research on novel

Novel : A Forum on Fiction

Novel  is a peer-reviewed journal devoted to the best new criticism and theory in novel studies. The journal was founded in 1967 at Brown University for the purpose of promoting new approaches to the study of the novel. It succeeded in inaugurating new theoretical and critical discourses about fiction by publishing the work of such scholars and critics as Wayne Booth, Jonathan Culler, Leslie Fiedler, Jane Gallop, Gerard Genette, Sandra Gilbert, Susan Gubar, Wolfgang Iser, Fredric Jameson, Frank Kermode, J. Hillis Miller, Edward Said, Ian Watt, and Raymond Williams.

View Current & Past Issues

Society for Novel Studies

The Society for Novel Studies (SNS) exists to further the study of the novel as a genre and to examine the role of fiction in engaging, formulating, and shaping the world.

Members of the SNS share an interest in the novel as a historical and contemporary phenomenon, as a genre continually open to change and experimentation, and as a national, regional, transnational, and global form. The society’s membership is occupied in researching individual works of fiction and their writers and in engaging in critical study of the theoretical questions posed by the writing, reading, translation, distribution, and consumption of novels.

Read More about SNS

• Subscriptions
• Submissions
• Executive Board
• Constitution
• 2023 conference
• 2020 Conference
• 2018 Conference
• 2016 Conference
• Novel Dialogue
• Novel Project

Table of Contents

Tip 1: Start with Your Positioning and Outline

Tip 2: make a research plan, tip 3: ask the internet, tip 4: read books, tip 5: talk to experts, tip 6: collect survey data, tip 7: keep everything organized.

• Tip 8: Set a Deadline & Stop Early

Tip 9: Write the First Draft

How to conduct research for your book: 9 tips that work.

If you’re like many first-time nonfiction writers, you’ve probably wondered, “How do I research for my book?”

I get this question a lot, and there are plenty of tips I can share. But before I dive into it, I’m going to throw you a curveball:

Don’t assume you have to do research for your book.

Because the purpose of nonfiction is to help the reader solve a problem or create change in their life (or both) by sharing what you know. If you can do this without a lot of research, then don’t do research.

We’ve had many Authors who knew their topic so inside and out that they didn’t need research. That is perfectly fine. They still wrote incredible books.

When it boils down to it, there are only 2 reasons to do research for your book:

• You know enough to write the book, but you want to add sources and citations to make the book more persuasive to a specific audience.
• You don’t know enough, and you need to learn more to make the book complete.

We’ve had many Authors who–despite knowing their stuff–wanted to include additional data, expert opinions, or testimonials to ensure that readers would find their arguments credible. This is important to consider if you’re writing for a scientific or technical audience that expects you to cite evidence.

Likewise, we see many Authors who know their industry but have a few knowledge gaps they’d like to fill in order to make their arguments more robust.

In fact, that’s the whole key to understanding how much research you should do. Ask yourself:

What evidence does a reader need to believe your argument is credible and trustworthy?

Research can be complicated, though. Many Authors don’t know where to start, and they get bogged down in the details. Which, of course, derails the book writing process and stalls them–or worse, it stops them from finishing.

The bad news? There’s no “right way” to make a book research plan.

The good news? The basic research tips apply for either person.

In this post, I’ll give you 9 effective research tips that will help you build a stronger, more convincing book.

More importantly, these tips will also show you how to get through the research process without wasting time.

9 Research Tips for Writing Your Book

Don’t jump into research blindly. Treat it like any other goal. Plan, set a schedule, and follow through.

Here are 9 tips that will help you research effectively.

Before you start researching or writing, you need to figure out two main things: your audience and your message.

This is called book positioning , and it’s an essential part of the book writing process.

Your job as an Author is to convince readers that your book will help them solve their problems.

Every piece of research you include in the book–whether it’s a survey, pie chart, or expert testimonial–should help you accomplish that.

Once your positioning is clear, you can put together your book outline.

Your outline is a comprehensive guide to everything in your book, and it is your best defense against procrastination, fear, and all the other problems writers face . It’s crucial if you don’t want to waste time on research you don’t need.

With an outline, you’ll already know what kind of data you need, where your information gaps are, and what kinds of sources might help you support your claims.

We’ve put together a free outline template to make the process even easier.

All this to say: without solid positioning and a comprehensive outline, you’ll wander. You’ll write, throw it away, write some more, get frustrated, and eventually, give up.

You’ll never finish a draft, much less publish your book .

If you don’t know your subject well enough to figure out your positioning and make a good outline, it means you don’t know enough to write that book—at least not right now.

Your plan will vary widely depending on whether you are:

• An expert who knows your field well
• Someone who needs to learn more about your field before writing about it

The majority of you are writing a book because you’re experts. So most of the information you need will already be in your head.

If you’re an expert, your research plan is probably going to be short, to the point, and about refreshing your memory or filling small gaps.

If you’re a non-expert, your research plan is probably going to be much longer. It could entail interviewing experts, reading lots of books and articles, and surveying the whole field you are writing about.

The outline should highlight those places where your book will need more information.

Are there any places where you don’t have the expertise to back up your claims?

What key takeaways require more evidence?

Would the book be stronger if you had another person’s point of view?

These are the kinds of gaps that research can fill.

Go back through your outline and find the places where you know you need more information. Next to each one, brainstorm ways you might fulfill that need.

For example, let’s say you’re writing a book that includes a section on yoga’s health benefits. Even if you’re a certified yoga instructor, you may not know enough physiology to explain the health benefits clearly.

Where could you find that information?

• Ask a medical expert
• A book on yoga and medicine
• A website that’s well respected in your field
• A study published in a medical journal

You don’t have to get too specific here. The point is to highlight where you need extra information and give yourself leads about where you might find it. ​

The kinds of research you need will vary widely, depending on what kind of nonfiction book you’re writing.

For example, if you’re giving medical advice for other experts, you’ll likely want to substantiate it with peer-reviewed, professional sources.

If you’re explaining how to grow a company, you might refer to statistics from your own company or recount specific anecdotes about other successful companies.

If you’re writing a memoir, you won’t need any quantitative data. You might simply talk with people from your past to fill in some gaps or use sources like Wikipedia to gather basic facts.

Different subject matter calls for different sources. If you’re having trouble figuring out what sources your subject needs, ask yourself the same question as above:

Ask yourself what evidence does a reader need to believe your argument is credible and trustworthy?

Generally speaking, an expert can do their research before they start writing, during, or even after (depending on what they need).

If you’re a non-expert, you should do your research before you start writing because what you learn will form the basis of the book.

It may sound obvious, but the internet is a powerful research tool and a great place to start. But proceed with caution: the internet can also be one of the greatest sources of misinformation.

If you’re looking for basic info, like for fact-checking, it’s fantastic.

If you’re looking for academic information, like scientific studies, it can be useful. (You might hit some paywalls, but the information will be there.)

If you’re looking for opinions, they’ll be abundant.

Chances are, though, as you look for all these things, you’re going to come across a lot of misleading sources—or even some that straight-up lie.

Here are some tips for making sure your internet research is efficient and effective:

• Use a variety of search terms to find what you need. For example, if you’re looking for books on childhood development, you might start with basic terms like “childhood development,” “child psychology,” or “social-emotional learning.”
• As you refine your knowledge, refine your searches. A second round of research might be more specific, like “Piaget’s stages of development” or “Erikson’s psychosocial theories.”
• Don’t just stop with the first result on Google. Many people don’t look past the first few results in a Google search. That’s fine if you’re looking for a recipe or a Wikipedia article, but the best research sources don’t always have the best SEO. Look for results that seem thorough or reputable, not just popular.
• Speaking of Wikipedia, don’t automatically trust it. It can be a great place to start if you’re looking for basic facts or references, but remember, it’s crowd-sourced. That means it’s not always accurate. Get your bearings on Wikipedia, then look elsewhere to verify any information you’re going to cite.
• Make sure your data is coming from a reputable source. Google Scholar, Google Books, and major news outlets like NPR, BBC, etc. are safe bets. If you don’t recognize the writer, outlet, or website, you’re going to have to do some digging to find out if you can trust them.
• Verify the credentials of the Author before you trust the site. People often assume that anything with a .edu domain is reputable. It’s not. You might be reading some college freshman’s last-minute essay on economics. If it’s a professor, you’re probably safe.

Using a few random resources from the internet is not equivalent to conducting comprehensive research.

If you want to dive deeper into a topic, books are often your best resources.

They’re reliable because they’re often fact-checked, peer-reviewed, or vetted. You know you can trust them.

Many Authors are directly influenced by other books in their field. If you’re familiar with any competing books, those are a great place to start.

Use the internet to find the best books in each field, and then dive into those.

Your book will have a different spin from the ones already out there, but think of it this way: you’re in the same conversation, which means you’ll probably have many of the same points of reference.

Check out the bibliographies or footnotes in those books. You might find sources that are useful for your own project.

You might want to buy the books central to your research. But if you aren’t sure if something’s going to be useful, hold off on hitting Amazon’s “one-click buy.”

Many Authors underestimate the power of their local libraries. Even if they don’t have the book you’re looking for, many libraries participate in extensive interlibrary loan programs. You can often have the books you need sent to your local branch.

Librarians are also indispensable research resources. Many universities have subject-specific research librarians who are willing to help you find sources, even if you aren’t a student.

Research doesn’t always require the internet or books. Sometimes you need an answer, story, or quotation from a real person.

But make sure you have a decent understanding of your field BEFORE you go to experts with your questions.

I’m an expert at writing nonfiction books, so I speak from personal experience. It’s annoying as hell when people come to you with questions without having done at least a little research on the topic beforehand—especially when you already have a 3,000 word blog post about it.

Experts love it when you’ve done some research and can speak their language. They hate it when you ask them to explain fundamentals.

But once you find a good expert, it condenses your learning curve by at least 10x.

To figure out who you need to talk to, think about the kind of nonfiction book you’re writing.

Is it a book about your own business, products, or methods? You may want to include client stories or testimonials.

In Driven , Doug Brackmann relied on his experience with clients to teach highly driven people how to master their gifts.

Is it a book that requires expert knowledge outside your own area of expertise (for example, a doctor, IT specialist, lawyer, or business coach)? You might want to ask them to contribute brief passages or quotations for your book.

Colin Dombroski did exactly that for his book The Plantar Fasciitis Plan . He consulted with various colleagues, each of whom contributed expert advice for readers to follow.

It’s much easier to contact people who are already in your network. If you don’t personally know someone, ask around. Someone you already know may be able to connect you with the perfect expert.

If that doesn’t work out, you can always try the cold call method. Send a polite email that briefly but clearly explains what your book is about and why you’re contacting them.

If you do this, though, do your research first. Know the person’s name. Don’t use “To whom it may concern.” Know their specialty. Know exactly what type of information you’re seeking. Basically, know why they are the person you want to feature in your book.

Some Authors like to collect surveys for their books. This is very optional, and it’s only applicable in certain books, so don’t assume you need this.

But if you want to include a section in your book that includes how people feel about something (for example, to back up a point you’re making), you might want to have survey data.

You might have access to data you can already cite. The internet is full of data: infographics, Pew data, Nielsen ratings, scholarly research, surveys conducted by private companies.

If you don’t have access to data, you can conduct your own surveys with an online platform like SurveyMonkey. Here’s how:

• Consider your research goals. What are you trying to learn?
• Formulate the survey questions. Most people prefer short, direct survey questions. They’re also more likely to answer multiple-choice questions.
• Invite participants. If you want a reliable survey, it’s best to get as many participants as possible. Surveying three family members won’t tell you much.
• Collect and analyze the data.

That will work for more informal purposes, but surveys are a science unto themselves. If you require a lot of data, want a large sample size, or need high statistical accuracy, it’s better to hire pros. Quantitative data is more effective and trustworthy when it’s properly conducted.

Don’t go overboard with statistics, though. Not all books need quantitative data. There are many other ways to convince readers to listen to your message.

Organize your research as you go. I can’t stress this enough.

If you research for months on end, you might end up with dozens of articles, quotations, or anecdotes. That’s a lot of material.

If you have to dig through every single piece when you want to use something, it’ll take you years to write.

Don’t rely on your memory, either. Three months down the line, you don’t want to ask, “Where did I find this piece of information?” or “Where did that quotation come from?”

I suggest creating a research folder on your computer where you collect everything.

Inside the main folder, create subfolders for each individual chapter (or even each individual subsection of your chapters). This is where your outline will come in handy.

In each folder, collect any pdfs, notes, or images relevant to that section.

Every time you download or save something, give the file a clear name.

Immediately put it into the correct folder. If you wait, you might not remember which part of your book you found it useful for.

Also, be sure to collect the relevant citation information:

• Author’s name
• Title of the book, article, etc.
• The outlet it appeared in (e.g., BBC or Wired) or, if it’s a book, the publisher
• The date it was published
• The page number or hyperlink

If you have photocopies or handwritten notes, treat them the same way. Label them, file them, and add the necessary citation information. This will save you a lot of time when you sit down to write.

Some Authors use programs like Scrivener or Evernote to keep track of their research. I personally use the software program Notion, which is similar to Evernote.

These programs allow you to collect references, notes, images, and even drafts, all in one convenient place.

They save you from having to create your own digital organizational system. They also make it easier to consult documents without opening each file individually.

Once you’ve got a system in place, don’t forget: back up your data. Put it on the cloud, an external hard drive, or both. There’s nothing worse than spending hours on research just to have it disappear when your computer crashes.

All of this takes time, and it may seem tedious. But trust me, it’s a lot more tedious when you’re racing toward your publication deadline, and you’re hunting down random data you quoted in your book.

Tip 8: Set a Deadline & Stop Early

Research is one of the most common ways Authors procrastinate.

When they’re afraid of writing or hit roadblocks, they often say, “Well, I just need to do a little more research…”

Fast-forward two years, and they’re still stuck in the same spiral of self-doubt and research.

Don’t fall into that trap. Learn when to stop.

When I’m writing, I set a research deadline and then stop EARLY. It’s a great way to beat procrastination , and it makes me feel like I’m ahead of the curve.

Here’s the thing: there’s always going to be more information out there. You could keep researching forever.

But then you’d never finish the book—which was the point of the research in the first place.

Plus, excessive research doesn’t make better books . No one wants to read six test cases when one would have worked.

You want to have enough data to convincingly make your case, but not so much that your readers get bogged down by all the facts.

So how will you know when you’ve done enough?

When you have enough data, anecdotes, and examples to address every point on your outline.

Your outline is your guide. Once it’s filled in, STOP .

Remember, the goal of data is to support your claims. You’re trying to make a case for readers, not bludgeon them with facts.

If you feel like you have to go out of your way to prove your points, you have 1 of 2 problems:

• You’re not confident enough in your points, or
• You’re not confident enough in your readers’ ability to understand your claims.

If you’re having the first problem, you may need to go back and adjust your arguments. All the research in the world won’t help support a weak claim.

If you’re having the second problem, ask yourself, If I knew nothing about this subject, what would it take to convince me? Follow through on your answer and trust that it’s enough.

When you think you have enough research, start writing your vomit draft.

If it turns out you’re missing small pieces of information, that’s okay. Just make a note of it. Those parts are easy to go back and fill in later.

Notice: I said “later.” Once you start writing, stop researching.

If you stop writing your first draft to look for more sources, you’ll break the flow of your ideas.

Research and writing are two completely different modes of thinking. Most people can’t switch fluidly between them.

