9 key methods for researching a novel
Have you ever started a story, got halfway through it and found that you don't know key facts about the world of your story? Have you ever wondered how to find out the size of spoons in medieval England for your fantasy adventure story? Is this even relevant to your action or could you skip this fact? How to research your novel.
As fiction writers, our job is to sit at a keyboard and invent things for fun and profit. We conjure most of our material from our imagination, creativity and mental supply of facts and trivia, but sometimes we need a bit more truthfulness that research can bring to a project.
When it comes to research, there are important strategies to consider so that you can get the most of your time and effort.
9 strategies for researching a novel
Readers who have published reviews of my thriller Nocturne In Ashes often comment on how well researched it is. While this can be a positive feeling, you don't want readers to notice this about your book. The best research shouldn't draw attention to itself or distract readers from the story, so I'm always relieved to hear that the same reviewers continue to rave about the thrill and excitement.
When you write, you want to get the facts right and create a believable world. Researching your novel is the way to do this. But you also don't want to be dragged into a research hole so distracted by the local cuisine of a small town in 1930s France that you never actually write. And you want your readers to turn a page, not a dissertation on an obscure subject.
Here are nine key research strategies I learned to make an effective (and exciting!) Story.
1. Write first, research later
Research can be a dangerous undertaking as it is seductive and the time spent on research is taken away from actual writing. Calling up words on the page is a chore. Hence, it is important that you meet your daily writing goal before doing any research.
If the piece you are working on requires research, your first assignment should be to write something else that doesn't need to be researched first, something that you can only draw from your imagination and your own spiritual well-being. Fill in your word quota, practice your skills, meet your production goals, and then research the other project.
I always have several jobs in progress. I write Project A while researching Project B and thinking about Projects C through M and planning them.
2. Research is secondary; Telling a good story comes first
After all that novel research to expand your knowledge and feel of a subject, use only a tiny fraction of it in history. Don't give in to the temptation to throw everything in there. Sure, it's fascinating, but you risk burying the story in scientific or historical detail.
A little researched material goes a long way. Keep what you use in your story for the topics your character knew and would deal with. Leave out the captivating but irrelevant details.
Your research should improve the story, not dominate it.
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Your research should improve the story, not dominate it. Add information that your character would know (especially if it affects the choices they make!) And skip the rest.
3. Write for your fans
Your story should be aimed at the readers who love what you write – your fans. Stop worrying about the five people out there who might read your story and don't assume your character used the wrong fork or wore the wrong type of corset.
Many writers fake it. They do not allow their lack of esoteric knowledge to stand in the way of history. They do research for their novels, accessing some details for authenticity and spurring the rest.
With the exception of 11/22/63, Stephen King does very little research, but there are few who can write a more exciting story.
4. Don't worry about the accuracy
In all fairness there are cases and reasons that you don't really want to be specific. For example, if you are writing historical novels, research could show that people of this time seldom bathed at a young age and lost most of their teeth and hair. This is probably not how you want to portray your heroine and the man of her dreams.
Sometimes including a historically or scientifically correct detail requires explanatory pages to make it believable to today's audience – almost a surefire way of losing your reader. When in doubt, leave it out.
And no matter how hard you work on it, you are unlikely to cover every detail with one hundred percent accuracy. So don't worry about it. Do your best, but remember – the story matters, not the exact details.
5. Go with the most interesting version
When looking for an event, you can usually find a number of different accounts, none of which are in perfect alignment with the others. When this happens, do what the History Channel does – choose the most fun version of events.
Remember, you are a storyteller, not a historian. Your goal is to grab and hold your reader's attention and keep them updated. If this makes you feel better, you can include endnotes with references so that interested readers can delve deeper into the "facts".
6. Keep a "Bible"
This is especially important if you are writing a series. Don't expect to remember every important detail of the characters and attitudes you entered into Book 1 when you work on Book 7 years later.
Record these details in an easy-to-reference format that you can refer to later to create continuity and reader confidence in your ability to tell a cohesive story.
7. Don't fall into the wormhole
I love to research. It's fun, fascinating, and engaging – so engaging that it draws you in and discourages you from continuing to write. You need to be able to draw the line at some point. As Tina Fey says in her book "Bossy Pants", "The show doesn't go on because it's done. It goes on because it's 11:30."
Know when it's time to quit research and start writing. Pro tip: Set a deadline. Even if you don't feel “done” with your research, you have a clear indication of when to stop researching and start writing again.
8. Save simple details at the end
Sometimes when writing your story you need a simple detail. Make a notation, decide to come back to it later, and move on. Don't let this interrupt or distract you from getting the story aside.
You can come back later and do the minimal research to fill in those little details like a character name, location, car model, etc. Shawn Coyne calls this "ice cream work" because it is fun and it feels reckless after the concentrated work of writing the story yourself.
9. Exit THIS project before starting another
One great thing about research is that you learn so much and find the seeds of so many new story ideas. The challenge is not to get distracted from your current project.
Make a note of it to follow up on these other ideas at some point. Let these seeds sprout and grow in the back of your mental garden, but keep focusing on the story you are writing.
Resources: Where to Actually Research Your Novel
I addressed how to do research. Here I am adding some suggestions as to where the goods should go.
- Wikipedia, and don't forget to check out the links at the bottom of the article
- Reenactor sites for historical battles, uniforms, etc.
- Costumes
- travel Guide
- Writer's Digest Writer's Guide for Everyday Life in … fill in the blank (this contains details about the landscape, clothing, household items and much more).
- Biographies and autobiographies, and don't overlook their bibliographies and footnotes
- Newspapers
- Magazines and diaries
- Letters
- Weather reports
- Price lists to find out the salaries, groceries, mortgage payments, etc.
- Birth and death certificates, court documents
- Etymology websites
- Museums and souvenir shops, including small tourist brochures, maps, tour guides
- Libraries! Talk to a reference librarian – he's great at installing resources.
Novel research rocks!
Research is really fascinating and a lot of fun. There is so much to discover, but be careful, you can get lost in it and never find a way out. You are better off doing too little research than doing too much research. So you should know when to get out and move on.
Also, be aware that the research requirements of your novel will be slightly different depending on the genre you are writing. For example, with historical fiction, you need to provide your readers with a past travel adventure with sensory details to drag them into time.
With science fiction, you need to be able to extrapolate from scientific facts and theories to the fictional premise of your story. Do not get stuck on the way from point A to point B. Just come to the end. The more you explain, the less believable it sounds to the reader.
With imagination, it's the small world-forming details that make so much. Know what your reader expects and wants, and meet those needs.
I wish you many happy hours of successful novel research, but don't forget to write first!
What about you? Do you do research for your novels? Where do you go for information? Tell us about it in the comments.
WORK OUT
Use one of the following prompts or create your own. Do a little research – just enough to give the scene some resemblance and bring out a few details. Spend five minutes researching two to three facts that will help you frame the scene. Then take the next ten minutes to write a few paragraphs to set the character in the setting.
The death of her father leaves Miss Felicity Brewster alone in the reign of England and places the burden on her to grant his last wish – that she marry a safe, respectable gentleman.
Accused of treason, Frendl Ericcson sets out to find his traitor and restore his honor.
Dr. Vanessa Crane makes a breakthrough in her nanotechnology research. But will their discovery benefit or destroy humanity?
With the help of his undertaker, Victorian detective Reginald Piper must use state-of-the-art forensic methods to solve a number of murders.
When you're done, post your work in the comments and don't forget to leave feedback for your co-writers!
Joslyn Chase
