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As an author, how important is research?
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message 51:
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Noree
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Apr 25, 2013 06:57PM
Research is very important. I'm a big nerd so I love doing it. For my novel, A Prescription for Delirium, I researched things from demons, werewolves, mental illness, to what can be used as modern lock picks.
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R.M.F.: I would say the research is important so the author knows what they're writing about, however, all that research doesn't need to be in the book. Writers don't need to punish the reader for the work they had to do.
Noree wrote: "R.M.F.: I would say the research is important so the author knows what they're writing about, however, all that research doesn't need to be in the book. Writers don't need to punish the reader for ..."Fair point. Myself, I tend to make it up as I go along!
R.M.F wrote: "Noree wrote: "R.M.F.: I would say the research is important so the author knows what they're writing about, however, all that research doesn't need to be in the book. Writers don't need to punish t..."Making it up works too. :) As long as you make it sound awesome.
It's a must. If the story is taking place on Earth, then the writer has to have some facts to make it feel real for the reader. Anything else and it will be paper thin. But the key is not to bog the story down with fluffy facts. :)
I feel it is crucial, especially if you write novels with a plot surrounded by history, like I do. Readers are intelligent and will know right off if the author hasn't done enough homework.
I love researching for books. For every page of story, I generally have dozens of pages of things I've read about in the background, especially in my new series which weaves historical fact with fiction. In the opening chapters of Vampire Origins, I actually take the assassination of the Romanov family in Russia and give it a vampire twist. But I kept a lot of fact in it - even down to the speech Yakov gave just before he pulled the trigger that killed Nicolai Romanov.
Too sum up: 1) research is important, but should never be used to cover up bad writing and 2) a good story with bad research will always trump a bad story with good research 3) ignore what I say :)There are no rules to writing a book.
Noree wrote: "R.M.F wrote: "Noree wrote: "R.M.F.: I would say the research is important so the author knows what they're writing about, however, all that research doesn't need to be in the book. Writers don't ne..."Can't agree with Noree's comment! If something is wrong, it jerks me out of the story. I think research is vital - not as part of the writing but as part of the re-writing. That's when you MUST make sure your facts are right.
