Research is easier for writers now than ever before. Not only is it easier to find the facts you need but there is so much more available than you will ever need.
However, we know that nothing can beat first-hand experience. When that experience is impossible, our brains tell us we need to read one more article, watch one more video, listen to one more podcast. A few days later, we’re experts. Now we can write that tiny paragraph with ease.
Research is necessary, even in fiction, to hold readers’ attention. In my experience, I’ve researched more than I’ve ever used. The research gave me the confidence to write it, but the actual facts I learned were either never mentioned or were cut in editing for being superfluous. The urge to add the information was a plea from my ego, screaming in the background, “Look at all I learned! People need to know!”
Too much research can lead to the dreaded “info dump”. The reader is engaged in a story, and suddenly the story stops for a nameless character to lecture on how mattresses are made, the fundamentals of a feudal economy, or exactly what an apprentice blacksmith knows.
Maybe worse, not enough research angers readers who know better. Personally, when someone attempts to write a teacher, I know within a few sentences if the author has ever taught. It’s unlikely to cause me to stop reading, but I’ve heard stories of authors who received nasty letters about lifestyles and vocations that have been portrayed wrong.
So how much research is enough?
- You need research if something is unfamiliar and a character needs familiarity with it. To be safe, you probably need slightly more knowledge than your character.
- If you need to know how something feels, it’s best to research personal blogs or interviews. Also, multiple accounts are necessary to get an overall feeling for something.
- If you need to research a setting, the best option is to visit. If that’s not possible, videos are most likely available as well as travel blogs.
- History? You could spend years researching history online. Easy to find, difficult to stop. (If you write historical fiction, maybe researching for a year is a good idea.)
- It’s a good idea to Google questions as they arise, find the answer, and move on.
- There’s a chance you’re using research to procrastinate writing. Try stopping the research and writing anyway. If the insecurity persists, ask more specific questions in the research.
Beta readers may be the best judges of your research. If they question the validity of your fictional world, it’s worth your time to check your research. Also, if your readers feel they’ve been lectured, you may have researched more than necessary.
My preference is to over-research rather than under-research. Although, it is painful to acquire an entirely new encyclopedia of knowledge only to cut 90% of it in edits. All you get for your obsessive research is the satisfaction of knowing. The time is lost.
The next problem is how to use your research without the “info dump”. In some genres, readers expect some long explanations. Fantasy readers will excuse long descriptions of new worlds, for example. In other genres, you risk either condescending to the reader or pulling them out of the story to teach them something.
To avoid the info dump:
- Introduce small bits of information at a time. Decide how much information your reader needs for this moment. Add no more and no less. The information should be a natural product of a character’s thought or speech.
- Sometimes it is useful to have a character who is new to the field who will not understand everything that is happening. This makes conversations about the new material seem normal. Children are also useful in this capacity. Journalists, if you can place one in your story without destroying your momentum, can ask questions your reader can’t.
- Consider that it is sometimes okay if the reader doesn’t understand every word of jargon or every new concept. It may not effect the story at all if the reader misses a word or two. Let it go.
- Assume your reader is intelligent. If she’s interested in your story, she’ll gather clues and reach conclusions. She may have to stop and use a dictionary, but she’ll forgive you. What she won’t forgive is an explanation of something she already knows.
As for all the research you’ll never get to share, maybe it will help you win a trivia game someday. Many Jeopardy contestants have written books. It’s not surprising.