Just get the first draft done.

Remember, the first draft is exactly that—the first draft. There will be many more versions in the future.

It’s okay to leave notes to yourself as you go along. Just be sure to leave yourself a way to find them easily later.

I recommend changing the font color or highlighting your comments to yourself in the draft. You can even use different colors: one for missing data and another for spots you need to fact-check.

You can also use the “insert comment” feature on Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or any other writing software you prefer.

Another useful tip is to simply type “TK.” There’s no word in the English language where those two letters appear together. That means, when you’re ready to go back through your draft, you can use the “Find” option (Control+F). It will take you back to all the spots you marked.

Whatever method you choose, don’t stop writing.

Also, don’t worry about how “good” or “bad” it is at this point. No one ever wrote an amazing first draft. Not even bestselling Authors.

Just keep at it until you have a complete first draft.

That won’t be hard because you won’t be missing any huge pieces. The whole point of the outline was to zero in on exactly what you want to write for the exact audience you want to reach. If you followed that outline when you researched, you’ll be able to stay on track during the writing process.

The Scribe Crew

Read this next.

Authors Receive Authority – What does ‘The Medium Is the Message’ Really Mean?

Audiobooks: Who Benefits Most and Why Authors Should Consider Them

When Should You Hire a Ghostwriter for a Business Book?

How to organize research for your novel

Follow this step-by-step guide to learn the modern process of organizing research in Milanote, a free tool used by top creatives.

How to organize your research in 7 easy steps

Whether you're writing a sci-fi thriller or historical fiction, research is a crucial step in the early writing process. It's a springboard for new ideas and can add substance and authenticity to your story. As author Robert McKee says "when you do enough research, the story almost writes itself. Lines of development spring loose and you'll have choices galore."

But collecting research can be messy. It's often scattered between emails, notes, documents, and even photos on your phone making it hard to see the full picture. When you bring your research into one place and see things side-by-side, new ideas and perspectives start to emerge.

In this guide, you'll learn the modern approach to collecting and organizing research for your novel using Milanote. Remember, the creative process is non-linear, so you may find yourself moving back and forth between the steps as you go.

1. First, add any existing notes

You probably know a lot about your chosen topic or location already. Start by getting the known facts and knowledge out of your head. Even if these topics seem obvious to you, they can serve as a bridge to the rest of your research. You might include facts about the location, period, fashion or events that take place in your story.

Create a new board to collect your research.

Create a new board

Drag a board out from the toolbar. Give it a name, then double click to open it.

Add a note to capture your existing knowledge on the topic.

Drag a note card onto your board

Start typing then use the formatting tools in the left hand toolbar.

2. Save links to articles & news

Wikipedia, blogs, and news websites are a goldmine for researchers. It's here you'll find historical events and records, data, and opinions about your topic. We're in the 'collecting' phase so just save links to any relevant information you stumble across. You can return and read the details at a later stage.

Drag a link card onto your board to save a website.

Install the  Milanote Web Clipper

Save websites and articles straight to your board. 

Save content from the web

With the Web Clipper installed, save a website, image or text. Choose the destination in Milanote. Return to your board and find the content in the "Unsorted" column on the right.

3. Save quotes & data

Quotes are a great way to add credibility and bring personality to your topic. They're also a handy source of inspiration for character development, especially if you're trying to match the language used in past periods. Remember to keep the source of the quote in case you need to back it up.

Add a note to capture a quote.

4. Collect video & audio

Video and movie clips can help you understand a mood or feeling in a way that words sometimes can't. Try searching for your topic or era on Vimeo , or Youtube . Podcasts are another great reference. Find conversations about your topic on Spotify or any podcast platform and add them into the mix.

Embed Youtube videos or audio in a board. 

Embed Youtube videos or audio tracks in a board

Copy the share link from Youtube, Vimeo, Soundcloud or many other services. Drag a link card onto your board, paste your link and press enter.

5. Collect important images

Sometimes the quickest way to understand a topic is with an image. They can transport you to another time or place and can help you describe things in much more detail. They're also easier to scan when you return to your research. Try saving images from Google Images , Pinterest , or Milanote's built-in image library.

Use the built-in image library. 

Use the built-in image library

Search over 500,000 beautiful photos powered by Unsplash then drag images straight onto your board.

Save images from other websites straight to your board. 

Roll over an image (or highlight text), click Save, then choose the destination in Milanote. Return to your board and find the content in the "Unsorted" column on the right.

Allow yourself the time to explore every corner of your topic. As author A.S. Byatt says "the more research you do, the more at ease you are in the world you're writing about. It doesn't encumber you, it makes you free".

6. Collect research on the go

You never know where or when you'll find inspiration—it could strike you in the shower, or as you're strolling the aisles of the grocery store. So make sure you have an easy way to capture things on the go. As creative director Grace Coddington said, "Always keep your eyes open. Keep watching. Because whatever you see can inspire you."

Download the  Milanote mobile app

Save photos straight to your Research board. 

Take photos on the go

Shoot or upload photos directly to your board. When you return to a bigger screen you'll find them in the "Unsorted" column of the board.

7. Connect the dots

Now that you have all your research in one place, it's time to start drawing insights and conclusions. Laying out your notes side-by-side is the best way to do this. You might see how a quote from an interviewee adds a personal touch to some data you discovered earlier. This is the part of the process where you turn a collection of disparate information into your unique perspective on the topic.

That's a great start!

Research is an ongoing process and you'll probably continue learning about your topic throughout your writing journey. Reference your research as you go to add a unique perspective to your story. Use the template below to start your research or read our full guide on how to plan a novel .

Start your research

Get started for free with one of Milanote's beautiful templates.

Sign up for free with no time limit

How To Research Your Novel – A Step-By-Step Guide

Are you ready to start your novel? Do you want to make it believable? Not all stories are scientifically sound, but even ones with magic or set in futuristic worlds have a sense of reality that captures their readers. Research is a major part of making any story feel life-like, but it isn’t always easy to know where to start. This guide will show you how!

How to begin researching

Before you start, you need to decide the overall theme or topic of your novel. Do you want to share a life lesson? Do you want to capture a sense of horror? Maybe you want to tell a story about a relationship or a historical event. 

You might have an idea what you want to write about already. Whether you do or not, take a moment to ask yourself these questions:

What kind of story do I want to tell?

Is it centered around a real-world experience?

Will it be set in a fictional world or reality?

What genre will it fall in?

Who is your target audience?

Who are the main characters?

If you have all of the answers for these already, great job! But if not, don’t worry. You don’t need them all just yet. You will find the answers as you continue through this guide. 

Let’s take the questions one at a time.

This focuses on the theme or topic of your story. It could also mean the atmosphere – is this a comfort story? Something to disturb your readers? Something to provoke thought? 

Maybe you want to talk about the effects of pent up thoughts to the human psyche. Or perhaps you want to share a comedic allegory. Whatever it may be, it is what will make your story a story.

Take some time and look at your favorite films, TV series, and novels. What do you love so much about them? What are they about? What message do they tell? Do you see a common theme between them? 

Use this information to decide where you’d like your own story to go.

This could be anything from a small interaction you had with someone to a historical event. 

While that sounds like it only applies to non-fiction novels, it doesn’t have to. A real-world experience can be translated into an essence or idea – for example, Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game is about military strategy and economic tensions between humans and an alien race, but it is inspired by Cold War tensions between the U.S. and Soviet Union after WWII.

You get to decide. 

Are you the type of person who finds a setting is essential to the story, and loves reading about details of places in books? Do you like the idea of making up your own cultures, norms, or an alternative society? If yes, fictional world-building might just be your thing.

If you prefer to keep it in the real world, keep in mind the time period* and location you are aiming for. Placing a smartphone in 1854 wouldn’t work, unless you were writing alternative historical fiction.

On that note, you can also place your story in the “real world” but make changes yourself. Many stories include cities and towns that don’t actually exist. Others are inspired by real places. Veronica Roth’s Divergent series is placed in a dystopian version of Chicago, Illinois – completely unrecognizable from the real city.

*If you do choose to write historical fiction, spend some time researching the years your story will span. Focus on the customs, beliefs, and lifestyles people had back then. Take lots of notes. Set up a timeline of events to help guide your story. Feel free to reach out to experts for specific questions or even read a diary or two from someone who lived during that time.

This question might not be answered until you’ve completed your novel. It can be tricky. There are so many options to choose from, and many niches and subgenres.

If you run into trouble defining which genre your story actually falls into, take a look at genre descriptions like this one for more information. If your story contains elements of multiple genres, select the one it has the most of as the one to define it, or research if there is a subgenre that combines them. 

Maybe you want to have this answered before you even start. In that case, look at genre charts now and understand what types of themes and characters occur in each one. This will help you get an idea of what kind of conflict your story will have, what the characters will be like, and what your audience will expect.

Your target audience goes hand-in-hand with your chosen genre. Are you trying to attract mystery-lovers? Horror enthusiasts?

But it also includes certain demographics. Are you writing romance for middle-aged, single women? Self-help for college students? Moral lessons for tweens? 

Select an age range that might be interested in your story. Then, break it down into more demographics if necessary – occupation, interests, income level. 

You don’t want to write a novel about your fixer-upper journey and how you became debt-free at the age of 32 for retired millionaires. That would be for young adults (just-graduated high school students entering the workforce, college students, young newlyweds) looking to gain independence, buy their first house, pay off loans, and start a new hobby or source of income.

Write down each character and start defining who they are – their personalities, their motivations, their conflicts. 

It may help you to do a quick Google search for character charts . They are often a good character-building practice and can help guide you when you feel lost.  Many of them include details you won’t need in your novel, but they can help you get to know your characters better.

A good reader will notice when there are unseen details about your characters that they might not know, but you do. Whether you realize it or not, those details will bleed into your story. They make your characters feel much more alive.

Continuing your research

As you dive into the details of your story, you’ll want to make sure the information you collect is accurate, relevant, and from trustworthy sources.

When conducting your research, be sure to use reputable sources and cross-reference your facts. This can be especially important for a work of historical fiction, science fiction, or even fantasy. 

Get in contact with an expert – not only will they give you useful information and confirm details, but they can offer a different perspective. If one of your characters is a geologist, talking to a geologist and getting their opinion on your character wouldn’t hurt. 

When you’re ready, have other people read your novel and ask them for feedback. You do a lot while writing – you won’t catch everything on your own. Readers can help you find any plot holes or inaccuracies.

Writing a novel can be hard work and it’s easy to fall into a rabbit hole while learning about new and interesting things. You can make sure you stay on track while gathering information by setting up a timeline or map of your research. Take lots of notes and write down the source of any information you gather to reference back to later.

Start with your characters. Follow a character chart to learn about their personalities, goals, and motivations. The more you understand your characters, the easier it will be to tailor your research to their stories. Then, move on to your setting. Know the location, the climate, the culture. These details will help you fill in your own story and you gather more information.

Trustworthy

You don’t want to have false facts in your story. To get the most out of your research, consider looking at primary sources like diaries, newspaper articles, or interviews with people who experienced something first-hand or are an expert in their field. You can also find credible secondary sources in books, research papers, videos, and even blog posts.

Researching a believable novel

After following these steps, your novel should be believable. The key is relevancy. 

For example, if you’re writing a crime novel, look into the criminal justice system. Interview a judge or a police officer. Read up on past crimes to study criminal patterns. Read reports from psychologists to learn different mindsets and apply them to a character. 

Focus on your characters and setting, and conduct your research based on what you know about them. Be open to asking questions and always learning more.

And most importantly, have fun with it!

Register with Next Chapters for free!

Join next chapters for free.

Come write this novel with everyone!  Register with the form below and you will automatically receive access to this crowdsourced novel in your Next Chapters writing account.  Membership on Next Chapters’ writing platform is free.

How to research for a book: 9 ways to prepare well

Deciding how to research for a book is a personal process, with much depending on your subject. Read 9 tips on how to research a novel:

• Post author By Jordan
• No Comments on How to research for a book: 9 ways to prepare well

How to research for a book: Scope, process, tools

• Define the scope of research
• List headline research you’ll need
• Do a ‘quick and dirty’ search
• Lean on .edu and library resources
• Speak to pros and specialists
• Shadow an expert if applicable
• Read authors on how to research a book
• Have a system for storing research
• Stop when you have enough to write

1. Define the scope of research

Research for a novel easily gets out of hand. You’re writing about Tudor England, for example. The next thing you know you’ve read every doorstop ever written about Anne Boleyn.

Define the scope of research you need to do, first.

This is particularly crucial if you’re new to researching novels.

‘Scope creep’ (where the task becomes bigger and bigger, and the focus dimmer) is a common challenge in research.

If, for example, you’re writing a novel featuring the Tudors (rulers of England between 1485 and 1603), ask questions such as:

• What duration within this era will my story span? (e.g. ‘the last five years of Henry VIII’s life’)
• What information is vital to know? If, for example, you’re writing about a monarch firing a particular associate, this will narrow down your research
• What broad picture elements do I need? (For example, a timeline of key background social or political events within a historical period)

Narrow down what you need to learn to the essentials necessary to begin writing.

2. List headline research you’ll need

Once you know the scope of your research, list the big, main events and subjects you’ll need to cover.

For a historical figure subject like Henry VIII, you might have a list of research to do like this:

• Timeline of major events in the king’s life
• Personality – accounts of what the king was like
• Appearance – descriptions of what the king looked like
• Controversy – king’s many wives, execution of Anne Boleyn, etc.

Make a document with a section per each of the core areas of the story you’ll need to research.

Populate these sections with article snippets, links to educational resources.

(Google, for example ‘Henry VIII reign .edu’ to find information from credible learning institutions.)

3. Do a ‘quick and dirty’ search

In learning how to research for a book, learn how to work smart, not hard. Research the way a student with an assignment hand-in due the next day would, to start.

Use Wikipedia (a no-no in academia). You can find broad information and an idea of what to look for to verify and fact-check later on .edu and library websites , or in physical book copies.

Search amateur history blogs, too. There are many subject enthusiasts who have devoted hours to digging up interesting historical and other information and share their learnings for free in blog articles.

If you’re writing about a real place, use Google Maps to do a street-view virtual tour. You can explore cities you’ve never been to before. Read more more on researching place when you are unable to get there.

Note details to include in scene-setting and worldbuilding such as specific landmarks and architectural details.

Get a professional edit

A good editor will help pinpoint major factual inaccuracies and other issues.

4. Lean on .edu and library resources

When deciding how to research for a book, whether it’s fiction or non-fiction, favour credible resources.

You can even find fantastic primary source scans and recordings. Some examples of excellent, free online research resources:

• British Pathé : Pathé News, a producer of newsreels and documentaries from 1910 to 1970 in the UK has a rich and varied archive. It includes original footage (trigger warning: disturbing footage of aircraft explosion) of the Hindenburg Disaster.
• Tudor History: Historical .org websites such as this website on the Tudors provide a wealth of research information .
• The Smithsonian has regular online webinars, exhibitions and more where you can learn about a diverse range of natural history topics from experts.

If online research feels overwhelming, consider taking a course in online research skills.

The University of Toronto also put together this thorough list of questions to guide doing research online .

5. Speak to pros and specialists

Learning how to research a novel is made much easier by experts who are happy to share their knowledge.

If you are researching a specific place, language, historical figure, biological or medical issue or another detail, make a list of experts to reach out to.

