Tag: research

Coffee Talk:

When you are writing fiction, thorough research can add realism to your narrative, heighten the sense of mystery in your story, and even help you to avoid clichés in your work. However, it’s important to remember that too much research can also get in the way of your storytelling and make it difficult for your readers to immerse themselves in the world you created. Use this guide on the power of research in writing fiction to learn how to get the most out of your research without wasting too much time getting bogged down in details you don’t need.

Research Can Save Your Story

An aspiring author might ask How can I incorporate research into my fiction? As part of their creative process, authors are faced with determining where information on a subject will be found. The general rule is that an author’s imagination is his primary research tool, but it’s also important to note that proper research can add realism to a narrative. Care should be taken, however, to avoid over researching and subsequently over describing when you are trying to relay the information on a subject. As writer Stephen King said,

‘The story begins in the Writer’s imagination but ends in the readers.’

The very best way to flesh out your story is by using your own vivid language so that you can paint a detailed picture for your reader’s mind. Always keep in mind why you are telling your story. Readers don’t want pages upon pages of descriptive paragraphs about how an object looks or feels. Instead they want you to get straight into narrating what happens next without stopping for dialogue or description.  Why were they on vacation? Where did they go? Who was with them? Why did they suddenly snap at their husband or wife when he mentioned how hungry he was while they were driving to dinner? It all matters because every detail of every sentence adds character development and more depth to your narrative.

That depth must be properly managed with believable volume. 

As we know, less is more and something as small as over-describing a room or a house can spoil an entire story if not handled appropriately. Equally, omitting details that add texture to characters and settings can leave the story feeling hollow. The proper research can literally save your story. If you are creating a character’s vehicle, you need to learn exactly how that vehicle operates. What are its features? What does it do when you push that button? How does it work when you turn on that knob? These kinds of questions will also lead you down avenues where you discover new ways for your character to interact with his car even in stressful situations which could lead to exceptional writing opportunities for these characters. As well writing styles evolve constantly so do rules for language use, better nuances added in descriptions enrich stories while time spent doing things well adds authenticity people crave from fiction they read today.

Why is Research Important?

When you write fiction, you want to give your readers as much authenticity as possible. To do that, you must do your research. Reading about how something is done and why it’s done a certain way will help you understand how to write about those activities and processes. For example, let’s say that one of your characters is a lawyer. Your character goes into court and presents his case. If you don’t know anything about what a lawyer does, it’ll be difficult for you to describe the courtroom scene accurately. But if you take time to learn about courtroom protocol and presentation tactics, then writing such a scene becomes easier because there won’t be any gaps or inaccuracies in your description. Through doing your own research, then honing that information into a story, you can create novels that are more authentic and realistic for readers—and achieve great success with them! Storytelling has been around since humans began telling tales around firesides.

What Does Research Entail?

Researching a story entails finding material to draw from. This may include government documents, records, interviews with real people or even simply referencing books or articles on similar topics. Once you have collected your information, organize it into relevant points that will be most useful to you as an author. Too much research can detract from your ability to tell a story quickly and accurately. Be aware of over-researching by outlining what you know about your subject matter before beginning research so that you don’t waste time gathering material that isn’t pertinent to your book’s plotline. The most important thing is choosing facts wisely; don’t overwhelm readers with unnecessary facts and figures, but make sure they know exactly what they need to know about their character or setting at any given moment during the narrative.

When I’m writing about a specific model of boat, I learn as much as possible about that boat. The dimensions, the history – both manufacturing and sales – the reputation, the main competitors. I want to know what famous person loved it and who hated it. I need to know what color it never came in and what nickname it got from professional boat racers when it was introduced. When I’m writing about the boat, I need to know all of this to inform my image of the boat. The reader, however, just needs to know enough about the boat to inform the story.

Tips For Using Research Wisely

Good writers know when they’ve gotten as much as they can out of research and it’s time to start writing. A story is not a resource. It is something that must be carefully distilled, and if you’re focusing too much on your resources, you’re going to end up with a data dump rather than a story. The goal isn’t to cram in all available information about how something works or looks or behaves; instead, you need to find what’s essential and eliminate what isn’t. Carefully select your sources, use them well and wisely—and let them serve your story!

The nuances that you uncover while researching are just as important as the more obvious facts.

Do you have a sense of just how much detail you’re putting into your story? Are you spending more time describing settings and actions than advancing your plot? Are there sections where nothing much is happening, but you feel like you need to explain things instead of trusting your readers to infer for themselves? Is your character’s speech stiffer than it needs to be because you’ve found an online slang dictionary? If so, back up and take another look at what you’re doing. Just because it’s on Wikipedia doesn’t mean it belongs in your book.

Too Much of a Good Thing

Over-researching your story can be as much a problem as not researching enough. If you’re enjoying yourself too much digging up interesting tidbits, you can easily lose sight of your story’s ultimate purpose—telling an entertaining tale. Too many details will weigh down your prose and distract readers from what is actually happening. Use research to improve your writing, but don’t let it take over completely. Once you’ve collected all your information, close out those extra tabs; they won’t help you when your editor starts asking pointed questions about why each character speaks with a British accent. The key to weaving together fact and fiction is knowing when to stop researching so that you’re left with just enough detail for realism without overdoing it or exhausting yourself. That said, if something doesn’t sound right or makes no sense, don’t ignore it! Go back through everything again until everything aligns perfectly with each other.

When you over-research, your writing style might suffer. You may find yourself spending too much time discussing minutiae rather than putting forth actionable prose for your reader. With either problem, you will lose your audience. Stay away from these pitfalls by remembering that less is more when researching your work.

The Pitfalls of a Poorly Researched Story

When you don’t take time to properly research your story, it has a tendency to read like fiction. Readers will catch on if they can spot inaccuracies in your characters or setting. They might not be sure exactly what is off, but they’ll notice that something isn’t right. Experts in certain fields won’t be too excited with inaccurate depictions of their daily lives. As fiction writers, we give from our imaginations, but those imaginations must be fed useful facts in order to properly function. A poorly researched story can come across as nothing more than nonsense without the proper underlying facts. Every good lie is based in truth. If there are no truths woven into your fictional world, then everything falls apart and becomes just that: fiction. Not just bad writing but writing that could seriously harm your professional reputation as an author.

If you’ve put little effort into researching a topic, readers may start to wonder why any other aspect of your story deserves attention and consideration. If you go so far as to deliberately hide inconsistencies and mistakes for fear of ruining an otherwise engaging narrative or misleading readers about actual conditions…well, good luck convincing anyone of anything else again. Write at all costs? Not so much…not if that cost is one’s integrity as an artist and human being committed to telling honestly rendered stories informed by some semblance of reality.

-R.E.