I'm working with a time and setting comparable with Ancient Rome. In the story, one of the generals is secretly a traitor and is sabotaging his forces by making objectively bad decisions that would weaken their formation and incur heavy casualties as well as leaking supply routes to the enemy. However, I feel like these methods are too heavy-handed and would realistically get him killed by his own men before he can do too much damage. Can, anyone recommend a more subtle approach I can take for this

Google thinks I'm looking for info on vehicular searches, and that is not remotely what I need.

I have a character who accidentally drove their vehicle into the river. The vehicle is discovered and towed out, and their coat is found on the bank, but the person/body is nowhere to be found. Would this still be treated as a missing person case, trying to locate a living person, or would they be presumed dead and the search treated as a body recovery?

ETA: The character is actually still alive. He's a John Doe and will be found about a week later, but I needed to know how the search would proceed since finding the car in the river would imply he had drowned. Happily, the information I've received jibes with my plans.

Thank you for the help!

I have a character around 53 years old who sometimes uses wheelchairs for a while, it could be long or short periods. It cannot be a curable disease, only a treatable one. He wasn't born like this, but he became sick as an adult.

Hello all! This feels super weird to ask lmao but writing a story and a particular woman is 39 and has been smoking/drinking very heavily since 16. What could yk off her the fastest? Ideally she’s fine (and most likely drunk) one night, goes to sleep, wakes up in terrible shape, rushed to the ER and is gone few hours later?

Hi guys, writing something and I need a medical condition that starts off really subtle and slow but can be almost deadly - can be cured in rare cases though. Ideally first signs are things like slightly low blood pressure and tiredness- things that can be written off by a professional as stress etc. the most details you can provide about anything that would work for this the better, thank you so much!!

I'm writing a novel that takes place in part in South Africa's Prince Edward Islands in the 1970s, and am finding it hard to locate many published accounts of researchers or explorers on these or other sub-Antarctic islands. A good amount of biology and geology papers exist describing the area, and tons of secondary sources exist on all of the major (and minor) Antarctic expeditions, but I'm especially interested in accounts of daily life at remote research bases outside of continental Antarctica. I've already ordered Exploring a Sub-antarctic Wilderness by B. J. Huntley, which if I'm not mistaken is the one and only book-length firsthand account published by a researcher in the Prince Edward Islands. If anyone is aware of other sources, either primary or secondary narrative accounts of early exploration in the Prince Edwards/Auckland Islands/Crozet, etc., I would be greatly appreciative.

Especially for a guy who isn't particularly physically active and not trying to bulk up, I'm wondering how his build might change between age 18 and his early-to-mid-20s. When did the growth become noticeable to you? When you were 20/21/22, would a suit you bought at 18 still fit okay?

I mean the title says it all but im currently writing a horror character with blood pouring out their mouth and i cannot think of ways..on how that would happen? Preferably self inflicted ways would be best- I'd originally thought drinking bleach but google has been no help in if that could occur

I’m writing a book where the plot is from the early 1940s in America. And I have a couple question:

1. Did people back then need to go to college if they wanted to be a teacher?
2. Was the college system same as it is now? (for example, the typical years spent in college now being 4)
3. Were there parties thrown back then between college students as it is now?
4. Did many college students focus on romance too, such as dating?

Writing a story that starts in the 1870s but ends up in the mid to late 1880s'. Takes place mostly in the southern United states, ranging from Kentucky, and Tennessee, all the way to Arizona and New Mexico. Looking for what firearm choices were common during the era. Looking for rifles, shotguns, and pistols. Also looking for a very diverse array of said firearms. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I've done the first three sections of a Thunderbirds-themed crossover story named 'The Whole Truth', where I discover that Penelope has written in her diary about her childhood, before she adopted me at the age of 25. In this story, after discovering the truth, we both decide to run away into nature and spend more time together, like Penelope used to do with her loving foster mother Mrs Pemberton, and while on this fantastic voyage we discover that I am what Lady Penelope used to be to Mrs Pemberton, while she is what Mrs Pemberton used to be to me.

So, I'm asking: what are the most tranquil natural settings for my story? They could be anything ranging from jungles to deserts to Arctic circles to wild, free open spaces in nature. Thank you.