Explain your fiction or non-fiction project and why you’d value their insights. You’ll be surprised how many are only too happy to contribute accurate, informed knowledge.

You can also find specialist knowledge in online forums devoted to specific subjects.

6. Shadow an expert if applicable

There’s no single ‘right way’ in how to research for a book.

You could take a leaf out of the method actor’s book, for example, and actually job shadow an expert [ Ed note: Once COVID no longer sets stringent limits on contact ].

Depending on the subject or industry, you may have variable degrees of success. For example, shadowing a medical professional has other issues involved, such as patient privacy/confidentiality.

In a roundtable discussion on preparing for roles, British actress Vanessa Kirby described job-shadowing on an obstetrics ward to research a role. Because she had never had a child herself, she wanted to give an authentic performance of a woman in labour (around the 18:15 timestamp).

Writing is very much like acting in this respect: You need to be able to fill in the blanks in your own imagination to prepare.

7. Read authors on how to research for books

In deciding how to research for a book, one also needs to decide how/where to use (or alter) source material. It’s helpful to read authors who write historical fiction and other research-heavy genres. What do they say about process?

Hilary Mantel, for example says this about taking creative license with historical facts:

History is a process, not a locked box with a collection of facts inside. The past and present are always in dialogue – there can hardly be history without revisionism. Hilary Mantel: ‘History is a process, not a locked box’, via The Guardian

8. Have a system for storing research

Research for a book easily becomes cluttered.

How do you keep research tidy and manageable, so that you have the information you need when you need it?

Organise your research for a novel with these apps and tools:

• Google Docs: Outline mode creates a clickable outline of your document in a left-hand panel – perfect for jumping between different categories of research.
• Evernote: This handy app makes it easy to snip bits of articles from your browser into collections to sort and store.
• Sytem folders: Create a folder on your operating system for your project, and subfolders for each research topic.
• Novel Novel Dashboard: You can also fill out character profiles and other prompts on Now Novel using historical sources (see an example below).

9. Stop when you have enough to write

In deciding how to research for a book, it’s important to set a stop point.

Ask yourself how much you really need to begin writing. Need to know what would have been served at a royal dinner in the year 1600? Make a note to add this detail later and describe the details of the occasion you can make up to keep going with your draft.

Balancing research and writing will ensure your research is fit to its purpose – finishing your book with relevant and precise detail.

Need help researching your book? Watch our webinar on writing research (and enjoy future live webinars and Q&A sessions too) when you subscribe to a Now Novel plan.

Related Posts:

• 5 easy ways to research your novel
• Historical fiction: 7 elements of research
• Book ideas: 12 fun ways to find them
• Tags how to research your novel

Jordan is a writer, editor, community manager and product developer. He received his BA Honours in English Literature and his undergraduate in English Literature and Music from the University of Cape Town.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Pin It on Pinterest

Helping Writers Become Authors

Write your best story. Change your life. Astound the world.

• Start Here!
• Story Structure Database
• Outlining Your Novel
• Story Structure
• Character Arcs
• Archetypal Characters
• Scene Structure
• Common Writing Mistakes
• Storytelling According to Marvel
• K.M. Weiland Site

Novel Research: 12 Ways to Ace Your Book

Maybe these self-directed questions will sound familiar:

• What if my novel research isn’t good enough?
• What if I put a street on the wrong side of the city?
• What if I’ve got the dialect all wrong?
• What if I’ve included a glaring anachronism?

The book I’m currently at work on—my historical superhero saga Wayfarer —is set in London during the Regency era (think Jane Austen). In many ways, it has been the most difficult of all the historical novels I’ve written, primarily because it takes place in such a popular period. I had some leeway in writing about the medieval Crusades (for one thing, the language is so different, perfect accuracy isn’t desired much less demanded) and the American west (where legend has taken over fact in so many areas).

But the Regency period? Put a chapeau-bras out of place, and fanatical readers will know it.

Never mind that the book is also set in London, which means correctly portraying a city I’ve never visited.

And don’t get me started on the language. Unlike the Middle Ages, 1820 isn’t so far away that the language of the period isn’t still decipherable to modern ears. What that means, of course, is every word choice must be filtered through not just the demands of British English, but also the question: Did that word even exist back then?

Cue the paranoia.

The Two Sides to Novel Research: Accuracy and Authenticity

There are two good reasons for any author to indulge in this paranoia over “the facts” in a novel (whether it’s historical or not).

Reason #1 to Panic: Your Readers Are Smarter Than You

Scary thought, ain’t it? Now granted, not  all of them are going to be smarter (aka, better read on your subject than are you). But I guarantee there will be a lot of them. No matter how conscientious you are in your research about Roman sewer systems or stamp collecting, there will  always be someone who knows something you don’t . And if that person happens to read your book, they may well call you out on your mistakes.

Reason #2 to Panic: Poor Novel Research Destroys Suspension of Disbelief

This reason is by far the more important of the two, however closely related. The whole point of novel research, after all, is to create a seamless reading experience. We want to immerse readers in the detailed and realistic worlds we create for our characters. If you’ve got your Olympic equestrian character casually mounting her horse on the right side (instead of the left), you’re going to instantly pop that suspension of disbelief bubble for any reader knowledgeable about horses and riding.

Commit to Accuracy in Your Novel Research

In short, blatant inaccuracies can ruin your book. So do your research. End of story. Stop panicking.

Does this sound too simple a solution after all that fear mongering up there?

Maybe a little. But let’s be practical.

There is absolutely  no way you can achieve perfect accuracy in your novel.

Never mind what Yoda says, the best you can do is try. After that, stop worrying about accuracy and start worrying about …  authenticity .

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), 20th Century Fox.

Why Authenticity Is More Important Than Accuracy

A story, by its very nature, is an illusion.

The characters aren’t real. The events aren’t real. The settings and events–even if portraying real life– are Shakespeare’s “but shadows.”

That’s why readers must suspend their disbelief in the first place. And they do. They willingly buy into the magic trick–as long as the magician (that’s you!) makes it  look real.

By far, the most important factor in convincing readers to suspend disbelief is creating a story world that  seems real. Readers aren’t asking for reality ; they only want something that  seems real enough for them to pretend, for a couple hours, that it  is real.

That’s where authenticity comes into play. As long as you have accuracy enough to provide a solid basis for your story, you then have a wide-open canvas upon which to create the illusion of an authentic experience .

To put it indelicately: Hook your readers with the truth and they’ll swallow all the rest of your story’s lies.

How can you find this balance of accuracy and authenticity in your book? Let’s examine twelve steps you can put into action right away.

6 Steps to Achieve Accuracy in Your Novel Research

Novel research is easy. All you have to do is read and remember. But it requires time and discipline upfront. Use these six steps to break your task into manageable bites.

1. Begin With a Basic Understanding of Your Subject

Presumably, if you’re interested in writing about a particular subject, then that very interest has led you to at least a  basic knowledge about it. For example, if you want to write about a homicide detective, then you might have been drawn to the subject because you enjoy TV shows about detectives. You know enough to at least create the framework, in your mind, for a story about a detective of your own.

Castle (2009-16), ABC.

2. Discover the General Questions You Need to Ask

Using that general knowledge, from Step 1, write your outline–or, if you’re a pantser, at least figure out the general beats and events in your story. This will help you get a handle on the general questions you’re going to need to answer about your subject. For example, after writing my outline for my 1920s barnstorming novel  Storming , I ended up with a list of specific research topics I knew I would need to research:

3. Collect a Bibliography

Using those questions/topics, create a research bibliography. Search your local libraries and Amazon to find sources that will answer all your major questions. Depending on the nature of your subject, you may also want to seek out experts with whom you can talk or who can give you access to hands-on experiences.

4. Commit Serious Time to Novel Research

Writers often ask me how much time I devote to novel research. Basically: as long as it takes me to read through my list of research books.  Wayfarer ‘s research took me six months.

And where do I find the time to do all that research?

Easy: writing time. Whatever part of the process I’m working on (whether outlining , researching, writing, or editing), I do it during “writing” time, which for me is two hours every morning. This, of course, means that during the research period, I get to sit around reading all morning and call it work.

5. Organize Novel Research Notes

Don’t trust your memory. Write down everything. Personally, I find it well worth the extra time it requires to  transcribe everything I highlight in my novel research (e-readers make this super easy, since you can find all your highlights online and simply copy/paste them).

This makes my notes searchable on the computer and allows me to collate them under pertinent headings. Your research will do you little good while writing if you can’t access it. (Plus, you can use your discoveries as part of your book marketing campaign to tease readers about your upcoming novels.)

6. Discover the Specific Questions You Need to Ask

Armed with all that general knowledge you gleaned during your novel research, you can then write your book. You should be well equipped to write knowledgeably and confidently about your subject. Even still, you’ll inevitably run into further questions during the blow-by-blow action of the actual story. Some of these questions will be simple enough for you to look up on the Internet during writing. For those that prove more complicated, include them in a running list and do whatever follow-up research is necessary after the first draft.

6 Steps to Achieve Authenticity in Your Novel Research

All that research was your logical left brain’s contribution to your story’s verisimilitude. Now, it’s time to unleash your creative right brain and let it take the scattered pieces of your research and connect the dots between them to creative an  authentic  experience for your readers.

1. Do Your Research

Authenticity must begin with a pursuit of accuracy. You can’t build an authentic experience of life as a concert pianist if you know nothing about music. Emphasizing  authenticity over  accuracy does not provide permission to simply ignore the facts. You must start with a solid foundation of reality if you’re going to have any chance of convincing readers to believe in the  unreal parts of your story.

Amadeus (1984), Orion Pictures.

2. Support Every Lie With Two Truths

In writing any kind of story, you will occasionally find yourself faced with situations in which you either  don’t know the facts or in which the story demands you  tweak the facts to serve the plot.

In either case, here’s a good rule of thumb for protecting the authenticity of your story: Every time you make something up, make sure the “lie” is supported by at least two “truths.”

Historical novels do this all the time by surrounding a fictional character with people who actually existed in the period. We believe in Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Commodus, so why not a general named Maximus while we’re at it?

Gladiator , directed by Ridley Scott, produced by DreamWorks.

3. Show Readers What They Expect to See

The very essence of authenticity is in validating the experience readers  expect to have. Did Al Capone really say, “I want him dead! I want his family dead! I want his house burned to the ground!”?

The Untouchables (1987), Paramount Pictures.

Doesn’t matter, because this is exactly what we  expect Al Capone to say. It creates no cognitive dissonance in our expectations about 1920s gangsters.

The flipside of this is that sometimes you will find you  can’t use certain accurate facts. If a fact doesn’t jive with your readers’ expectations, then you need to question whether its (totally legitimate) inclusion is worth the risk of jostling their suspension of disbelief.

Funny story. In researching my 1901 novel, I was trying to be careful to use slang of the day, syntax–everything. We try, right? Well, I found that even innocent things they WOULD have said sound much too modern. Such as, “You have the coolest yard in town.” Um… sounds all wrong.

4. Don’t Sweat the Details

Remember my paranoia over  Wayfarer ‘s presentation of an accurate 1820 London experience?

On this last edit, I’ve been conscientiously researching the etymology of any word I thought might be suspicious. That’s a lot of suspicion. It’s also, after a certain point, ridiculous.

Can you tell me what’s “wrong” with this excerpt?

He had no notion life wasn’t always a long journey to a distant horizon. Sometimes it ended in a blink, in a blur of fire and pain.

Turns out “blink” and “blur” didn’t mean then what they mean now .

Now, Emma Woodhouse may not have been able to “blink” away the tears that “blurred” her eyes after Mr. Knightley gave her what for. But I gotta tell you: my protagonist totally does. Even though these words aren’t accurate within the historical setting, I would be shocked to discover any reader who noticed, much less took exception, to them.

As an author, you must occasionally make the call to depart from the smaller details of accuracy, for the sake of your overall story. Don’t sweat the details  too much. It is fiction, after all.

5. Maintain Consistency

Here’s the secret to authenticity: it must walk hand in hand with consistency. Indeed, consistency is the whole point . It’s why we avoid every detail that might jar–even if it’s an accurate detail. It’s why we don’t sweat the little, unrecognizable errors. As long you’re presenting your story’s truth with absolute consistency, readers will buy into it with little effort.

6. Show Your Bravado

Finally, be brave. Trust in your skill to create an authentic experience for your readers, and trust in that experience to help readers glide right past the places where you’ve sacrificed absolute accuracy for the sake of the bigger picture.

As any magician knows, you have to sell the performance. If you look like  you believe 100% in the illusion you’ve created, readers will be all the more likely to follow your lead and believe in it themselves.

The Long Trail by Brad Dennison (affiliate link)

But also be wise. Sometimes, no matter how perfect a word is to a scene, it still won’t belong, as in western writer Brad Dennison’s tongue-in-cheek comment to me:

The things you wish you could include in a story. In the western I’m working on now, Johnny McCabe … didn’t even know [his brother] Joe was in the area. … Johnny says to him, “How is it I didn’t see you out there?” Joe says, “Ain’t a man alive can find me if I don’t want to be found.” I would so like to have Johnny say, “What are you, Batman?”

The balance between accuracy and authenticity is ultimately the balance of the entire story. If your mastery of authenticity is strong enough to convince readers to suspend their disbelief, then they’ll forgive–and even embrace–your occasional lapse of accuracy.

Wordplayers, tell me your opinion! What has been the most difficult part of your novel research? Tell me in the comments!

Click the “Play” button to Listen to Audio Version (or subscribe to the Helping Writers Become Authors podcast in Apple Podcast or Amazon Music ).

Love Helping Writers Become Authors? You can now become a patron. (Huge thanks to those of you who are already part of my Patreon family !)

Sign Up Today

Related Posts

K.M. Weiland is the award-winning and internationally-published author of the acclaimed writing guides Outlining Your Novel , Structuring Your Novel , and Creating Character Arcs . A native of western Nebraska, she writes historical and fantasy novels and mentors authors on her award-winning website Helping Writers Become Authors.

Egyptian Hieroglyphics.

In my recent manuscript, I had the kids visiting Olympus (easy, it’s like going to the corner store everyone knows it so well) Asgard (just make some stuff up, nobody will know – but again, most of the pantheon are well known), and then the pyramid of Khufu, where I’ve never been, and there will be hieroglyphics that lead them to the secret entry.

Oh man, and the internet can’t agree on the meanings of those!

So I made some reasonable calls based on the majority of what I found, and if I run afoul of a scholar reading my kids’ book, then I might learn something in the dialog that follows.

Good for you! This is exactly the sort of thing I’m talking about. When you *can’t* find the truth, don’t be afraid to make educated guesses.

Hey Andrew! Egyptologist here 😉 Ask away! (and it’s “hieroglyphs”, “hieroglyphic” is the adjective….) If you have a lot of text to cover, you can e-mail me at: fam.focke (a) gmx.de. Just please say you’re Andrew from Helping Writers Become Authors in the title so you don’t land in the spam… Actually, I’d need your email address anyway to send the hieroglyphs – though there ARE fonts, they’re a pain. It’s easier to use a hieroglyph program and export as a JPG.

