Ask a Published Author: "How much research do I have to do for my novel?"

Ari Marmell wrote his first novel while studying at the University of Houston, one that he now charitably calls a “learning experience." Today, Ari works as a novelist and a freelance writer for roleplaying games. He lives in Austin with his wife, George, and two cats.

Before I start NaNo or Camp NaNo, I think I’ve done all the research I need to do, but then when I start writing I realize that to move the plot forward accurately, I need to do more research. Have I not spent enough time up front? Do I just need to let it go until after the month is over? I just cringe at the thought of some Future Reader writing me hate mail because I got a fact wrong. Advice, please! — garretwriter

This happens to me all the time. I get paranoid about getting a fact wrong. I recently wrote a book set in 1932, and I actually found myself looking up the date of the full moon in March of that year, rather than making it up. But… that’s not necessary. It’s possible to do too little research, but it’s also possible to do too much.

At the end of the day, you’re an author. You’re not a physicist. Or a historian. Or a programmer. Or a military tactician. There are people who have spent lifetimes studying these topics. No amount of research is going to let you get all the details right that they might have. If you try, you’ll drive yourself crazy, or never start writing in the first place.

What I recommend is the Average Reader Rule. If your research is sufficient to convince the average reader, that’s enough; it doesn’t have to convince the expert. You can certainly shoot for higher than that—there’s a wide gray area in-between—but that’s the bar.

As far as up-front… It’s very unlikely you can do all the research in advance. You’ll absolutely come across questions you didn’t think to ask. Don’t be afraid to stop and look something up—if it’s important, and if it’s something you can look up relatively quickly. If one or the other of those is not the case, you might be better served putting it aside and making a note to come back to it.

Thing is, there’s no hard and fast rule. Some things are good to look up immediately, others can wait. There’s really no determining factor, beyond general guidelines, except for practice.

I can tell you that, if you’re interrupting your writing every few minutes, or if you’re taking hours-long breaks, you’re probably better off either holding off until rewrites, or else devoting another day or two to research alone.

It also helps if you have a spouse/partner who enjoys looking things up. ;-)

Next week’s head counselor will be James R. Strickland, Wrimo, and author of science-fiction and cyberpunk novels, including  Looking Glass .

Ask him your questions here!