Is Research Saving or Killing Your Novel?

One of the best parts of writing, for me, is creating a world for my characters. No matter your genre, you must have a working knowledge of the environment in which the action happens. That knowledge can only come from doing your homework, or as novel writers everywhere whisper with fear and delight, “Research!”

Whether you write contemporary fiction or urban fantasy set in current and familiar cities, historical fiction with a need to re-create the past, or a dystopian fiction with yet-to-be-realized worlds, there is research required. Ask most writers and a gleam of excitement fills their heart and fear settles in their minds as they anticipate the thrill of discovery and the dread of the dark unknown forest.

Weeks pass and you’re still doing research. Every thread of knowledge leads you to more. You check out books and print….and print….and copy….and print. A month more and you are excited to learn about new countries, customs, histories, legends, famous people, unheard stories, relics, and archeological digs. Wait. What?

STOP! At some point the writer in you says maybe I have enough research. You realize you have almost forgotten what you wanted to discover and have lost yourself in the finding of everything. Your departure from your novel has nearly cost you the thread of your intent. You, writer, are drowning in research and it’s killing your novel.

I speak from Experience

I’m in the middle of a novella, a prequel to an upcoming series. I know my characters but I’m writing about a time period which is unknown to me, creating events into an older world, bending histories to suit my needs. I needed to do research to bolster my fiction because good fiction is rooted in truth. That’s what sells the story. When I’m doing research I feel empowered as if I am learning magic.

But the truth is research can bog you down and sometimes I have ended up looking like this:

Your work suffers with an overabundance of unnecessary knowledge.

So what do you do?

TIPS FOR MAKING RESEARCH WORK FOR YOU

1. I recommend an outline. Know what you intend to research and leave yourself an outline with specific questions. You know what you want to know. Get those basics out of the way. Do it early before the major writing begins.

2. Once you have the basic info down, stop and begin the writing. When you hit a place in the story where you know you need more information, make a note about it and keep writing. I highly recommend a writer’s notebook for every novel or work in progress. I use it for notes, background information and all my research. I also use it for notations where I need more work. Refuse to let yourself be diverted by “holes.” This notebook will be the “dirt” you need for filler, later.

3. When you reach the end of your project (completion of the zero draft), now you can begin he work of filling the holes and doing the research you need to fill in the gaps.

The first rewrite is for fleshing out the world, building the framework for your story
The second rewrite is for rebuilding based on your notations and research
The third rewrite is for continuity and holes, making the research and the fantasy mesh together (beta readers are needed here).

This is how you keep research from killing your novel and instead you save yourself and your readers from overdosing on information.

How Do You Know When You Have Too Much Research?

When you spend all your time talking about the research and not about your story. When your research is what you crave doing instead of writing. When you’re busy collecting paper on this and that instead of chapter and scenes. If you are honest, you know when you cross the line into the “no man’s land” of too much knowledge. Only you can pull that plug. Just do it. Stick to your outline and your characters’ needs and you’ll do fine.

A Word About Quality Research

Googiing isn’t research. There, I said it. Google is great for telling you what you need to know, then the library is your friend. HOWEVER…..

DONT LET THIS BE YOUR DESK!

Again, know when you have too much and force yourself to select only what you need. This is what I have for my main research:

My novella takes place in both the past and the present. I need information dealing with Europe from 850 ACE all the way through the Middle Ages. It is easy to get lost in the research.

One pleasure and one danger is learning a new language for the main character. This is one way to lose yourself and forget what you were supposed to be researching. Tip: Mark the words you want and come back for them.

Just like a novel with too much narrative or exposition, your novel suffers if you spend too much time doing research. I’ve seen writers abandon projects after months because they have forgotten what the novel was supposed to be about! I’ve seen writers get discouraged, believing they can’t possibly impart everything they have learned. Remember JK Rowling when you begin to feel like this — she kept notebooks of knowledge about characters and histories in the world of Harry Potter that she never used. Writers are supposed to know more than the reader or their characters. Don’t imagine that everything you’ve researched will always make it into your story. Be content to use only what you need and save the rest.

You never know, you might do a sequel, Or a trilogy. Or a series of short stories. Knowledge is never wasted unless it becomes the thing you do instead of the thing you learn.

Is research killing or saving your novel? I hope this will give you food for thought and that you will take time to access your work. Let research work for you instead of you working for it.

I welcome your ideas and suggestions on research. How do you manage yours?

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Thanks for stopping by!
Yours Between the Lines,
Sherry

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****The following items will always appear to keep you posted on activities.*****

WIP (Works in Progress):

– Writer’s Workbook – Learning to Write Everyday – Beginners Volume (expected April 2017)
– first novel in the Evening Bower series, about vampires and other supernatural creatures (Nov 2017)
– prequel novella to the Bower series (May 2017)
– four-part fairy story (part one complete) (Christmas 2017)

On the Desk: (next reading): A Conjuring of Light by VE Schwab

Off the Desk (book just finished): Stephen Blackmoore’s Hungry Ghosts

Coming Soon: More tips while writing that novel/Interviews/Odd Thoughts