Actually, that’s just the sort of thing that annoys me as an Egyptologist and history buff (sorry, Andrew). If someone gets the little things wrong (hey, you might not realize that the Egyptians didn’t have the “l” sound and name a character with an l in it) – okay. But something like translating a text – there are people out there who can help. Ask University faculties. Museums. I know there are some snobs out there, but there are also tons of people eager and willing to help. I suggest, in fact, if you are writing a historical novel to try and find an expert to read your novel AFTER it’s finished (I guesss around Beta level). The thing about research is that you have to look in the right places, and if you don’t know what the right places are, you can read tons of books and still make some glaring mistakes. That’s okay. It is, as we historians like to say, “not your field”. But it’s also something that can be fixed 😀 My husband and I are always amused by the fact that, apart from the obvious (and purposeful) anachronisms, A Knight’s Tale and the Three Musketeers movie with all the airships have some of the best and most historically accurate costumes and props. More so than “historical” films for any period except Regency. Go figure!

That’s interesting about Knight’s Tale and Musketeers . Supporting the theory of the bigger the lies, the bigger the foundation of truth must also be, perhaps?

No offense, but every time I read something like this I get really paranoid about my long-time unpublished novel. I did research on my NYC love story ( only been to NYC via internet) several years ago and felt good about it, however, I’m not sure if I’m allowed to say Gothic Bridge so I say a dark bridge, Empire State Building I say a tall building or the ferry to Staten Island I say island, Mayflower Tower I say a brownstone apt., etc. Can we be sued because I have a kidnapping in the Mayflower? Also, if I publish on Create Space Amazon instead of a traditional publish who has a reputation to lose, will the hungry perfectionist guru be less critical with mistakes? Thank you.

Names of places and things are not copyrighted. You can even use the names of real people, as long as you’re not libeling them.

Not sure what you mean by “hungry perfectionist guru,” but self-publishers need to be just as vigilant against mistakes as traditional authors–if not more so.

My series of historical novels (you’ve read them) involve a protagonist who’d been raised in England, but joined the German army in 1912 and pursued his military career through two world wars… (and went to the Berlin Olympics in 1936!!) My greatest problem of authentic language was avoiding any taint of Americanism that could not possibly be in his (or the story’s) jargon before 1945. I say ‘taint’, because we in Canada stand between a rock and a hard place in our use of the English language, and Americanisms are second nature. One slip with an “okay” and it would be ‘game over’. (another Americanism, I THINK.) My British beta reader told me of a number of language errors that had slipped through. Thank God for beta readers.

Hi Lyn, I was thinking a while back that I should read one of your historical novels. Having strategic beta readers to help with inaccuracies sounds extremely pivotal in this case.

Benjamin, I would love you not only to read one of my novels, but to give me your reaction, good, bad, or ugly. The truth from readers always helps the next effort.

Sounds good. The book covers look great!

I’ve always been incredibly impressed by how effortless you make your research look in your novels. As for Americanisms, I breathe in terror at the thought right now! I definitely need to nab a pair of British eyes to help me check this current WIP.

*raises hand to volunteer*

Hey, thanks! Are you in London?

I’m not British, but I’ve lived in England for several years now and notice when American words are used in a book that is supposed to be set in England. Drives me nuts 😀 But I try to remember that I hear the words every day while the author does not.

Thanks for this post. I needed it right now…research is hard for me becuase I know I need it for the book I’m working on, but I’m a little nervous I won’t get it right.

Americans get dinged for this a lot (and rightfully so), but it definitely happens the other way around. There was a memorable Doctor Who episode, set in Depression-era NYC that had all the American characters calling the elevator a “lift.” 😉

Thanks to Hulu, I watch British, Australian & Canadian (esp Vancouver) TV shows.

I got the impression that the folks in BC tended to speak an Australian vocabulary with an American accent.

Great topic! I’ve been waiting for something like this to pop up. First I’d like to congratulate you and all those who make an attempt to write historical fiction. Hats off you, seriously. Easier said than done. By the way, I had never even heard of historical fiction before discovering this blog and your writing. I also admire your approach as well your fine tuned writing process. Quality versus quantity. You certainly take your time to produce a quality novel and it definitely shows. That in itself is a testament to your own standard, mindset, and authenticity as you put it. The linguistics and semantics alone would stymie me. And I like languages!

I’ve thought about writing some historical fiction when I grow up. Inspired by you of course. There’s at least 2 or 3 ideas already on the backburner. But that’s definitely down the road as I learn about structure, outlining and the whole realm of writing. I do however, find the research part pretty daunting with my own kind of paranoia. Will they buy into this? Is it believable? They’ll see my mistakes! Sometimes I’ll dismiss doing too much research and rely on my imagination to write fantasy because I don’t have a complete grip on a subject. Know what I mean? Maybe I do have some obsessive tendencies! I’ll get too bogged down in all the “research” that I’m not writing at all and get overwhelmed. I HATE that feeling. On a positive note, it is fun too! I’ve consulted professionals about certain topics on justice and getting great feedback! One of them is a lawyer/SFF writer who happens to have an awesome book. Closest to the Fire: A Writers Guide to Lawyers and the Law.

I have a lot bottled up about this subject. When do you know you’ve done enough research? When do you draw the line before getting to overwhelmed or lost in the details? Or how much should you research? The more I research something, it seems the list just never ends and I end up going down a rabbit hole. Do you set parameters for yourself? Like, I’ll research only for six months or does it vary?

There definitely comes a point where you just have to *stop* researching. For me, that point comes when, as I say, I finish reading the list of books I’ve created for myself–and also, whenever, I’ve answered all the important questions posed by the story. Deadlines can also play a part for me if I feel I’m starting to waste too much time.

That definitely sounds doable.

Benjamin – start writing. The moment you get into the act of telling a story it becomes easier. An adventure. It’s not written in stone. Don’t stop to correct mistakes, just write. When you come to the end of telling the story, you then begin the editing process. This is as much fun as writing the first draft. Here is where you double check the historical facts and break up those information dumps and catch those little phrases inappropriate to the time and place… I could go on, but Katie covers all of this very thoroughly in her writings and on this site. GO for it. At this point the reader is the last thing you worry about.

Your right. I’m kind of a pantser at heart, or a tweener, so I think I need to feel my way through a little. Learning so many things at once.

Perfect timing! I’ve been tossing around a World War II story idea, and the research is intimidating. How to eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Now I’ve a strategy to do just that.

Thanks so much! 🙂

Another trick I’ve picked up over the years is to do a lot of “casual” research long before I ever start the book. For instance, right now, I know I want to eventually write a fantasy trilogy based on Tudor England. Every time, I run across an interesting tidbit in my pleasure reading, I make a note of it and type it up in a research folder for the book. I’ve already “effortlessly” collected over twenty pages of notes for that one story alone.

I like this.

Another great tip–thanks!

@Samantha: I’m writing a WWII story at the moment – let me know if you want any resource recs or anything like that, I’m happy to share the good ones 🙂

Sarah, how sweet of you to offer! Thank you.

If it’s okay to share a few links, and it isn’t too much trouble, I’d appreciate that. 🙂

The series taking the most research is the two thirds of a trilogy I’ve written in the Canadian North. Language, culture, history, mythical history, police procedure in the North. It’s been interesting. Especially as I’ve blended a few town together to create the setting for my stories. (Working on the rule of using a fictional setting if you are going to create mayhem.) I have one more book to write and will need to look at junior miners, prospecting, investments, and some new ways to create mayhem.

Hah, yes, sometimes it’s better to make a few things up rather than risk people in a real-life town getting upset. It’s also an easy way to base a setting on a real-life place without being 100% tied down to its facts.

Great tips – bad research can kill a novel for me, and I find a lot of American authors don’t know what they don’t know when it comes to British and European history (or they can’t be bothered finding out. It’s hard to say).

I like authors who provide an author’s note which separates fact from fiction, although that raises the question of whether they should be at the beginning or the end. At the beginning, and they can spoil the story. At the end, and I’m sometimes too frustrated by the “mistakes” to care that they were deliberate.

I recently read a disclaimer at the beginning of a novel (sorry, but I can’t remember which one), where the author apologised in advance for the facts she had changed. I thought that was clever – it told me she had done her research, but also that she had made deliberate choices to go against the facts to strengthen the story. I can respect that.

This might be the way to go – an introductory acknowledgement that certain facts have been changed, then a fuller disclosure at the end, where it won’t give away any important plot points.

“Don’t know what they don’t know”–that’s what always scares me. :p

I included an Author’s Note of that ilk in my medieval novel Behold the Dawn . I chose to put it at the end, since it was definitely spoilery.

Excellent advice in your latest piece. I’ve always believed that if the facts are right, the reader will believe the fiction, and that you contradict the laws of nature at your peril. Even fantasy (especially fantasy) has to be credible. Even minor characters need to be real and believable, so researching their lifestyles and ‘look’ has to be done. This is why I write stories set in today’s world, or in times I’ve lived through myself.

Settings and locations are best if you know them personally… even if only from a short visit… as the ambience of a place will come through in your writing. If it doesn’t, you’ll notice it yourself. It’ll feel wrong. The finer details can be honed by using ‘Streetview’ (or by visits if the location isn’t too far away) I’ve used ‘Streetview’ to verify sight lines when a character is observing others (I write crime novels) or to check on road layouts or what a character might see from a vehicle.

It’s also worth calling the reception desk at public buildings or companies etc. I needed to know where the gents’ toilets were in Cardiff County Hall, as a murder victim was to be killed on his way to relieve himself after a meeting. (The online building plan didn’t show the detail I needed.) I got all I needed from the security desk by phone. I’ve phoned police stations to check details, and specialist garages to ask about certain details of the classic cars they work on (for hiding things – It’s no good having those diamonds hidden in a magnetic box stuck inside the oil pan, if the oil pan is aluminium.) If you phone a place for information, and tell someone you’re an author, they’ll usually be happy to help. It brightens up another boring day at a desk.

In one book, I very nearly fouled up. I had my villain make an escape by stealing a boat, but my knowledge of the idiosyncrasies of the Bristol Channel’s sand bars and currents was limited to on line searches. I made the escapee a novice too, which almost worked… until I had the chapter read through by someone who’d sailed the area. A few changes to techniques and alterations to the boat’s course ended up with a far more interesting piece with even more sense of jeopardy. It was worth a phone call, followed by e-mailing the piece. I’d underestimated the dangers and the problems. I hadn’t realised the effects of those particularly fast tidal flows on steerage. I do now though.

I’ve made a rule for myself that if my knowledge is limited on a subject, and research doesn’t quite fill in all the details, then it’s better to keep things simple than to risk dropping a howler by stating something completely wrong. I leave that to the movies. I’ve seen too many Hollywood films where a character drives from one location in London to another by passing every known tourist landmark… (check ‘Brannigan’ – it’s a real howler from that point of view). As a former London based motorcycle despatch rider and delivery driver for twenty years, I know the city well enough (but still I’ll check Google Maps etc. because road layouts and new buildings have changed a lot since those days, and I now live in the West of England.)

A very useful piece for everyone. I particularly liked the point about readers perceptions of situations, even if they’re not entirely correct. I hadn’t thought of that. I suppose we’re all influenced by popular beliefs anyway, but having it spelled out made me think about it.

Keep up the good work.

Chris, a motorcycle despatch rider? LOVE it. I also love how you put it. “…it’s better to keep things simple than to risk dropping a howler.” KISS. I’ve always followed that route. One way I do it is to write from the protagonist’s PoV, so that everything in the novel shows only what he knows and sees. Many times I’ve taken refuge in showing his swift impression, allowing me to avoid hard details. Also, the passage of time in a narrative transition can gloss over missing factual research.

“It’s better to keep things simple”–I totally agree. Many times, I’ve gone back and deleted a seemingly great detail just because I could verify it.

I feel your pain- recently I was reading some Amazon reviews of Behold the Dawn (haven’t read it- looking into reading it) and encountered all the “controversy” over your use of the word “bucko.” Give an author a break, people! Seeing how many noticed and commented on an out-of-place word has me terrified about what might happen if I ever slip up.

For the story I am planning, I need to research medieval Japanese and Bedouin culture. I’m a little overwhelmed about where to start on research, especially since my library had zero books on these topics. Making a list of specific areas to research is a great idea.

Japanese and Bedouin, Brenna? Is there any connection?

I will be combining elements of the two cultures in my fantasy world. The novel will take place in a desert, but there will also be samurai-type warriors, an honor system, etc. Of course, the setting will be more cemented once I have done my research.

Sounds great. I love the Japanese ancient culture with its samurai and ninjitsu.

Brenna, Methinks you can do anything in Fantasy, including creating your own world background and history… But you’re right. You need a firm anchorage for the reader.

I completely agree with you, Lyn Alexander. I am creating my own world and history, with many elements from no source but my mind. However, I will be using Japan and the Middle East somewhat in the way Tolkien used England- as a backdrop, and for inspiration from the real world as I create my own.

I wonder if the Gobi Desert had (or still has) any honorable samurai. Wait, are you saying the Bedouins don’t have an honor system?

Ah … you do realize the ninjas were only a few families on the islands of Iga and Koga?

Hah! Thanks, Brenna. 😉 In all truth, that’s not a word choice I’d make for that book if I were writing it now. I’ve changed it in recent editions.

There’s another type of source, if you can’t find historical sources (although I think your library can probably get those via interlibrary loans). Consider anthropologists. I think both fantasy and science fiction writers could both do with lessons in anthropology, as this is the study of culture and societies.

Bedouins are nomads, if I remember correctly. There will be a difference in nomads vs. agricultural people. But nomads and farmers /land owners tend to cooperate with each other, and the farmers might even be offshoots of the nomad’s tribe.

In his book on the fall of Rome, historian Peter Heather mentioned that because anthropologists studied modern nomads (e.g., Bedouins), historians realized that nomads do not aimlessly wander. They travel in fixed patterns between their summer and winter pastures, so if they start showing up suddenly in new places, like the Huns, it’s a clue that something has happened.

So if you can’t find history books, give anthropologists a shot. There might be material to reverse-engineer the culture you’re trying to build.

Thank you for the recommendation! I am overwhelmed by the interest everyone is showing in my story. 🙂 Yes, actually I got the idea to use Bedouin culture because my main character is going to fall in with a group of desert nomads. I will definitely look for both historical and anthropological sources. Thanks again!

This really sounds like a good book. Sounds interesting!

Thank you, Benjamin. Of course, it’s only in the beginning planning stages, so time will tell if it turns out to be good and interesting!

Hi Brenna… Have you read ‘Dune’ (or any of the sequels). Frank Herbert did something very similar with his epic fifty years ago. Now that’s what I call desert culture.

Check it out. It might give you some ideas. (It’s an excellent book… A real classic, but it stands the test of time well.)

Good luck. I admire those who can create new worlds. I write in the real(ish) world of contemporary crime novels.

I saw the movie Dune when it first came out and loved it. Your right, the sand culture is amazing. I just rewatched the trailer for it last week.

Thanks! I’ll look in to reading those. I read a lot of classics. 🙂

Dune is my favorite! And I second the recommendation; Herbert did do his research. During the last Iraq War, a couple of sci fi nerds were convinced that Saddam Hussein had stolen some ideas from “Dune,” specifically the fedayeen, who are also called “fedaykin” in the book.

A few people had to gently explain that the Fremen were modeled on the Bedouins and the other cultures of the Middle East / North Africa.

Which reminds me, that Tuaregs / Berbers would be another nomadic culture. For my fantasy, I read “The Berbers: The Peoples of Africa,” by Elizabeth Fentress and Michael Brett. Sadly it didn’t have enough about their history, but it does talk about their modern culture.

Hah! I didn’t know that about Saddam “stealing.” That’s hilarious. :p

Excellent RECOMMENDATION. That’s a great idea.