I was hoping to make this injury because I do want a near death experience for this character but not an actual death. The person this character fights has a blade-like whip thing that twists around her arm with the purpose of cutting it off. My character reacts fast enough to keep her arm but slow enough that she still gets her forearm skinned. What would be the immediate effects of such an injury?

So the title is fairly self explanatory but for some context, the minor character is a superhero who was kidnapped for about a week, in that time he was injured greatly (non specific) and sa’d. later he was rescued by his ‘boss’ (36) and taken to the hospital for treatment.

Basically I guess what my question is, does it matter that the boss is in the room? Would the doctor ask him to step out or would he (if minor allowed) be able to stay?

I’m not totally sure if I explained this correctly, but hopefully someone can answer it for me

Trigger Warnings - abuse.

Hi, writing an adult male character who was abused as a child. He is scared of perpetuating the abuse cycle and has poorly formed personal boundaries in relationships. He is aware of his physical desires but represses them.

Wondering how to show his discomfort and struggle to be in every day situations that force him to be close to people. Particularly with strangers or people he does not know well.

Holy crap, there really is a sub-Reddit for everything! Glad to find this place!

Would there be a way to try to fix a puncture wound to the heart without modern medical intervention? I'm writing a story right now where a character gets blasted through the chest/heart and is tended to in a place that has no modern medicine, but access to primitive methods and maybe herbs and limited technology.

I understand the area of the heart that is injured might play a role in treatment effectiveness too, and I'm trying to learn more about the anatomy of the heart too. And also probably make my ISP wonder why I'm looking up survival rates of penetrating heart injuries.

So I'm trying to find information on things like herbs that cause blood clotting, or cauterization, or medieval wound treatment. Also trying to find case studies of people who suffered similar injuries. And realistically how long someone with a puncture wound to the heart could feasibly survive.

If it helps, the wound is caused by a laser, so I assume that means it could automatically cauterize the wounds it causes (the entry/exit wounds and the heart injury)? I know this probably makes no sense out of context. I could change the injury too - I just need a major injury in the chest area that will result in death within hours, but not immediate death in minutes.

Would love any insights! Thank you!

Edit to add: Thank you to everyone who took the time to share their wisdom and insights! I think I have my scene worked out now and I just have to kind of go over it with a fine-toothed comb.

For the book I’m working on the main character who’s an antihero/bounty hunter does cocaine as an unhealthy coping mechanism for the trauma she has gone through. While I plan for the second book to focus on my character trying to become clean how do I accurately portray drugs as something bad while the main character uses it

I'm writing a story that takes place in a city with A LOT of guns and wanted to make some kind of experimental weapon that could cause all the bullets to explode before they can be fired. The best method I've come up with is using some kind of trageted sonic device to vibrate the bullets until they misfire. Just curious if theres a proper way to explain that or if I should look for another method?

My work is fantasy (so these are made up countries with made up legal systems) but what are some plausible reasons that a merchant vessel (nominally a sailing ship, but in this world they can also fly and eventually, dive) might be labeled an enemy vessel by one country and fired upon (in the lead up to a war with a neighboring country), leading to causing them to resort to piracy to survive?

If someone were to step on the back of your elbow while you’re lying face down, could you snap their elbow? Want to use it for a specific character.

...and while it's in its own world (and therefore doesn't have to be historically accurate) I want to ground it by adding real world elements. The time period I want to work with is 15th to 16th century courts (think Henry VIII and Elizabeth I). I've found some information on how these courts functioned, but the more the better.

SPECIFIC QUESTIONS -What roles should I include to make it feel more realistic (i.e. royal staff, positions held by nobility, etc)?

-Any sources on information on court etiquette (how to act, how to dress, what fork to use, etc) would be helpful!

-What makes you think "this feels authentic" when it comes to royal courts?

My novel involves a Japanese man born in the 1960s. His mother was a survivor of the Nagasaki atomic bombing at a young age. She married and became pregnant decades after the bombing. Because of his mother's radiation exposure, this man later develops brain cancer many years later in the 2020s. Is this genetically plausible?

