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As an author, how important is research?
Mod
On two separate occasions when I told someone where my characters were located, they asked specific details about it.
One gentlemen was actually born and raised in Columbus and seemed satisfied when I gave the right street names and what part of town the street was located.
Now, if I had them wrong, that would have been a big pie in my face.
Conducting research is very crucial. Just like in any profession, your research will affect your overall performance. The more in-depth and thorough research/homework conducted while preparing your novel, the more the book will seem realistic. Our goal is to make believers out of our readers. And it starts by displaying facts and figures on any particular topic!
Important for all genres. For some, like Sci-Fi, I feel that in-depth research is critical. For example, the plot of The Forever War relies on a thorough understanding of relativity and simply wouldn't have worked if the author hadn't done his homework.Other genres like chick lit, you could get away with limited research.
For my Hard Fantasy, I had to delve into all sorts of specifics to make the setting three-dimensional. I researched Russian, French, and English medieval culture extensively. I used notes from my Theology courses to graft together a new religion. I oriented myself with a late medieval swordfighting style called Blossfechten in order to make the fight scenes realistic. I read some a Byzantine military treatise from the Theodocian period to understand Eastern European military strategy. I even acquainted myself with Tarot reading!
I feel there's always something to research for a fiction novel, whatever the genre.
For my novel Darby which begins in 1895, and ends around 1930, I had to do much research. The Appalachian dialect, the people of that era, the services available or lack of services, such as trains, cars, telephones, medical, prisons, etc.
Research is crucial but only as an underlying level, a basis for your work. I don't think it would really be right to just throw in an entire section of factual information that would show that you did your research and then move on, perhaps forgetting that yours is a work of fiction and if people wanted to read non-fiction novels they would do just that - so a healthy dose of escapism is also due. In science fiction, certain fantastical elements can remain just that, in fantasies - you don't really need to explain the origin of magic. One thing that comes to mind are the Star Wars prequels (albeit those were movies) where Lucas felt that he had to explain and over-explain the nature of the Force. No one needed to hear that. I believe that factuality for factuality's sake is not enough to make the work authentic or engaging.
I agree with Vardan, we certainly shouldn't give factual information, but we shouldn't have our characters talking on telephones in 1895.
Does NOT include sms/mms functions, no camera support, no wifi and no 3G
Research is important, but never let it get in the way of a good story. A well written, poorly researched story will always trump a badly written brilliantly researched story. Some authors try and cram in every nugget of information into their work, and as a result, the story can suffer.
R.M.F wrote: "Research is important, but never let it get in the way of a good story. A well written, poorly researched story will always trump a badly written brilliantly researched story. Some authors try and..."
Agreed!
My last book was written about a lot of countries I have already travelled. My current book is about somewhere I have never visited. The past.
Mod
Some authors try and..."
I hear that. I have been there, especially with a huge WWII flashback scene. I did tons of research on the WWII Paris occupation, so I could write about a character's survival in that setting.
In the end, my critique partners and editor had me cut over half of my meticulously researched material because nobody wants a history lesson. Slowed down the pacing too much.
:)
Travis wrote: "R.M.F wrote: "Research is important, but never let it get in the way of a good story. A well written, poorly researched story will always trump a badly written brilliantly researched story. Some a..."
That's editors for you. If an editor had gotten his hands on the ten commandments... :)
Mod
I think a swarm of editors got their hands on it. Started out as 613 rules, trimmed down to 10 commandments.
That's what I call editing.
:)
Even though I write romance, both paranormal and contemporary, I do my homework. Much of my research is never overtly expressed in the novel, but I believe it adds to my character's authenticity. If a character has a taste for a good brandy, you can bet I'll name one with an excellent reputation even though I'm not a brandy drinker myself.If I'm going to write about shifters in a wolf pack, I should at least have a working knowledge of wolf behavior. I won't lecture, but the knowledge is there nevertheless.
Book settings can require lots of research. My YA fiction is set in New Zealand and though I have visited the amazing country, my co-author and I thoroughly investigated each place we used as much as possible. Actually, I found it to be fun!
I had no clue there would be a lot of research involved with writing a book, especially a YA paranormal fiction. But I wanted my characters and scenes to be believable so I researched US history in 1770s; brain waves and sleep patterns; London history in the 1750s; local (Spokane WA)history, autopsy procedures and fashion styles in the early 1900s. Sorry yes, I'm a bit morbid sometimes. I think any author who wants to pass their 'world' off as plausible, even if it's fantasy, or sci-fi, some research HAS to be done.