One thing I discovered when working on my currently-backburnered historical trilogy was a tendency to get bogged down in the details. I once spent two weeks trying to figure out exactly when, between the Civil War and Wild Bill Hickok’s death in 1876 it became common to have numbers as well as suits on playing cards. Two weeks! It finally dawned on me that *it doesn’t matter* and I rewrote the scene to remove references to the cards. Gah!

As a history teacher, I think you’re spot on in the accuracy vs authenticity issue. Make us *feel it,* or as I say to my students *could* it have happened that way, and we’ll forgive a great many small error, if we even notice.

Sadly, I don’t have any recommendations for Bedouin or medieval Japan, but as a college history teacher, I can recommend some books on the Tudor period. Alison Weir has a ton of excellent books that are both academic-level history and very accessible to the non-academic (not a ton of jargon.). Pretty much any of them. There are enough excerpts from primary sources to give you a feel for the language, and details about life,as well as the lives of the nobility.

Anyway, wonderful post! Thank you

Thanks for thinking about it, anyway!

I did think of one for Japan, but it’s fiction and you’ve probably read it. Shogun is amazing for its accuracy and characterization of its Era…

I want to read these when you’re done!

The best source on ninjas is Stephen Hayes.

There’s another author his last name is Cummings that have weight into the secret life of ninjas and a translation of some of their ancient writings. Cool stuff.

Actually, I haven’t read it. I’ll look for it. Thank you for the recommendation!

Hey, thanks for the Tudor recommendations! I’m doing a lot of “painless” research on this series, since I won’t be writing it for several years yet. I’ll add these to my reading list right now.

My personal favorites are Princes in the Tower, Wars of the Rose’s, and Children of Henry VIII, buy they’re all good.

I’ll look forward to your foray into that time period as I do everything you write!

The Children of Henry VIII immediately caught my eye!

Alison Weir! I was coming here to say this, and I’m glad a bonafide history teacher likes her, too. Weir is very readable, and I don’t think there will be a minute of pain reading her 🙂

Another casual resource is the History Channel, assuming they still do history. I’d sometimes note the names of historians who popped up to give commentary on this or that historical event.

Thanks! Good to have a backup vote for Weir!

I want to put in a word for YouTube. I wanted to visit some of the places that my fantasy is based on, but they became unsafe suddenly (well, one always was). But YouTube came to the rescue, allowing me to see tours of the landmarks I wanted to explore, especially the ones narrated by historians.

Thanks to YouTube, I also learned how an astrolabe worked and exactly what’s happening during the “lost wax process” the ancients used in metalsmithing. For one thing, the name does not mean that people lost knowledge of how the wax process worked, so it’s a good thing I did not attempt to wing it in the story. Rather, it’s referring to what’s happening to the wax, and should be spelled “lost-wax.” I never go into the process in my fantasy, but I needed to be able to picture what the silversmiths were up to in the scene in which they appear.

I love the advice to be general, although some instances would probably happen by accident for me: it never would have occurred to me to mention what side someone was mounting a horse from. Just get on and giddy-up 🙂

I’m afraid of the British vs. American English from the other direction. My dad is from a more recent colony, and I grew up watching British television. Some of the books I read as a kid used ‘sceptical’ vs. ‘skeptical.’ This is where a lexicon dictionary comes in handy, because their etymologies say what language a word comes from and what it meant in that language, and when we started using it. Mine helped me to decide how to spell the name of the mythical creature with the eagle foreparts and the lion hindparts: gryphon is the original spelling, so I went with that to set the tone.

Also, browse the magazine racks for history magazines, including the Smithsonian’s. They taught us in school to always check the copyright date when it comes to history and science. A book on Roman Britain written before the discovery of the Vindolanda tablets will be missing some juicy tidbits. Magazines and news articles have nice updates to what’s in the books. Now we know for sure that Richard III was a hunchback; it wasn’t just Shakespeare’s propaganda.

Another resource: websites like the British Museum and NY’s Metropolitan Museum of Art are fantastic, not just for letting you see what objects were around in the time period — oh, that thingamajig existed back then, so I can let my heroine have one, etc. But also they’ll often list bibliographies in their articles.

For verisimilitude, don’t forget about historical reenactors. Bonus if historians are the reenactors; it turns out some historians have blogs. I wondered if the style of “bra” my Roman era fantasy heroines were wearing would be too hot (wool) or too uncomfortable. A reenactor demystified the whole thing on her website. Which was good, because now the characters had a hiding place for certain objects.

I don’t know how to conlag (making up languages or words in fake languages). So I’ve relied on Lexilogos.com which is one-stop shopping for dictionaries of ancient Greek, Latin, etc. I found another online dictionary for Akkadian. They’re great if you need to have a character say a spell, or you need to name a creature. Remember that “Aslan” just means “lion” in Turkish, so even the greats cheat, too 🙂

All that said — definitely do not sweat the details. At some point, you just gotta write. I like the idea of the author’s note. I plan to have one, just to point people to some of the sources I used for my people and monsters: Pliny, Herodotus, etc. I just took them seriously … it’s amazing how rich a fantasy can be just by going to the source material. Support one lie with two truth indeed!

Great, great stuff here, Jamie! I, for one, appreciate the reminder about YouTube. It should be a no-brainer, but I hardly ever think about it when I’m searching for visual info.

Google Maps has street views for many places

I think Google Maps street views are super helpful. I used it for researching my trips to London, and I truly did get a very accurate idea before I actually visited.

That’s right! I found a slew of info on YouTube alone.

Just a suggestion for those working on historical fiction—-the more esoteric the better—-see if you can find a historic reenactment group that’s focused on your chosen time and place.

Online enthusiast groups are great sources. In my novel (SF, with the early part in a post-apocalyptic setting) a lot of people are back to using horses and carts, buggies, etc., and I knew I could get myself in trouble. I found an online forum-—The Horse Forum—-and joined it just so I could seek help. I simply posted in the general forum, told them I was working in SF, and what I needed to know about.

They LOVED it! A few of them were SF fans as well, but those who responded were all vocal in their gratitude that I wanted to get it right. I’m thinking that if I ever get this thing finished, I’d like to figure out a way to offer those people discounted or free copies, personalized if possible (market strategy, right?).

What’s strange about this is that I hardly used any of what I learned. Importantly, though, I had *confidence* in it. In this, I think it’s like an impressionistic painting: tiny detail may not show up, but the Big Picture is consistent, correct, and easily identifiable; everything fits.

Hope this helps.

I second this. Most people who are passionate about a subject are *ecstatic* to get to talk about, especially if they think it will end up in a book. I’ve met a lot of great people this way.

Great points. It seems like a lot of this is intuitive (at least for me). As I was reading, I found myself sort of saying, “yeah.. THAT makes sense.” Of course it’s always good to have someone else (who’s a writer) solidify some of the same thoughts you have — so you know you’re not crazy! I also think, with all of this said, and even with an imperfect work, that honest negative feedback on the topic of research, is the next biggest step to improving. Like you said, no one should be expected to know every single little thing about a topic, because there is too much nuance and information that feeds realistically into your subject. BUT, if you can figure out (from the negative feedback) what area of research you might have failed in, there’s a good chance you can use that information so that the next time around, you’re thinking in these new ways: whatever they are, ways that help you approach research or maybe even a better way to organize research, etc.

I won’t say that I *like* it when a reviewer calls me out on historical quibbles in my published works. 😉 But I’ve definitely learned and grown from it as both a writer and a researcher.

Truth. It’s all in how we respond as learners. It’ll just help us grow.

The “You Can’t Say That” website you linked to is amazing! I had to force myself to stop reading it. 😉

Isn’t fascinating? Makes me want to go out and buy the full set of the Oxford English Dictionary.

It’s my DREAM to own the full set of the OED!

I have the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. In 2 volumes at 3750 pages, it’s adequate for me.

Ah, I should look into that. I was looking up the full set, and it only costs around $1,500. Um, no. :p

Hmm. I missed that. I’ll have to check that out.

Thanks for writing this. It’s very reassuring!

Yeah, perfection is just too hard a taskmaster. 😉

This post could not have come at a better time! I’m working on an alternate history (steampunk) story. I’ve been doing some research on when certain things happened here versus when said things (abolition of slavery, for example) happened in England (or the UK, depending on precisely when – something else for me to look up [again]). Now if I can only remember to make notes…

Alternate history is a lot of fun–just enough facts without being absolutely chained to their veracity.

Oh, alternate history stirs up my imagination. I’d like to give a whirl someday. Already collecting some info. *he he*

Wowsers. You guys are amazing. A lot of you sound like history buffs, which is certainly my worst subject. But I guess that’s what research is for right? I actually do like history more everyday and currently researching the history of kung-fu, wing-chun kung-fu, shaolin kung-fu as well as judiciary legal systems for my upcoming novel.

Thanks for this post Kate. Especially having the questions prior to diving into research for some sense of pararmeters. Research is FUN. But I need to limit myself to the necessary information critical to the story.

You guys rock!

I think I can safely say that my love of history is a large part of why I became a writer. After all, what is history except a story?

Don’t just restrict it to the facts pertinent to your story, Ben… Soak it all up. If you have a fuller understanding of the background, it’ll seep out into the writing and breathe life and reality into the story.

You never know when those facts will be useful. If they’re in your mind, then they’re there to inform your thoughts as you work out where you’re going next. Even when I’m dreaming in bed at night, I’ll sometimes get ideas for my plot, or how my characters are going to progress. These get informed by some of the ‘useless junk’ floating about in my head. It all helps.

Yes! I’m really liking that. I have a “soak it up” kind of mentality, so this goes along with my gut feeling. I’m a sponge when it comes to stuff like this.

Thanks for this! I can’t stress enough how important research is. Usually writers argue they don’t have time research. Well, in that case, they shouldn’t expect people to take their work seriously! Research should be the primary ingredient in a good story.

Your article is superb! What I found very difficult is for non-native English speakers to write in English. Even if their English is fluent, it’s very difficult to imitate everyday dialogue, unless you have actually lived in an English speaking country.

Actually, this is very much true even for dialects *within* the same language. Getting the British dialects right in my WIP was very important–and very tricky–for me as an American.

Thank you so much for this! I am in the middle of writing the first draft of my second historical novel and was really worrying about how to go about doing research when I am done. I hate squashing the inspiration of the first draft with wondering if I got a technical or minor historical detail right, so I tend to write and then research, writing down questions and things to check on as I go. This was very timely!

That’s actually one of the reasons I like to sandwich my research in between the outline and the first draft. I get to create my story in the outline and figure out exactly what I need to know, then research to find the answers, and then write the first draft with pretty much no concern about whether or not I’m headed in the wrong direction with my representation of facts.

That’s a good way to do it too! I’ll have to give it a try, usually I am just to impatient to get started on the writing and end of researching as I go 🙂

Well, I’m very much of a “ounce of preparation is worth a pound of proofreading” kinda person. 😉

The only thing I disagree with in this article is surrounding a character with real historical figures. For me, nothing pulls me out of a book faster than when a fictional character interacts with too many real people, especially if he/she influences either that character, or has a ridiculous influence over actual historical events (i.e., Moses’ former true love influencing Pharoah to go after the Israelites in The Ten Commandments, when in the Bible it was Pharoah’s own pride and hardness of heart that caused him to do it, no nagging wife needed). I’d rather the historical figures be more on the sideline myself, part of the atmosphere more than a Who’s Who of whatever time period it is that the MC goes around hobnobbing with. //rant over 🙂

Let me clarify: definitely not suggesting all historical stories need to incorporate historical characters.

Dear K. M. Weiland, My name is Haley and I’m thirteen. I am a writer. I know that you published your first book when you were fourteen. How did you write your book and still keep up with school work and other things? I know you must be busy with the book that you are currently writing but if you know of a way to help me I would really like to know. Thank you for giving good advice for writers and myself.

Welcome to the site, Haley! I was actually 20 when my first book came out. However, I’ve been writing steadily since I was 12. The key, as it is for writers of any age, is to set aside a doable amount of time and be consistent at showing up to write every single day. That’s a habit that will generate a huge amount of productivity and serve you very well over the long run.

Thank you for such great advice and for listening. I shall surely try to follow it.

I can’t wait to read Wayfarer! It’s so hard not to obsess about minor errors that slip in, but I don’t think they affect the quality of the work if the story is good. I seem to recall that some of Shakespeare’s plays have really egregious anachronisms — like a clock in Julius Caesar. I have to confess that sometimes I really superenjoy picking up on tiny little errors about something I am familiar with, like law or law schools or Louisiana or the South. This happens on television shows all the time and frankly adds to my enjoyment of the story, if it’s a good story. If it’s not, and I have to watch it for some reason, it gives me something entertaining to think about… (And of course no one would want courtroom scenes to be accurate. There are few things more boring than real-life courtroom scenes. More “can you identify this spreadsheet” than “you can’t handle the truth!”)

Actually, Shakespeare is a great example! We’re not so aware of it these days, but his plays are actually extremely inaccurate in the larger details, as well as the small. Didn’t seem to have hurt his authenticity too much. :p

Exactly! The important part is whether he tells the truth about the human condition — and he does!

“I do it during “writing” time, which for me is two hours every morning. This, of course, means that during the research period, I get to sit around reading all morning and call it work.”

I’m told ENFP personalities have these “energy spikes” that they rely on for creative work. It’s certainly true for me. I can’t set a writing schedule for beans– all I know is that I can’t do it first thing in the morning, when I can’t even tell the difference between my left hand and a refrigerator. XD But I did discover that simply setting a couple of alarms on my phone– one to go off in ten minutes, the second to go off thirty minutes after that– gives me enough motivation to sit down and write pretty quickly. I always go over that thirty minute limit by at least an hour.

I never thought about it before, but I wonder what would happen if I did the same thing for sitting down to read and do research? I get so easily sidetracked during my research phase sometimes. I find interesting links that *look* like they might be important to what I’m researching, but they don’t always turn out that way… and then I’m off “researching” a neverending chain of links, and before I know it, I’ve learned a lot more about recipes containing peanut butter or techniques for defeating the final boss fight in Spyro the Dragon than I have about Second Order Cybernetics. (To this day, I still don’t understand half this stuff I’m reading on it.) @_@

Which brings me to a question: What do you do when your research suddenly turns so agonizing that it’s no better than reading Wikipedia pages and you have to fight to stay focused? (I don’t know if other people are as put off by Wikipedia as I am.) Sometimes I feel like I’m learning about the entire universe, then sometimes I feel like the stupidest little insect, like I’ll never understand what I’m reading about, and therefore will fail at what I’m writing about. How do you get through it?

First of all, I believe it is *so* important to understand your personality in figuring how to “hack” your own process. I’m an INTJ, which means I eat, sleep, and breathe schedules and structure. That’s how I roll. It’s *not* how everyone rolls, and it’s valuable to recognize that and to recognize there isn’t a right or a wrong way to do any of this. There’s just one of many, many different ways that *work* for the individual person. So kudos to you for recognizing that in your life! You’re saving yourself a lot of grief.

As for your question, honestly, there’s no pretty answer. There’s only: keep at it. Sometimes taking breaks can help prevent your attention from wandering. But sometimes you just have to slog through the boring stuff to find that one little kernel you needed.

I have never fully taken control of those P energy spikes (I guess that’s the nature of the beast), but I find that making to-do lists is the best way for me to manage myself. (Yeah, I know — lists — that’s so J, isn’t it?!?)

