To Research or Not to Research

You might be a pantser; you might be a planner; you might be somewhere in between. No matter how you prepare to write your novel, many recommend you do your research before you start, especially if you’re writing about something unfamiliar. Today, writer Jill Shirley shares her list of pros and cons of pre-writing research:

50k words in 30 days. 1667 words a day. You still have to eat, and shower,
and probably work your real job every day, too. Take care of the kids, make
dinner, order takeout. You don’t have time to research for your NaNo novel
amongst all that.

Or do you?

I’ve done stories during NaNoWriMo that required little to no research (my first NaNo was a story set in the same universe as my epic-fairy-tale-I’ve-been writing-since-college), and I’ve done ones that I felt like I had to heavily research, like the one I set in Ancient Egypt and was determined to get as accurate as possible. 

Both methods have helped me reach 50k, but some of you might be wondering about the pros and cons of doing a deep dive into research:

Pro: You get the details just right! The way that landmark looks or is situated, the bathing habits of ancient peoples, what they ate. You, therefore, avoid situations where you accidentally put a landlocked city next to the sea (looking at you, Willy Shakes).Con: It eats up precious time you could be using to, you know, write down words. 

Pro: You’re procrastinating, but you’re PURPOSEFULLY procrastinating.
Con: You’re purposefully procrastinating.

Pro: The internet gives you so many research options - scientific papers, climate and flora and fauna reports on different regions, baby name trends, famous people’s biographies and quotes.
Con: Despite all those options you’ll probably still use Wikipedia. 

At the end of the day, it’s up to you whether or not you research! There are  ways around the cons, like doing your research on your work breaks, or carving out one hour a day for research. Just make sure the research you’re doing really is in service of the story, and not just about procrastination.

One more thing: Wikipedia is admittedly an easy source of information, but use caution and double check references if it’s necessary. If it helps you write down more words and aids you in moving the story forward, do it! If you feel like it’s holding you back, though, save your research for the editing phase. 

Either way, as with all things NaNo, don’t forget to have fun while you’re doing it!

Jill Shirley is a future famous author stuck in a retail worker’s body. Besides
writing, she designs jewelry for her Etsy shop, maintains a jewelry-focused
Wordpress blog, is active in the MN cosplay scene, and puts makeup on her
face, photographs it, and puts it on Instagram for fun. She would be tickled pink
if you followed her endeavors!

Photo by Elijah Hail on Unsplash.