Setting is 2020s, Midwest U.S. I'd like to get across that a character's apartment is, like, astonishingly shitty. I've got the obvious markers - small size, vermin, everything looking worn/damaged - but I'd love to throw in some other signals that this place sucks to an abnormal degree. So: does anyone have apartment horror stories? What's the worst thing (or most interestingly bad one) about the worst place you've ever lived/visited?

I'm planning a story where the main character suddenly becomes an insomiac and enters a night job after some point(most likely a janitorial job). I'd be grateful for any info about how night shifts are, how they feel, how a shift usually differs from a day shift etc.

Perpetrator is the main antagonist. Medical professional. Likes to inflict harm to the point of near death, only to provide treatment and bring them back... as a means to control, to warn, and to create dependency on his victim.

Need the victim to survive, because he only wants to hurt and terrorize, not kill. And the victim needs to survive to give testimony later.

• what is the first aid treatment a medical professional would realistically provide for strangulation? (I've googled a lot, but found only generic info about pain meds or icing, and a lot of DV support resources, which is nice. But nothing about actual first aid.)

• how realistic is it for the perpetrator to occasionally harm the victim, maybe once in 4-6 months, and for the victim to still survive?

So I’m working on this BNHA fic where a character’s eye gets damaged so bad during an accident that he ends up needing a prosthetic eye. This happens at three and thirteen years later, still has a prosthetic eye (it probably changed a lot.

The accident was an explosion of fire and force that hit the kid point blank and tossed him across the room. I wanted to ask what would the eye look like AFTER the recovery? Would there be burns around the area? Skin grafts? What’s the procedure for a prosthetic eye on like, a three year old? In addition, when the explosion happened, where would the kid be burned exactly?

TLDR of the condition although I suggest you read up on it to fully understand: twin embryos are fertilized by two different men, one dies and the other absorbs the deceased embryo thus having two sets of paternal DNA

I'm trying to include this medical condition in an amateur story I'm writing and it involves a DNA test as proof and I'm wondering what that test would look like. Would the potential father be a 50% match? 99.99%? This would likely be an earlier stage in the pregnancy kind of event or whatever complicates the situation the least.

I’ve been tasked with writing a book (via my agent and publisher) focused on a character with severe combat PTSD (contemporary time period). While I’ve written this before, it wasn’t the sole focus, whereas this time it is. I’m excited about this project for sure, but I can’t find much out there in relation to blackouts, and first hand accounts. This is a subject I’m passionate about, and while the story is fictional, I really want to do it justice.

Any help?

I have a married couple who are officially foster parents. While they’re not perfect or anything, I wanted to write them as competent foster parents at least. If it matters, the husband works in the police force, so he might know about certain topics.  Since it takes place in an alternative world to ours but has a lot of similarities, I have some leeway on how I world-build.  I’m mainly using ideas from the modern US system for simplicity but open to other ideas.  

What are some common topics foster parents are trained on? Does anyone know anything specific that's covered regarding children with past trauma and managing any negative behavior?  If there's any training regarding transioning a new foster kid at the current placement, how are foster parents told to handle it?  Any other interesting tidbits regarding this you want to mention? I’m also open to recommendations for resources that I look up on this kind of topic.  

At best, I found some outlines of topics that might be taught in the courses required for foster parents, but nothing detailed, such as solutions to common issues foster parents might face.  It also seems to vary by state too, which makes me unsure what’s common and what might be unique to only certain locations.

Helloo! I came up with a name for a rank in my fictional piece called 'Nightwarden,' but I'm trying to spice it up and was wondering if there's a better-sounding term. For more specifics, this rank is pretty much a mentor/supervisor/lieutenant in a legion of warriors who fight eldritch spirits on a different plane. I also need help looking for words in Greek that I can take inspiration from as well ^^'

So my character, Tyler, was abducting in 96 by aliens and the aliens only reference to how to take care of them is a high school textbook about Anatomy! I can't find a PDF of a textbook from around this time.

I can find one from the 1850s but the 1990s, nowhere! It might be my specific search: "High School Anatomy textbooks from the '90s" and adjacent ways of wording that. But I just get modern editions of these books.

So if you took an anatomy class in 1996, can you tell me what textbook you used?

Edit: I found the book! Thank you!!