I absolutely suck at sitting and deciding to do something for a certain amount of time. I really do well when I’m free to jump from task to task (I’m a big believer in the insights that come when you stop focusing directly on the subject). The best way for me to keep the energy rolling is to make a manageable list of things I can do in that sitting or in that workday and race through it as quickly as I can. This often turns out to be several hours, which flies by much more quickly and productively than if I had attempted to schedule the day.

I’m superb at putting out fires. I’m less superb at steadily plowing through non-emergency tasks, but the best solution for me is to make them emergency tasks by putting them on the TO DO RIGHT NOW list.

I have much more experience of how to manage this as a lawyer than as a writer, but as a writer, I find it MUCH better to structure my work around tasks than time-blocks.

I just had to share this since I’ve been struggling with this issue for years as a P-oriented lawyer. Another lawyer once told me that “J is the essence of being a lawyer.” I obviously don’t entirely agree, as I’m quite good at what I do, but it’s certainly true that a P has to fight the tendency to be a wild pony wandering aimlessly across the plain.

And, because Ps often need encouragement, please keep in mind that NOBODY can do precision work more quickly than a P on an energy spike! (And this may be because NOBODY gets more done when they’re not actually “working” than Ps.)

I would bet good money that though you may struggle to fit into a “J” occupation, the “unusual” perspective you bring to as a Perceiver makes you very good at your job indeed!

Thank you, Katie! On a good day, this is true. It helps that I am surrounded by people who know how to manage and/or support me, and that I’ve found the right area (complex regulatory compliance) and work situation (independence without having to be in charge).

“Every time you make something up, make sure the “lie” is supported by at least two “truths.””

You know, I did something similar to that once. My femal protag superhero rides a motorcycle, and she wanted a way to disguise it so people wouldn’t recognize it. At first, she and another character were considering paramagnetic paint (running an electric current through the paint would cause it to change colors), but another character pointed out that the YouTube video that popularized the idea of paramagnetic paint was a hoax: It was just that YouTuber’s demonstration of his use of Adobe After Effects. However, they went with electroluminescent paint. (Do a search on “The Science of LumiLor to see what it is.)

Along with the electroluminescent paint, they modified some of the motorcycle’s parts to open out and change shape, and I threw in a 3D printer for them to make some of the parts. So in the end I included a lie that remained a lie, threw in some truth, a bit more truth, and hopefully by the end of it all, nobody will notice or care that I haven’t got the faintest clue on how to modify a motorcycle. XD

Haha. That made me grin. As someone else who has no idea how to modify a motorcycle, I for one will suspend my disbelief. 😉

I found the internet quite useful in researching for my writing, especially with my last novel. I needed to know how an Uzi worked and the only time I fired one was when I was in the service more than 30 years ago. I was able to look at a clip on line and see one fired so that gave me what I needed to know. I found other things as well.

The Internet is great for gun and machine info. That is one thing I usually remember to use YouTube for.

How did we writers ever live without it? The only place you can look up what “that thing you use to do whatsit” is called.

For a while, I’ve been working on a science fiction/fantasy story that has A LOT of different environments, characters, technology-levels, etc. I think it’s a common misconception among non-writers that if you write speculative fiction — particularly fantasy — you don’t have to do any research, that you can simply make up everything and it will be fine. However, any writer worth their salt knows that this couldn’t be further from the truth. I will make no claim that speculative fiction requires more research than any other genre, but it certainly can have just as much as any historical fiction novel; which is saying something, considering the amount of work historical fiction writers put into their work. I’m definitely not an expert on the art of researching for writing, seeing as I am young and inexperienced in life in general, but I found a researching strategy that works well for me at least. With all the different planets and characters in my story, it gets hard to keep track of all the research and ideas I have for specific ones. So, (this is going to sound weird, I can feel it) I use the Pinterest secret boards to store all my research. I’ve created a board for each of my planets and characters. Then, when I do research online for one aspect of whatever setting or character I’m researching at the moment, I can pin the website to the board and type up a short summary of the information or some tags so I can find it again very quickly using the search engine. I don’t know if this is the best way, but it’s worked so far; plus it sure makes me happy to see all that research work lined up in perfectly straight columns!

Definitely agree with this. I do a lot of research for my fantasy novels, even though I don’t have to be as rigidly factual.

I wrote a short preface in present day, then the rest is a flash back to 1979. I minimized my research by sticking to the area I grew up in, in a time when I was a teenager.

It’s fun to write about a recent time when the technology was different. The house had one TV and maybe two telephones (you had to make sure someone wasn’t eavesdropping on the other extension). No computers and only a wrist watch to tell time while on the move.

Then there was trying to get an authentic dialect without going overboard. I slip in some iconic words, but try to avoid alternate pronunciations. How would I easily let the readers know that ‘wash’ is said as ‘worsh’?

Still, this week I was thinking of given names for new characters and realized even that’s changed. I’ll go through some high school yearbooks from our area at that time and make a list of the names people were giving their children in the late 50’s and early 60’s.

My last book was set in my hometown. It was such a change from the far-flung (and usually imaginary) settings I typically write, and it was a ton of fun!

I’m an INTP, so I just have to look something up and then tell you about it!

My HS, classes of 1977-1979, most common names (7 or more instances, in descending order)

Susan, Debbie, Cindy, Kathy, Mary (Ann, Jane, Jo, Kay), Barbara, Carol, Kim, Lisa, Nancy, Michelle, Patty

Dave, Mark, Jim, Jeff, Mike, Bob, John, Tom, Dan, Rick, Ron, Scott, Steve

Should’ve done it earlier for my own WIP, but for a particular location/time period, I can see making a list like this, and when you need a name for a character, pick one off the list.

We also have a good number of eastern European families that live here, so when I decided to give one of my characters a Serbian surname, I checked carefully to match the given name, that it wasn’t Croatian or whatever (which someone would get offended over)

The Social Security Database is another good place to look for top names of the year.

I am working on my first novel which is realistic fantasy about Ireland and the fairie faith. I need to be accurate about an American teen suddenly moved to live in Ireland with a rural Grandmother who strongly believe in fairies. The realism comes in where I want the Tuatha de Dannan to be a race that could manipulate matter and shape shift using advanced quantum physics. My biggest problem comes from that fact that that period and that of druidism have such limited real facts. It should make it easier to write but there is so much out there that has already been fantasized and I don’t want this to sound like a typical fairy fantasy story. Is there anyone out there who can tell me more about Ireland than I can find on the internet and in books on the fairy faith?

Not so much about fairies, but I just read a good book on early Ireland: Princes of Ireland by Edward Rutherfurd. It talks about the Tuatha de Dannan.

This was extremely helpful! Thank you for always giving concrete steps and examples – I see so many vague posts that just rehash the same things all over the internet. Your posts are always spot-on.

[…] Some writers love it, some hate it. K. M. Weiland considers the two sides to novel research: accuracy and authenticity, and Donald Maass thoroughly explores relevance in […]

[…] https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/novel-research-2/ […]

[…] as K.M. Weiland stresses in her great post on writing historical fiction, even more than getting the facts right (which you need to do), what […]

[…] Novel Research: 12 Ways to Ace Your Book […]

[…] than two thousand years. This presented its own special set of challenges (see K.M. Weiland’s great blog post for some tips on writing historical fiction), but it felt right so I scrapped the first draft […]

[…] to Cut the Crap and Research Your Novel Effectively, Researching Your Novel: The Ultimate Guide, Novel Research: 12 Ways to Ace Your Book, and Fact-Checking Your […]

[…] Strive for accuracy but be happy with being authentic. Do the best you can to be accurate in your story. But unless you are writing non-fiction, you have wiggle room to be creative. K.M. Weiland says, Hook your readers with the truth and they’ll swallow all the rest of your story’s lies. […]

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

• Novel Outlining
• Storytelling Lessons From Marvel

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Write Your Best Book

Check out my latest novel!

( affiliate link )

Free E-Book

Subscribe to Blog Updates

Subscribe to blog posts rss, sign up for k.m. weiland’s e-letter and get a free e-book, love helping writers become authors.

Return to top of page

Copyright © 2016 · Helping Writers Become Authors · Built by Varick Design

• SUGGESTED TOPICS
• The Magazine
• Newsletters
• Managing Yourself
• Managing Teams
• Work-life Balance
• The Big Idea
• Data & Visuals
• Reading Lists
• Case Selections
• HBR Learning
• Topic Feeds
• Account Settings
• Email Preferences

The Case for Reading Fiction

• Christine Seifert

It’s an easy way to build emotional intelligence.

When it comes to reading, we may be assuming that reading for knowledge is the best reason to pick up a book. Research, however, suggests that reading fiction may provide far more important benefits than nonfiction. For example, reading fiction predicts increased social acuity and a sharper ability to comprehend other people’s motivations. Reading nonfiction might certainly be valuable for collecting knowledge, it does little to develop EQ, a far more elusive goal.

Some of the most valuable skills that managers look for in employees are often difficult to define, let alone evaluate or quantify: self-discipline, self-awareness, creative problem-solving, empathy, learning agility, adaptiveness, flexibility, positivity, rational judgment, generosity, and kindness, among others. How can you tell if your future employees have these skills? And if your current team is lacking them, how do you teach them? Recent research in neuroscience suggests that you might look to the library for solutions; reading literary fiction helps people develop empathy , theory of mind , and critical thinking .

• CS Christine Seifert is a professor of communication at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she teaches rhetoric, strategy, and professional writing

Partner Center

How to Research a Historical Novel: Escape the Research Rabbit Hole

by Guest Blogger | 0 comments

It doesn't take any research to know that historical fiction writers love spending time in history books, digital archives, museum exhibits, and library collections—and that's just in our spare time!

But how do we keep that research from overshadowing the actual writing of our books? How do you research a historical novel without getting lost in the research rabbit hole?

This guest post is by Susanne Dunlap, author of twelve works of historical fiction for adults and teens. You can find her newest book The Portraitist here and find all her books and courses on her website susanne-dunlap.com. 

Face it, none of us would write historical novels if we didn’t love the research. If we’re lucky enough to go to historical archives, the very smell of the dust, the idea that the materials and primary sources were handled by people decades or centuries ago, gives us a thrill.

And when we discover something others have overlooked, maybe that little fact that gives us something to hang an entire plot on—pour the champagne! History inspires us, it amazes us, it fascinates us—it torments us.

Research is wonderful and essential. But it can so easily commandeer all our time and energy.

How far do you need to go to track down a person or a date? What if you can’t go to places or get ahold of archival material? Do you have to know everything about the historical period and place and characters in your novel?

Won’t readers be waiting with red pens to circle any little thing you get wrong, or take exception to your interpretation of a historical character’s motives?

And what about the sheer volume of material we now have access to, thanks to the Internet and online archives? One thing leads to another and then another and then another. Before we know it, weeks have passed and we’ve got tons of research but haven’t put a word on a page.

How to Escape the Overwhelm of Research

I had to let go of that tendency to remain mired in research in a hurry when I was forced to research and write a complete manuscript in a year. It had been sold on a one-page proposal.

As I wrote, I remember being certain that someone would take me to task for changing the year a composition by Chopin was published, which I had to do in order to make my story work. But no one cared in the end.

That’s when I first learned that the story comes first, history comes second—a lesson I've had to learn over and over. Story first, history second.

That may sound like sacrilege coming from someone who started writing historical fiction after being in the academic world—a PhD in music history from Yale.

In academic articles, it really mattered that I’d consulted every known source, verified everything and didn’t categorically state something unless I knew it was backed up with historical sources and facts. I learned that the hard way, submitting articles for peer review. Ouch.

When I chose to start writing historical fiction, the research obsession was still deeply ingrained. For the sake of readers and my own sanity, though, I had to learn how to subjugate research to story.

I don’t mean being inaccurate or anachronistic (when a detail is in the wrong time period such as a television in 11th century Europe). I mean becoming comfortable with the necessary limits and with using my own imagination to fill in any gaps.

When My Research Turned Into a Rabbit Hole

My novel The Portraitist is a good example. I started working on it—on and off—seven years ago. Then, I was researching Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun, the bitter rival of Adélaïde Labille-Guiard (protagonist of The Portraitist ), thinking she would be the focus of my story.

There was so much material about her, so many paintings, a Metropolitan Museum exhibition of her work, and her own three-volume autobiography—published when she was very old.

Not only that, but because she was the official portraitist to Marie Antoinette, I felt obliged to research everything about the doomed queen and the true events surrounding Louis XVI’s court.

Through that research, I discovered a close friend of Elisabeth’s, another artist: Rosalie Bocquet Filleul. What a story there!

She married the concierge of the Château de la Muette and became concierge herself after his death. She produced several pastel portraits of royals, and—perhaps more interesting—took a number of likenesses of her neighbor in Passy, Benjamin Franklin.

When I discovered that little fact I had to start researching Benjamin Franklin, his life and politics and how he ended up in that diplomatic residence next door to Rosalie Filleul—of whom he became very fond, not least of all because she was stunningly beautiful.

The rest of Rosalie’s story was poignant and tragic. She ended up guillotined because she auctioned off some chairs that belonged to the Château (I argue she was destitute and nearly starving).

So I wrote a manuscript that encompassed the stories of all three of these remarkable women. How could I leave anything out?

Turns out, I should have. That manuscript was a monster. Too long, too complicated, and I couldn’t do justice to any of the women. I had Too. Much. Information.

How to Set Research Limits

Now, of course we love stumbling on all that good stuff, those intriguing tidbits and interconnections. I’m not saying you shouldn’t do that—there’s no “should” about this.

My point is that at some juncture, you have to let go of the idea of “everything,” or the idea that you have to be the expert, and set your limits.

What limits? You might ask. There are several ways you can rein in your research so it really serves your story.

Once you’ve done enough research to figure out the primary story you want to tell, map it out. I mean that both literally and figuratively. I’m not an outliner by nature, but I’ve learned—again, the hard way—that it’s important to know a few basic things:

1. The time period of your story present.

This may seem obvious. Of course you know what time period you’re writing in!

What I’m suggesting here is that you take a good, hard look at how much of that stretch of time you really want to use.

While there may be a case for covering the entire real life of a historical figure, that sort of endeavor is best left to a biographer. You’re looking for the period bounded by the exact moment that triggers the action in your story, and the exact moment when your protagonist’s arc of change is complete.

Put another way, the moment at which the story question is answered.

You’ll no doubt have researched things around this historical time period, and that’s good background information. But you only really need to look in depth at the historical events that directly affect your protagonist.

2. The places where the story is set.

This is possibly a little easier. I’ll give you a simple example: The Portraitist takes place before, during, and after the French Revolution. But it’s set entirely in or near Paris.

To get even more precise, the primary locations are the Louvre, Versailles, the Château de Bellevue, and a suburb of Paris called Pontault en Brie.

No doubt a lot was going on in other parts of France, and of course, there’s that whole American Revolution that had an impact on the French, but it didn’t impinge on my protagonist’s life. Not Adélaïde’s, in any case. (I axed Benjamin Franklin when I focused the story away from Rosalie.)

Once you have that all mapped out, you can get the vital everyday life information about how your characters get from place to place, how long it takes, whether it was comfortable or a huge pain, how much it might have cost, etc.

I did say you still have to do a lot of research, didn’t I?

3. The main characters.

Another obvious one, but if you keep reminding yourself that the focus is on your protagonist and one or two others, you might avoid amassing research that would only bog down your story if you tried to include it.

