pick and choose the most helpful to you. The most heavily accessed in the past will be on the first page.
Okay, now type
Petersen, the last name of the actor on CSI. After you hit the
Google Search icon, up will come sites related to any that have the name Petersen in it. Way too many, right?
To narrow it down, go to the top of that screen and type
William Petersen and bring that screen up. Much better, but still more than you need to know. We want to learn more about one particular movie and not his biography or anything about CSI. Now type
William Petersen Kiss the Sky. Up on the first page will come sites ONLY about this movie. As you can see, it’s possible to narrow your search by putting more information into the search box.
Images is the second way to use Google. Leaving only William Petersen, but removing Kiss the Sky in the search box, click on Images above the box. This brings up images of any William Petersen picture on the web. You’ll notice there are also pictures of a William Petersen gravesite, so let’s narrow the search down further by adding
CSI after his name and click on the
Search icon to the right of the box. This is much better, isn’t it?
Groups is a feature I use every day to get to a certain newsgroup. To find any that might interest you, scroll down to the blank box below “Find a Group” after clicking on Groups above the search box. If you type
CSI and click on the
Search for Group icon, up will come any newsgroup related to the word CSI. However, let’s try something different. Type
writers instead and click the icon. You will now see a variety of newsgroups related to writing in its many forms. To join one of the newsgroups, just follow any instructions given by that particular group. It’s easy and free, by the way. I joined the sci.med.transcription newsgroup years ago and made many online friends through it. Why not try one of something that interests you and broaden your outlook on the world?
Most of us rarely use the rest of the ways to access Google, but a quick review of them might be helpful to some of you.
News is an excellent way to find information related to what you want to write. For example, you might want to write about one of my favorite singers, Neil Diamond. Type in his name and pick one of the two icons. The
Search news will bring up any article from the media while the
Search the Web will list those from the Internet. Two choices are always better than one.
Froogle is a way to simplify shopping on the web. After typing
books about writing, you will find any online sites that might sell books in this category. I’m an Amazon.com person myself, so have never used this Google feature.
Maps might be useful if you’re using actual locations in your stories. I’ve used it for San Francisco streets in my forensic stories set in that city. However, just for the heck of it, type in your home address and see what comes up.
More will bring you to a list of other Google products, too numerous to go into here. Some might interest you; others will not. Poke around a bit and see what you discover.
So, there is Google in a nutshell, and I hope it’s been helpful to you in your writing. If you only use the default, that’s okay, but why not have fun exploring some of the other ways to use this fantastic research tool?
Originally written for the Writing Articles contest.
http://www.writing.com/main/forums/item_id/1117450
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