Is Research Necessary?
The devil is in the details, or so they say! If you are writing a novel, especially a genre novel, then you need to be aware of the details of your work. Getting the smaller stuff right will allow you to have a more convincing bigger-picture. So, what is the best way to have believable details in your work? The answer is research, research, research! You might think that Speculative Fiction is… well, speculative, but there are certain bits and pieces that will need to seem authentic in order for your readers to believe the story.
Research for Fantasy
When you are writing fantasy, start with the obvious – the environment. This will come into your world building (to read more about world building, click here) which will probably happen at the beginning of your project. It is a good idea to research climate, vegetation, farming and so on, in order to build a believable background for your story. This is especially important if you will have your characters travelling a lot. Next you should research town planning and cities. Look at historical cities from ancient times or medieval times, as these can give you a good idea as to what could be made without advanced technology.
If your novel will feature wars and battle, then researching weapons and armour will help you too. While you are at it, have a look at population and army sizes. There is nothing less believable than an army 2 million strong travelling across the world – they need to be clothed, armed, sheltered and fed, and to do this would be a logistical miracle!
Research for Science Fiction
Science fiction is a genre that often requires sound knowledge of (you guessed it) science. But you don’t need to have a degree to be able to write good sci-fi! If you know very little about the subject, start by reading general knowledge, such as what you will find in science magazines. These will help you to get a good grasp on science, and you might also find inspiration for plots within their pages!
Once you have done this, you can start to look at specific subjects. These will vary greatly depending on what your specific plot is. If you will have space travel in your novel, then look into rocket science, to see what can currently be done and what is projected for the future. If you are concerned with artificial intelligence, then do some research into robotics to give you a better understanding of what the current technology is like. Looking at the technology that is available right now will often help you to better predict what this will evolve into in the future.
General Research
Regardless of what type of SF you are writing, there is research to be done! Consider researching human biology, and psychology (providing that your characters are human!), in order to get a better grasp on human nature. You might also want to look at societal structures to help you to build a believable hierarchy in your novel. Whatever you are writing about, these are the sorts of things that will add that something extra to your novel, and make your readers all the more captivated.
Choose one aspect of your book that could use some extra details, such as weapons, sea faring, ship mechanics and so on. Now, search for that topic using the following pages:
- www.google.com
- www.wikipedia.org
- www.yahoo.com
Your aim is to find 5 facts about this subject that you did not know previously.
Next, look at your outline or your story and see if there is anywhere that you can add these facts to make your story more convincing. It is likely that there are many points in your book in which details can add depth, and you will probably want to find even more facts that you can throw in for believeability!