And maybe you’ll stop yourself from digging into the life of an interesting but peripheral character (did I mention Benjamin Franklin?) when you should be working on getting those words on the page.

4. Finally, give your research the necessity test.

This is simple: Ask yourself as you start diving into that rabbit hole if what you’re looking for is absolutely necessary.

If you don’t have that piece of information you’re looking for, will something important be missing from your book? Think it over. If the answer is no, then you're likely creating the dreaded info dump.

Once you’ve set your limits, organization is your best friend.

How to Organize Your Research

I have one word for you (and I’m not being paid to say this): Scrivener .

Even if you don’t want to use it as a drafting tool, it has so many great features, not the least of which is that you can use it to gather and organize all your research, even import Web pages so you don’t have to go hunting for that bookmark you forgot what you called or where you put it.

If you’re tech savvy, you can also add metadata to make it easy to search.

And if you’re REALLY tech savvy, you can sync it with another great tool, Aeon Timeline . It would take a long time to explain all the benefits of this app for historical novelists, so I’ll leave it to you to go and check it out. The good news is that neither of these apps is very expensive.

Of course, spreadsheets work too, if that’s your comfort zone. But I recommend at least giving these tools a look.

What you’ll probably find when you start organizing all your research is that having to do so gives a good view of what’s essential and what’s not. You can keep it all, but putting it in folders by priority or time span is a sanity preserver.

Do the Research, but Write the Book

My tips above won’t let you off the hook for doing good, solid research. But they may help you give yourself permission to be more focused, to not have to know absolutely everything.

Sure, you’ll write along and discover a gap in your knowledge that you need to fill in order to tie something together or provide a motivation—or just move your characters around from place to place. So be it.

Do that research when the need arises, don’t try to anticipate every eventuality at the start. It’s all about giving yourself permission.

You want to get that draft written. I want you to get that draft written. So embrace the limits and get organized!

Where do you get stuck in the research process? What tips have helped you learn when to stop, so you can get back to your writing? Share in the comments .

Guest Blogger

This article is by a guest blogger. Would you like to write for The Write Practice? Check out our guest post guidelines .

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Submit Comment

Join over 450,000 readers who are saying YES to practice. You’ll also get a free copy of our eBook 14 Prompts :

Popular Resources

Book Writing Tips & Guides Creativity & Inspiration Tips Writing Prompts Grammar & Vocab Resources Best Book Writing Software ProWritingAid Review Writing Teacher Resources Publisher Rocket Review Scrivener Review Gifts for Writers

Books By Our Writers

You've got it! Just us where to send your guide.

Enter your email to get our free 10-step guide to becoming a writer.

You've got it! Just us where to send your book.

Enter your first name and email to get our free book, 14 Prompts.

Want to Get Published?

Enter your email to get our free interactive checklist to writing and publishing a book.

21 Ways to Research your Novel

Before writing a novel, it’s important to do research on the location, the time period, the people, the food, and the hobbies and jobs of the characters. Many authors dread researching, but it can actually be fun! Here are a few ideas to help you research your novel.

Research your novel with experience

1. Write what you know—use personal experience to write your novel. 2. Visit restaurants that serve the same food your characters would eat in their location. 3. If you have the funds, travel to the location where your characters live. 4. Visit museum exhibits to discover more information about different locations and subjects. 5. Take classes on subjects your characters are interested or have talents in.

Read for research

6. Visit the library and find reference books on the subject. 7. Read novels that are in the same genre as the novel you’re writing (especially bestsellers). 8. Read magazines and journals on the subject.

Use the Internet

9. Look up videos on YouTube . Often a visual image will spark ideas you can include in your book. 10. Do a Google search and see what others have to say (be sure to check their sources, though, to make sure that what they’re saying is reliable). 11. Look up documentaries on the subject. 12. Look around on Pinterest for ideas, inspiration, and information.

Research by interacting with others

13. Call people who live in the location your novel takes place (even if it’s at random from the phone book!). 14. Interview people who have experience with the subjects you touch on in your novel. 15. Email or call experts in the field you need to learn more about, asking them just a few specific questions about the topic that you wouldn’t be able to easily find answers to elsewhere. 16. Watch others who are similar to your characters to see how they think, feel, and talk.

Miscellaneous ideas

17. Write down everything you discover and learn. You don’t need to use all the information you find—in fact, you absolutely won’t used it all—but it’s better to collect more than you’ll use than to have too little. Until you finish the actual writing, you never know what tidbit you might need to pull in. 18. Type up and organize your notes in a way that makes sense to you. 19. Don’t go so overboard when you research your novel that you start procrastinating the writing. If it’s helpful, set a time limit for your research. 20. After you begin your book, if you run into something minor you need to know (like the name or description of an object), you can always type XXXX as a placeholder and do the research for it later so you don’t bog down the writing at a moment when the writing is flowing. 21. Leave some of the things you researched out when you write. It’s extremely jarring to the reader when an author stops the flow of the story to explain how something works or what something means. If it isn’t pertinent to the story and doesn’t introduce confusion by its omission, leave it out! With your research, you can make sure your characters are using the correct terms and reacting appropriately, but you don’t have to include every detail of what you researched. A little authentic flavor goes a long way.

We hope this post has given you some researching ideas. Do you have any tips or tricks on how to research your novel? We’d love to hear in the comments!

If you’d like to learn more about Book Cave promotions and receive more writing tips, please enter your email below and click the “Learn More” button to receive our author newsletter.

Copyright 2022 by Book Cave

Reuse notice: non-commercial users, feel free to print out “21 ways to research your novel” for personal use or give to friends, share online, or make a meme of, as long as you attribute and link back to this post. commercial users, you may share a link to this post or quote a short excerpt from it with attribution and a link to this site, but you may not use this post in its entirety. thank you for caring about copyright..

I am a copyeditor and a typesetter of print books, and have been editing and typesetting (using InDesign) for fourteen years. As the executive editor at Book Cave, I enjoy helping authors be successful, and I only get interrupted a little bit (ha!) by my way-too-smart-for-his-own-good three-year-old and my cute 6 month old.

Keep Reading

Punctuation with Quotation Marks

Punctuation usually goes inside quotation marks, especially in dialogue, but that is not always the case with other usage. Deciding where to put punctuation with quotation marks is simple if you follow a few rules.

Common Writing Mistakes New Authors Make

Here are some common writing mistakes new authors make when first starting out—and many of these mistakes are made by experienced authors too!

9 Essential Steps for Building an Author Platform

To make a living as an author, an author platform is required, whether you are self-published or with a traditional publisher. Here are 9 essential steps to build an author platform.

Leave a Reply

This 21 research guide has been so helpful. I have got a writing tip for you and your readers. Have you tried using the silly tweets on Twitter and The silly articles on Facebook as writing prompts? If not it’s worth a try.

I have written 2 short stories, i would love to send them to you for your feedback

Thanks for the tips. I actually left the whole runaway/cops out of one story, maybe realized it needs the social issue part of life in a romance. But my mystery novel has twist of having no cops.

Catia, helpful article. I write a column for a local Writer’s Organization. On occasion, I will get permission and use a column such as yours instead of writing my own. I always cite the author. I’m wondering if you’d be letting me use this column for that purpose. If so, please give me the wording to use to cite you and your columns. Thanks.

Judythe, you’re welcome to use quotes from the article as long as you include a link back to this page, or write a summary of the post and link back to this page, but please don’t use the entirety of the post, as that would be flagged as duplicate content by Google. Thanks!

Thanks, Catia. Judythe

First and foremost, Thanks for putting your knowledge out there to help others. I am a first time novel writer, and research has always been fun to me even if it has nothing to do with my current book project, all of your tips are spot on a few I have not tried in past but am going to insert them in to my current researching habits. Thanks for being you and doing what you do

Sincerely William Graham

Yes seeing through it but as they are passing through it they grasp a concept and learn it WELL ONE would hope that they grasp it and have personal growth from it. Sincerely, Fernando Augusto Osorio

Book Cave I love it! Its like the allegory of the cave hence me wanting a mentor get it? I love it even more that I remembered that Glaucon was with his mentor Socrates hence me wanting a mentor also, your Book Cave could be a very good site for me. Greatest regards, Fernando Augusto Osorio

I want to write a book in the future and would like a mentor what would you suggest I do to go about getting a mentor? Thanks, Fernando Augusto Osorio

3 Research Hacks for Your Novel

Guest post by Dave Chesson

Research can make or break your novel.

When readers choose your book, they expect to be transported into a believable and engrossing world.

Research is the key to creating an immersive environment to be enjoyed and savored.

Conversely, a badly researched novel can shatter the suspension of disbelief, causing your reader to lose patience with your book and even leave a negative review.

The importance of research for reader enjoyment and, consequently, author reputation can be seen in the following review of Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye’s novel Kingdom Come .

The reviewer in the above image gave the maximum five-star rating to the novel as a direct result of “remarkable research.”

So how do you carry out the same quality of research for your own work? After all, not all writers are researchers. It can be difficult to know the right way to go about it.

Thankfully, there is no need to reinvent the wheel. Read on to discover three research tips you can use on your novel —from hugely successful authors.

• Know Your Reader, Your Questions, and Your Sources

It’s important to understand what your readers expect from your work before you conduct your research.

After all, information about almost any subject on Earth is readily available. If you’ve ever found yourself going off on tangents and opening new tabs while browsing the web, you know exactly how easy it is to get distracted by the sheer amount of information out there.

Reader Expectation

The time you can dedicate to research is probably limited, so spend that time in the most focused and fruitful way possible. Achieve this by gaining a solid understanding of your readers’ expectations.

Readers of the Left Behind series expect accurate use of Biblical prophecy. Readers of historical war fiction expect to find the correct weapons from that time period.

If you’re unsure of how to best meet reader expectations, try the following:

• If you’ve published in the past , use the feedback you received. What did your readers praise? What did they dislike? Can you get a sense of what they ideally expect from your work?
• If you’re a new author, look at reviews for similar work within your genre. After all, you are likely to sell books to people who buy similar books. Established authors are also likely to have a wealth of feedback you can draw upon.
• Feel free to explicitly ask your readers. If you have a mailing list, solicit feedback on what makes or breaks a book in your genre. If you have a social media presence, conduct a poll.
• Refer to the many avenues people use to voice their opinions to understand what readers love. Check out forums for fans of your genre, fan blogs, reader groups on Facebook, relevant hashtags, and so on.

Formulate Specific Research Questions

Once you understand what will best satisfy your readers, develop a list of specific research questions, based on either your novel outline or the general topic.

This is how bestselling author K.M Weiland carries out her research .

Imagine your main character is an English vicar. You could research this generally, but creating specific questions ensures you’ll include everything important. You can add questions as you go, but having a list to start with will help you remain focused.

Form a list of topics your research will cover, and then create specific questions for each.

Imagine writing a crime novel set in 1920s London. You might choose the following categories with particular questions for each:

• Language. Slang in use at the time? Could people generally write well? Different types of dialect based on occupation/social status?
• Everyday life. How did people spend their time? Common food and drink consumed?
• Geography. How did London in the 1920s differ from today? What about the rest of the country/world? How will this impact your story?

The exact categories and questions will depend upon your genre.

Research Sources

Now consider the best places to find the information you need. You should also have a system in place to collect your findings, such as the research capabilities provided by specialist book writing software . While Google is powerful, it’s by no means your only option. Some useful sources include:

• Wolfram Alpha . Like a genius librarian who quickly and accurately answers almost any question. The image below shows Wolfram Alpha in action.

• Google Scholar . High-quality academic information. Excellent if you want a more believable character or story with a depth of info far beyond a normal search engine.
• Internet Archive . To see how a website used to look, use this. As you can see, it’s possible to view Jerry’s website all the way back to 1999!

• Library of Congress . A rich source of American history. View photos as well as other media. You can also “ask a librarian,” as seen below.
• People: Your Richest Source

Turning to your laptop or smartphone by default when researching can lead to overlooking the richest research source of all — the people around us.

For your novel to be truly great, it should focus on more than just facts. It should contain rich human thoughts and feelings.

Margaret Mitchell based a lot of ‘Gone With the Wind’ on the real stories she’d been told in her childhood about the American Civil War . Her book is not only historically accurate, but it also feels authentic.

Draw On the People In Your Life

• Your family . Ask older relatives what life was like growing up. How much did things cost? Did people speak differently to each other? Ask younger relatives what matters to them. How do they spend time with their friends?
• Your friends. Ask those with different occupations or backgrounds, religions, political stances, etc., for their perspectives. This can make your novel more believable than if you merely guess what different lives are like.
• Strangers. Observe people wherever you go. What are they wearing? How do they talk? Good novelists are constantly watching.
• People online. People reveal a lot about themselves on forums, social media, and their blogs . The gives you the opportunity to research people all over the world you might never otherwise come across.

Aren’t novels simply superb when you the characters feel real ? You can give your own story this level of authenticity by drawing upon the rich experiences of the people in your life.

• Travel For Research

Nothing beats actually visiting the place you will write about .

Bestselling thriller and nonfiction author Joanna Penn advocates journeying to your book’s location and getting a firsthand feel for it. This may seem impossible on your budget, but think outside the box:

• Travel during less popular times of the year. Check out a site like Skyscanner and compare airline prices.
• If you can’t afford to go to your specific location, choose somewhere similar but cheaper. Just fact check your research against the actual city to avoid inaccuracies.
• The next best thing to actually being there in person is virtual travel. Google Maps gives you a street view walk around almost anywhere on Earth. You can see the buildings and even what people are wearing.
• Watch documentaries on your location on YouTube or a similar site.

Other Internet Resources

• TripAdvisor . See what real people thought about the attractions, restaurants, and accommodation of cities all over the world.
• Travel Blogs . High-quality posts provide reports to inform and inspire your writing . Many also contain brilliant photos that will help when writing your descriptive passages.
• Travel Forums . Forums allow you to ask about a particular place from a wide range of people who’ve been there. This is a great option if there’s a particular detail you can’t find anywhere else.
• Author Research — What’s Your Personal Process?

Effective author research comes down to:

• Choosing careful questions and sources based on reader expectations
• Making the most of the life experiences of the people around us
• Exploring a book’s location, either firsthand, on the Internet, or by interviewing others

These research tips were suggested by bestselling authors. What’s your favorite research idea? Do you have a personal process you like? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

Are You Making This #1 Amateur Writing Mistake?

Faith-Based Words and Phrases

What You and I Can Learn From Patricia Raybon

Before you go, be sure to grab my FREE guide:

How to Write a Book: Everything You Need to Know in 20 Steps

Just tell me where to send it:

Enter your email to instantly access my ultimate 12-step guide to writing a novel.

We've detected unusual activity from your computer network

To continue, please click the box below to let us know you're not a robot.

Why did this happen?

Please make sure your browser supports JavaScript and cookies and that you are not blocking them from loading. For more information you can review our Terms of Service and Cookie Policy .

For inquiries related to this message please contact our support team and provide the reference ID below.

17 New Books Coming in June

A biography of Joni Mitchell, two hotly anticipated horror novels, a behind-the-scenes exposé about Donald Trump’s years on “The Apprentice” and more.

Credit... The New York Times

Supported by

• Share full article

Fire Exit , by Morgan Talty

In Talty’s novel, Charles — who was raised on a Penobscot reservation in Maine before being asked to leave because he wasn’t Native — reflects on his life and what he has lost in the years since his expulsion.

