Pebblepup's Writing Den

Imagination can only take you so far. For most stories, you only need to do a small amount of research. How much research you need to do depends on the story. If you are writing a story based in the world around us, you only need to research enough to be believable.

If you choose to use a fictional town for your story to take place in, you don’t need to do much. All you need to do is ensure that the climate and weather is correct for the general region. But, if you choose to write historical fiction, make sure you research the time and place your story is set in. Most people won’t notice little mistakes, but make no mistake, there will be someone who will notice.

The same is true for hard science fiction. Do not disobey the laws of physics. That’s something you must be careful with. Do enough research to cover your story’s believability. You don’t need to do Ph.d level research, but you do need to do some.

Your story dictates how much research you need to do. Fantasy takes the least amount. You should know folklore about the various mythical people and beasts you use in your story. Elves come in two types, dark and light. Fairies weren’t as nice as you think.

Doing a bit of research will help you with the plot of your story. For example, werewolves and vampires as mortal enemies is a modern construct. Traditional vampires can’t come out in the daylight. Know what the folklore is before you write. Only then can you change things and not make your readers think you are an idiot.

That said, changing folklore is fine, as long as the way you change it makes sense in the framework of your story. Can vampires come out during the day? If you want them to, yes, mention somewhere that folklore got it wrong.
You need to know the rules before you break them. You can even twist them if you wish. Vampires are evil. You can make yours good. You get the idea.

Do your vampires sparkle like the ones in the Twilight series? I have a problem with that. I mean, why would they sparkle? What does that even mean?

Traditional werewolves turn at the full of the moon. I’ve often wonder if the new moon also cause them to turn. Shifters arose from authors who wanted their werewolves to have more control. Again, know the rules before you break them. You might find you either don’t need to break them or you might decide not to break them.

Science fiction, such as Star Wars or Star Trek, have elements of fantasy, but also a good dollop of science. Make sure you know the science that lies under your plot. Suppose you make your character venture outside a spacecraft in space. Do not allow them to do that without suitable protection. If you go into space, unprotected, you will die. That’s something most people know. They might think that, as long as you have breathable air, you’ll be fine. That’s not true. Know that before you choose to put someone outside a spacecraft in flight.

Learn what you need to learn before you create your plot. It can mean the difference between a successful plot and one that falls apart. You don’t want to pop your readers out of the story. So do as much research as you think you need to do and you will be fine. Good luck and keep writing.