All good points, but it's a fine line. When it's done well by a good author, you never notice it. When in the hands of a bad author...well...
so far I've stuck with places I know well for the setting in my novels and subject matter i was pretty much an expert on, in a sense. I still did some research because sometimes names get lost in my memory or confused, but I didn't want to stray so far away from the original myths I used in my novel that it would upset someone who studies greek mythology, but i also didn't want to bore those that aren't as familiar with it. I haven't tried writing something I'm not at least partially familiar with yet, but when I do, there will be research. I like my stories, despite being fantasy, to be be realistic
The research is the best part, I think. I write historical fiction, so I have done a ton before I start, but there is always something I didn't think I would need to know until a character plowed right into it.
Very important. I do a lot of gun battles and need to know weapon specs.
Research for me is very important. If I'm reading a book where I know the author got his/her facts wrong, it really takes me out of the story. I understand poetic license, but I can't stand when authors use that as an excuse to be lazy.For me, I've had plot developments and character details come out of research. I love learning new things and relating those things to readers. To be honest, I have also had to cut paragraphs of fascinating information when it just wasn't necessary to the story, but I'm always still glad that I did the research anyway.
Knowing that my stories are as realistic as I can make them helps me feel better about promoting my work.
Mod
I here that. I have been researching one thing, only to find something that I incorporate into background and character development. I found a magazine article on the Colombian industrial size flower farms, and it fit perfect with the background on this woman who's a prostitute from Colombia.
Research helps develop my plots more often than not.
In my experience, people can sometimes bury themselves into research because they are reluctant to write anything regarding the novel. Been guilty of this myself.
I think research is important when writing any book, except if it's your memoir. I write fiction- stories about family and love relationships, drama, and a little suspense. Most of my research comes into play with the setting/location (if I've never been there before), characters occupations, and psychological research to make sure my characters personalities are accurate to what I have them doing. Although it's fiction, I like for my stories to feel believable. I'm sure research is much more extensive when writing about history, however.
Mod
To me research is like the icing on the cake. The story goes on without it, but when you add in the research for all the areas that need it, everything just comes out so much sweeter.
I have written entire manuscripts without one iota of research, and then went back and researched several subjects later to add in miscellaneous stuff.
Its a complementary thing.
Hi Travis,I do that quite often actually. I write out my entire stories first and then go back and add in factual things I've found in research. I have had people ask me in several interviews that I've had if I am actually from Chicago (the setting in A River Moves Forward), and when I tell them I am not, they are usually surprised. I just did my homework and interviewed people who are actually from there. I do plan to visit one day. I hear it's a beautiful city.
Travis wrote: "R.M.F wrote: "In my experience, people can sometimes bury themselves into research because they are reluctant to write anything regarding the novel. Been guilty of this myself."To me research is ..."
To me, research is essential. I can plot out the storyline without it, but when it comes time to write a certain chapter, I have to do my research first. Often, I find something in my research that helps me elevate that scene from predictable to unique.
If nothing else, research on the time/place/subject of conversation gives me a jumping-off point. One of the hardest things for me is figuring out how to get started in a scene. I always like to have a hook to begin a scene and, more often than not, my research will produce an idea for such a hook.
Then again, I'm not a pantser in any sense. I have to plan everything out before I feel comfortable beginning. :)
Research is everything. It gives your manuscript authenticity and credence. I agree that you can get buried in it. Once I've done the research, I seldom look at it again. That way I avoid the "Look what I know!" trap that is so easy to fall into. The thing is to not show everyone your research, but to weave it into the story.
I wrote a post just recently about some of the research I was doing, and why I felt it was so important [ http://acflory.wordpress.com ]To me, research links the real world to my fictional world and builds trust between me and my readers. If the small details feel authentic then readers are more likely to trust me on the bigger, wilder issues without going "What the..?"
That is really important because every 'what the..?' jars readers out of the story. If it happens often enough they may give up on the story altogether.
So research is vital, ESPECIALLY for fiction.
A.C. wrote: "I wrote a post just recently about some of the research I was doing, and why I felt it was so important [ http://acflory.wordpress.com ]To me, research links the real world to my fictional world ..."
Great article, A.C! I agree completely with you about gaining reader trust through getting real-world details right. I want my stories to happen here, rather than in some fantasy world where different rules apply, so I try to back up everything I write with some kind of research.
Absolutely paramount. I used to think that a sci-fi writer had it easier than other genre writers, being able to rely strictly on their own imagination in order to make things happen. That impression didn't last. With science fiction, if you want to be taken seriously, you need to make sure you writing is grounded in science fact. As the saying goes, write what you know. But I've since realized that the reverse of that is true as well. If you want to write about something, you have to know all you can about it first, in as much detail as you can manage.
