Friday, October 29, 2010

Friendly Friday

So last Friday, I talked about dinosaurs and how I wanted to be a palentologist. (And now I have several awesome plot bunnies about dinosaurs and a really cool shifter story). I thought I would share in this post what I actually worked as before I quit working to be a full time mom and writer.
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I went to college with my original major as law and society. I wanted to be a lawyer - a prosecutor. But that didn't last long. I ended up switching my major before the first day of classes when I learned that they were starting a new track with the sciences to add a forensic track alongside chemistry or biology. So I became a chemistry major. Ended up with a BS in chemistry with a concentration in forensic science and a minor in biology.

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For the most part, I didn't mind my science courses, but I loved my cj courses and my psych courses. I was one course short of a psych minor. My absolute favorite course was called Crime Lab. Best course evah. I also took Forensics and Criminal Investigation, Forensic Psychology, and Dangerous Minds: The Psychology of Antisocial Behavior.

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I followed this course of studies because I wanted to work in a crime lab and be a crime scene investigator. But once I graduated and started looking for a job, there weren't any avilable.

I was devasted.

Well, that's not exactly treue. There were some openings. In California.

I live in Pennsylvania. And was engaged at this point in time so there was no way I was moving across the country.

So I ended up taking the first job I was offered - as an organic analyst in an environmental laboratory. Not what I had in mind but it paid the bills.

So you might be wondering why I write fantasy with my background. For one thing, I love to create whole new worlds. And I love magic. And mystical creatures.

But I would love to write mysteries someday, to use my forensic background and incoproate it into stories. But to write mysteries, you have to be a plotter. I'm a pantser. So that is going to take a lot of time and effort on my part to write a mystery. So it probably won't be for years until I try that.

But I also love all of the psych courses I took in college and plan to use them in stories too. I have an idea for several mind thrillers, stories about people and the mental cages that they build for themselves. It's gonna be interesting to write those stories, very interesting.

So if you have any questions about science or forensics or psychology when writing your stories, feel free to ask me. I might know the answer, I might not, but I'm more than willing to help a fellow author out.

11 comments:

S.A. Larsenッ said...

Chem...Nic, I'm majorly impressed. So, yeah...chemistry wasn't one of my strong subjects. I was more of the artsy student. Loved to doodle. LOL

Talli Roland said...

Wow! You're one smart cookie! It's good you can use all your knowledge in your writing, if need be.

Happy Friday!

Angela said...

Good to know there's someone I can question if I ever want to write anything involving DNA crime stuff.

I agree with Talli, you are one smart cookie. Good post.

Stina said...

Oh that is soooo cool. I would have loved to study something like that. I loved chemistry in high school but wasn't very good at math (a major downer if you want to major in chemistry in univeristy). My father talked me out of going that route. He also talked me out of majoring in child psychology and archaelogy (okay, that one was probably a smart move). :D

Meredith said...

Wow! You definitely need to write mysteries at some point if you're ever struck by an idea: having a forensics background would be such an incredible asset for that! Though I imagine it helps for fantasy/science fiction, too :)

Cherie Reich said...

And, yes, I will be using you when I write my mystery novels. Speaking of which, do you know anything about the forensics used while trying to find children abducted from their homes? I know they probably do the general fingerprints, etc. of the crime scene. Is there anything special I should know? It'll be useful in my current novel. And, if you ever need someone to read over any mysteries/thrillers you write, I'm your person. I read more mysteries/thrillers than anything else (typically). LOL! I really am such a crime buff when it comes to books and television shows. Almost all the shows I watch are cop/crime scene type shows. Seriously.

Emily said...

Hi Nicole, I'm here from Theresa's page and thought I'd haunt you. :) I see you're doing Nano too. Good luck and happy writing!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Forensics would add a lot to a fantasy story.

Colene Murphy said...

Wow what a cool background!

Elana Johnson said...

Awesome backstory I didn't know about you! I can't wait to pick your brain about stuff.

J.C. Martin said...

Sounds like a cool job. Was it anything like what we see on the CSI shows?

In any case, I have a background in pharmacology, the study of drugs on the human body, and have been a Biology teacher for a few years. I've not had to employ much of my background knowledge in the crime novel I'm writing at the moment, but I'm sure the oppoertunity will arise at some point!

Great blog, glad I popped by from Halloween Hauntings! :)