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[corbae]

Hey all!

I promised I'd make a post where people could offer to be sounding boards for fic about their jobs or hobbies, and this is it!


I asked the panelists to answer these three questions:

• What do people get wrong?
• What are the weirdest things about your job, the things no one who doesn't do it would realize?
• What are the coolest parts of your job?

Therapy and Crisis Counseling

• Outpatient therapy is not a gotcha; your therapist is not trying to trip you up.
• It's difficult to force someone to stay in a hospital unless they are a risk to themselves or others; most forced hospital stays only last a few days. Also, the crisis team generally wants the person to be able to go home quickly; they need those beds!
• If you're boinking your client, you're out
• Hannibal: Not an ethical therapist
• Speranza's Eight Sessions (due South) is an excellent portrayal of therapy. One good therapist, one bad therapist.

Nursing

• Don't rip out your IV! You'll get blood and fluids everywhere.
• Long hospital stays are unlikely (in the US)
• Most hospitals are not soap operas full of sex (though this may be different for ER nurses & doctors? Not enough data)
• demon_rum's Everything is a Stall (The Eagle) is an excellent portrayal of hospitals and nursing

Baby Development
Your (fictional) baby is wrong:

• Babies can't physiologically speak at 8 months
• Babies probably can't sit unassisted at 6 months, let alone walk
• Babies can't eat things like pieces of raw carrot until they're at least 3 (choking hazard!)

Tips for writing kids:

• Google "[age] [target behavior]" (e.g., "3 months eating")
• Google "[age] [domain] milestones" (e.g., "3 months cognitive milestones")
• Follow celebrity mom Instagrams and learn in real time!
• Be vague! Your baby character is probably more important for the emotions they invoke in your other characters than for every detail of their development
• Ask @seascribe_ and consult her notes here
• Verity's Open Ticket (Hockey RPF) has great kids

Libraries

• Librarians see a lot of shit
• Librarians do not just read all day, sorry
• Libraries are of course the perfect place to get books! They are also used for free internet, workshops, as community gathering places, etc
• CommaSplice's Game of Stacks (Game of Thrones) is a great fic about the library. They all fight over the good chair, which is very accurate.

The IRS

• The IRS does not pick people at random to be audited (unless they are doing research to improve their algorithm, in which case that is the stated reason); instead, an algorithm throws a flag.
• IRS agents visit people who are being audited
• Sometimes taxpayers are hella creepy

Data Science

• Prediction from data is hard and never as accurate as media portrays

Programming

• Most developers don't have the skillz to be hackers. Also, hacking is more complex (and boring?) than most media portrayals.

College Radio

• All terrestrial stations (i.e., not just satellite or over the internet) have a 4-letter callsign. Except in rare (old) cases, east of the Mississippi starts with W and west starts with K. Your Sunnydale station will be KVMP or something similar.
• The actual frequency (e.g., 89.3) will probably be lower than 100
• With few exceptions, there are no commercials, only PSAs. Use these for clever worldbuilding details!
• (Anecdotal) Incarcerated people seem to be big listeners of college radio
• We get weird callers. Use that!

Comic Stores

• Comics come out once per week! These shipments will also include most trade paperbacks, statues, anything from Diamond. They arrive on Tuesday and are for sale on Wednesday
• Diamond has an industry stranglehold and is terrible

Horses
Writing Horses by Judith Tarr is a must-read

General tip for everyone: If you don't want to do research, just be vague! That lets the experts assume it's a magical world where something is fundamentally different.


I'll start us off: If you have questions about college radio or comic & game stores, lmk! I'm @corbae on Twitter and most other places.