I think you also have to take your audience into account. When I'm reading a historical, I think adding a few 'current events' makes the story believable and of course, if your setting is a soldier in the Napoleonic wars, I need some accurate military background.On the other hand, I don't think romance readers really want to hear about the workings of a Harley engine - the distinctive heartbeat throb of it says enough.
Jacqueline wrote: "On the other hand, I don't think romance readers really want to hear about the workings of a Harley engine - the distinctive heartbeat throb of it says enough. "I agree, unless the author casually mentions the Harley's steering wheel or something.
Describing how something works and knowing how something works are two different things.
Authors should probably know how things work before writing about them.
Brian wrote: "A.C. wrote: "I wrote a post just recently about some of the research I was doing, and why I felt it was so important [ http://acflory.wordpress.com ]To me, research links the real world to my fic..."
That kind of attention to detail makes a huge difference, imho. :)
I do a ton of research to make sure my settings, references, etc...are as authentic as possible. I hate it when an author is writing about a place I've been or something I know quite a bit about and it's flat out wrong.
B.R. wrote: "I do a ton of research to make sure my settings, references, etc...are as authentic as possible. I hate it when an author is writing about a place I've been or something I know quite a bit about an..."Yeah, that bugs me too!
William wrote: "Describing how something works and knowing how something works are two different things. Authors should probably know how things work before writing about them. ."LOL. Too, too true!
And as an author, there are few moments more humbling than realizing one has published the equivalent of the steering wheel on a Harley....
The flipside is no ressearch shows. My biggest gripe is making something the writer does not research as a major component of the book. I read a book where the main character has a farm in Northern Indiana. He grew crops that would not grow in the area, ones that did not grow at the same time, but he planted them at the same time, and a much longer growing season than Northern Indiana has. If the author didn't keep refering back to farming, I think it could have been overlooked.
Medical stories that have no accurate medical terminology irritate me the most! The fact that there are so many medical personnel in the world (it is the fastest growing career field), means that you HAVE to do your research in order to not lose readers. As an x-ray tech, I will think negatively about a book that uses the wrong terminology to describe a certain pathology/condition in a character. It turns me off even if the writing is amazing. I am getting ready to start a story about someone that has to do a lot of detective work. I recently told my husband that I was going to have to read a ton about forensics and watch a lot of Law and Order. HAHA. :)
Inaccuracies are unacceptable, in any way, shape, or form, whatever the subject matter. Google is only a click away:)
Pauline wrote: "Inaccuracies are unacceptable, in any way, shape, or form, whatever the subject matter. Google is only a click away:)"
I agree 100%. With google, almost everything can be looked up and verified in a matter of moments. I always feel distracted by a story if there is some glaring error in the facts.
I agree 100%. With google, almost everything can be looked up and verified in a matter of moments. I always feel distracted by a story if there is some glaring error in the facts.
This is a great question, Travis! As a fellow PNR author, it can be tempting for me to sometimes think research isn't a huge deal, but it is. Even while crafting a fantasy world, or in my case, ones built on myth, research is key. I do modern retellings of Greek god stories and Selkie myth. Even though the myths are established, I like to play with him. However, that doesn't mean I haven't done my homework on the original myths. Besides, research is fun. It was always my favorite part of being a student. Playing student when I write my books allows me to revisit that time. Even if I were writing a contemporary, one that isn't based on an established "world", I would likely still do a lot of research.
Extremely. If you want to establish credibility, you must know what you want to say to others is valid, otherwise you sound a bit ignorant. :)
Sarah A. wrote: "Extremely. If you want to establish credibility, you must know what you want to say to others is valid, otherwise you sound a bit ignorant. :)"And Sarah, there's probably nothing that comes off worse than an ignorant author! :)
I find that with writing fiction about travel. I don't want to sound like a tourist, but unless you spend years in a country it's hard to sound like a local. So I try not to spend much time concentrating on the obvious and only talk about the cultures when it adds to the story. The best way to research culture is to travel...which makes my research very fun indeed....
Dean wrote: "I find that with writing fiction about travel. I don't want to sound like a tourist, but unless you spend years in a country it's hard to sound like a local. So I try not to spend much time concent..."
True dat. In all seriousness though, there are so many things you won't hear about in guide books. You have to experience it to really know a place.
True dat. In all seriousness though, there are so many things you won't hear about in guide books. You have to experience it to really know a place.
Sarah A. wrote: "Extremely. If you want to establish credibility, you must know what you want to say to others is valid, otherwise you sound a bit ignorant. :)"Yes and no. I can forgive an author who gets things wrong if its a great story and great writing. What I can't stand is authors padding out books with detail that adds nothing to the story. It's a fine line.
I love to read well researched novels, where you know the author did some serious homework. Brings home the reality of characters, events, settings.
How important is research in your writing?