Tin House, June 4

Godwin , by Joseph O’Neill

O’Neill’s new novel is about soccer in the way his acclaimed book “Netherland” was about cricket, which is to say that it’s less about the sport itself than what it signifies in an unfair world. A restless technical writer joins a sports scout on a global search for an African soccer prodigy, whom they’ve seen only on video. The story builds into a study of greed, labor and ambition.

Pantheon, June 4

The Friday Afternoon Club , by Griffin Dunne

His father was the Vanity Fair journalist Dominick Dunne; his uncle the screenwriter John Gregory Dunne ; his uncle’s wife the essayist Joan Didion . With this memoir, Griffin Dunne, best known as an actor and producer, becomes the latest published author in the clan, sharing stories of his family and their celebrity encounters.

Penguin Press, June 11

Horror Movie , by Paul Tremblay

Years after a curse — and deaths of those involved — thwarted the release of an art-house film called “Horror Movie,” Hollywood has decided it’s ripe for a remake.

Morrow, June 11

Margo’s Got Money Troubles , by Rufi Thorpe

Broke, adrift and pregnant — what’s a girl to do? Margo finds an extremely 21st-century solution to her financial bind: OnlyFans. But semi-pornographic internet fame is perhaps the least of the shenanigans contained within the pages of Thorpe’s comic novel.

One of Our Kind , by Nicola Yoon

An established star of contemporary Y.A. (known for her book “Everything, Everything”), Yoon pivots to adult fiction with her latest — a slow-burn thriller that crosses the cinematic vectors of “Get Out” and “Stepford Wives” in a story about a young family that moves to a prosperous Black community, only to find that all is not as utopian as it seems.

Knopf, June 11

Traveling , by Ann Powers

This is a warts-and-all consideration of Joni Mitchell, whose comeback after a 2015 aneurysm and appearance at the 2024 Grammy Awards , have only burnished her exalted reputation in the pantheon of modern singer-songwriters.

Dey Street, June 11

Apprentice in Wonderland , by Ramin Setoodeh

Setoodeh, the co-editor in chief of Variety, goes deep behind the scenes at “The Apprentice,” the show that transformed Donald Trump from a bankrupt businessman and tabloid fixture into a reality TV star.

Harper, June 18

Little Rot , by Akwaeke Emezi

Emezi’s latest is part deep dive into Nigeria’s underworld, part exploration of love and desire. The story opens as Aima and Kalu end their relationship. Each decides to join their friends for an independent night out, but instead of helping them relax, the evening spirals, exposing both of them to a dangerous side of Lagos.

Riverhead, June 18

On Call , by Anthony Fauci

The unflappable doctor who led the United States through public-health maelstroms — including the AIDS epidemic and Covid-19 — traces his six-decade career. Sharing his life story, he said, may “inspire younger individuals in particular to consider careers in public health and public service.”

Viking, June 18

Middle of the Night , by Riley Sager

When he was 10, Ethan spent an evening camping in his yard with his best friend Billy, but when he woke up in the morning, he found that something — or someone — had violently ripped open their tent, and Billy had vanished. Thirty years later, Ethan tries to get to the bottom of what happened.

Dutton, June 18

Parade , by Rachel Cusk

In her new novel, Cusk presents the enigmatic lives and predicaments of several artists identified by the initial “G”: a man who becomes famous for painting his wife upside down; a painter who escapes her troubled childhood, only to wind up in a troubled marriage; a filmmaker considering the legacy of his imperious mother. Throughout the book, Cusk takes on knotty questions about art, family and selfhood.

Farrar, Straus & Giroux, June 18

Same As It Ever Was , by Claire Lombardo

Lombardo’s novel takes readers to the heart of domestic drama. As her youngest child prepares to leave home, a middle-age woman looks back on the choices that landed her where she is now.

Doubleday, June 18

When the Clock Broke , by John Ganz

For this account of America in the 1990s, Ganz ditches the familiar narrative about a decade of relative peace and prosperity for a disturbing tale of populists, nativists and demagogues, who, acting on the margins of U.S. politics, helped shatter the post-Cold War consensus and usher in anti-democratic forces that plague the country today.

Bear , by Julia Phillips

Two working-class sisters struggle for happiness on a small island off the coast of Washington. Enter … an enormous bear. The author’s debut, “Disappearing Earth,” was a New York Times Best Book of 2019.

Hogarth, June 25

Cue the Sun !, by Emily Nussbaum

From “Queen for a Day” to “The Real World,” “Survivor” and “The Apprentice,” it’s all here in the New Yorker staff writer’s capacious look at the early history and explosive growth of reality TV — the pop-culture genre we love to hate, hate to love and just can’t quit.

Random House, June 25

Frostbite , by Nicola Twilley

The food and science writer travels the length of the cold chain, talking up the people who fill our shipping containers and cheese caves. She meets a frozen dumpling billionaire, explores “the largest concentrated juice-storage facility in North America” and even explains why being chilly really does encourage you to catch a cold.

Penguin Press, June 25

Explore More in Books

Want to know about the best books to read and the latest news start here..

John S. Jacobs was a fugitive, an abolitionist — and the brother of the canonical author Harriet Jacobs. Now, his own fierce autobiography has re-emerged .

Don DeLillo’s fascination with terrorism, cults and mass culture’s weirder turns has given his work a prophetic air. Here are his essential books .

Jenny Erpenbeck’s “ Kairos ,” a novel about a torrid love affair in the final years of East Germany, won the International Booker Prize , the renowned award for fiction translated into English.

Kevin Kwan, the author of “Crazy Rich Asians,” left Singapore’s opulent, status-obsessed, upper crust when he was 11. He’s still writing about it .

Each week, top authors and critics join the Book Review’s podcast to talk about the latest news in the literary world. Listen here .

Advertisement

SURI Block 3 - Leveraging Literature Reviews In-Person

Scholarly publications come in many forms and formats. The most well-known is probably the “original research article,” for example, a case study. However, literature reviews are different because sometimes they are part of an original research articles, and sometimes they are published on their own and known as "review articles.” Review articles summarize and synthesize published information on a particular topic. In this session, we will discuss what goes into a literature review, how to identify them and how you can use them in your library research. 

By the end of this session, you will be able to:  

Locate and identify literature reviews using library databases and search tools.  

Explain how using literature reviews when learning about new topics can be helpful. 

Indicate two sources of assistance on campus for writing literature reviews. 

A complementary session to this one is Finding Sources through Citation Networks (aka Scholarship is Connected). Citation Managers can also play a key role in preparing to write a literature review. 

Related LibGuide: SURI by Joe Ameen

Event Organizer

More events like this....

Suggestions or feedback?

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Machine learning
• Social justice
• Black holes
• Classes and programs

Departments

• Aeronautics and Astronautics
• Brain and Cognitive Sciences
• Architecture
• Political Science
• Mechanical Engineering

Centers, Labs, & Programs

• Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL)
• Picower Institute for Learning and Memory
• Lincoln Laboratory
• School of Architecture + Planning
• School of Engineering
• School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
• Sloan School of Management
• School of Science
• MIT Schwarzman College of Computing

Understanding why autism symptoms sometimes improve amid fever

Press contact :.

Previous image Next image

Scientists are catching up to what parents and other caregivers have been reporting for many years: When some people with autism spectrum disorders experience an infection that sparks a fever, their autism-related symptoms seem to improve.

With a pair of new grants from The Marcus Foundation, scientists at MIT and Harvard Medical School hope to explain how this happens in an effort to eventually develop therapies that mimic the “fever effect” to similarly improve symptoms.

“Although it isn’t actually triggered by the fever, per se, the ‘fever effect’ is real, and it provides us with an opportunity to develop therapies to mitigate symptoms of autism spectrum disorders,” says neuroscientist Gloria Choi , associate professor in the MIT Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and affiliate of The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory.

Choi will collaborate on the project with Jun Huh, associate professor of immunology at Harvard Medical School. Together the grants to the two institutions provide $2.1 million over three years.

“To the best of my knowledge, the ‘fever effect’ is perhaps the only natural phenomenon in which developmentally determined autism symptoms improve significantly, albeit temporarily,” Huh says. “Our goal is to learn how and why this happens at the levels of cells and molecules, to identify immunological drivers, and produce persistent effects that benefit a broad group of individuals with autism.”

The Marcus Foundation has been involved in autism work for over 30 years, helping to develop the field and addressing everything from awareness to treatment to new diagnostic devices.

“I have long been interested in novel approaches to treating and lessening autism symptoms, and doctors Choi and Huh have honed in on a bold theory,” says Bernie Marcus, founder and chair of The Marcus Foundation. “It is my hope that this Marcus Foundation Medical Research Award helps their theory come to fruition and ultimately helps improve the lives of children with autism and their families.”

Brain-immune interplay

For a decade, Huh and Choi have been investigating the connection between infection and autism. Their studies suggest that the beneficial effects associated with fever may arise from molecular changes in the immune system during infection, rather than on the elevation of body temperature, per se.

Their work in mice has shown that maternal infection during pregnancy, modulated by the composition of the mother’s microbiome, can lead to neurodevelopmental abnormalities in the offspring that result in autism-like symptoms, such as impaired sociability. Huh’s and Choi’s labs have traced the effect to elevated maternal levels of a type of immune-signaling molecule called IL-17a, which acts on receptors in brain cells of the developing fetus, leading to hyperactivity in a region of the brain’s cortex called S1DZ. In another study , they’ve shown how maternal infection appears to prime offspring to produce more IL-17a during infection later in life.

Building on these studies, a 2020 paper clarified the fever effect in the setting of autism. This research showed that mice that developed autism symptoms as a result of maternal infection while in utero would exhibit improvements in their sociability when they had infections — a finding that mirrored observations in people. The scientists discovered that this effect depended on over-expression of IL-17a, which in this context appeared to calm affected brain circuits. When the scientists administered IL-17a directly to the brains of mice with autism-like symptoms whose mothers had not been infected during pregnancy, the treatment still produced improvements in symptoms.

New studies and samples

This work suggested that mimicking the “fever effect” by giving extra IL-17a could produce similar therapeutic effects for multiple autism-spectrum disorders, with different underlying causes. But the research also left wide-open questions that must be answered before any clinically viable therapy could be developed. How exactly does IL-17a lead to symptom relief and behavior change in the mice? Does the fever effect work in the same way in people?

In the new project, Choi and Huh hope to answer those questions in detail.

“By learning the science behind the fever effect and knowing the mechanism behind the improvement in symptoms, we can have enough knowledge to be able to mimic it, even in individuals who don’t naturally experience the fever effect,” Choi says.

Choi and Huh will continue their work in mice seeking to uncover the sequence of molecular, cellular and neural circuit effects triggered by IL-17a and similar molecules that lead to improved sociability and reduction in repetitive behaviors. They will also dig deeper into why immune cells in mice exposed to maternal infection become primed to produce IL-17a.

To study the fever effect in people, Choi and Huh plan to establish a “biobank” of samples from volunteers with autism who do or don’t experience symptoms associated with fever, as well as comparable volunteers without autism. The scientists will measure, catalog, and compare these immune system molecules and cellular responses in blood plasma and stool to determine the biological and clinical markers of the fever effect.

If the research reveals distinct cellular and molecular features of the immune response among people who experience improvements with fever, the researchers could be able to harness these insights into a therapy that mimics the benefits of fever without inducing actual fever. Detailing how the immune response acts in the brain would inform how the therapy should be crafted to produce similar effects.

"We are enormously grateful and excited to have this opportunity," Huh says. "We hope our work will ‘kick up some dust’ and make the first step toward discovering the underlying causes of fever responses. Perhaps, one day in the future, novel therapies inspired by our work will help transform the lives of many families and their children with ASD [autism spectrum disorder]."

Share this news article on:

Related links.

• Gloria Choi
• The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory
• Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences

Related Topics

• Brain and cognitive sciences
• Picower Institute
• Neuroscience
• Psychiatric disorders

Related Articles

Building a bridge between neuroscience and immunology

Research finds potential mechanism linking autism, intestinal inflammation

Study may explain how infections reduce autism symptoms

Studies help explain link between autism, severe infection during pregnancy

Previous item Next item

More MIT News

Ultrasound offers a new way to perform deep brain stimulation

Read full story →

Helping robots grasp the unpredictable

“Rosetta Stone” of cell signaling could expedite precision cancer medicine

A technique for more effective multipurpose robots

MIT Corporation elects 10 term members, two life members

Diane Hoskins ’79: How going off-track can lead new SA+P graduates to become integrators of ideas

• More news on MIT News homepage →

Massachusetts Institute of Technology 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, USA

• Map (opens in new window)
• Events (opens in new window)
• People (opens in new window)
• Careers (opens in new window)
• Accessibility
• Social Media Hub
• MIT on Facebook
• MIT on YouTube
• MIT on Instagram

Nevada Today

Engineering faculty researching solutions for the safe storage of spent nuclear fuels, pradeep menezes and mano misra lead $500,000 nrc-funded project.

New process to repair containers used to store nuclear fuel is designed to increase safety.

Mechanical Engineering Associate Professor Pradeep Menezes and Chemical & Materials Engineering Professor Mano Misra have been awarded a $500,000 Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) grant for their project to strengthen storage canisters used for nuclear waste. The project, "Manufacturing of Spent Fuel Storage Canisters with Superior Stress Corrosion Cracking Resistance using Advanced Hybrid Laser-Arc Welding and High-Pressure Cold Spray Additive Post-Processing," was funded in early 2024.

This project addresses chloride-induced stress corrosion cracking (CISCC) of stainless-steel containers used to store used nuclear fuel. The professors say their work promises to significantly advance nuclear safety and engineering, ensuring a more secure future for nuclear waste management.

“The project will elevate the University’s visibility in nuclear science and engineering both nationally and globally,” Menezes said.

This research also involves graduate students and provides opportunities for undergraduates from minority-serving institutions, fostering the development of the next generation workforce in nuclear science and engineering.

Novel concept put into action

The United States currently has over 80,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuels stored in approximately 1,500 dry storage canisters across 63 independent interim storage locations. With storage durations expected to exceed 50 years, these canisters, made from a special type of welded stainless steel, face significant challenges. Over time, these canisters are exposed to environments where salty liquids that attract moisture from the air form on the surfaces of containers, leading to CISCC. Such failures could eventually cause nuclear radiation leakage, endangering nearby populations.

Historically, gas metal arc welding (GMAW) has been used to repair CISCC in the fusion-welded regions of the dry storage canisters. However, GMAW involves high heat input, melting and solidification, which are undesirable for the safety of on-site canister manufacture and repair.

Menezes and Misra's research introduces a novel concept combining advanced hybrid laser-arc welding (HLAW) with high-pressure cold spray (HPCS) post-processing. This HPCS additive deposition method enhances surface structural integrity by using the kinetic energy of powder particles, which impinge on the substrate at high velocity and pressure. Unlike traditional thermal energy-based methods, HPCS does not generate thermal stress, oxidation or other detrimental effects, making it a cost-competitive alternative. The proposed technique is expected to significantly enhance the performance of dry storage canisters, delaying CISCC initiation and propagation.

The HLAW process is anticipated to produce weld joints with superior resistance to pitting corrosion and CISCC compared to conventional GMAW joints. Additionally, the HPCS coating acts as a barrier, further mitigating CISCC. The enhanced resistance and longevity of the dry storage canisters achieved through this research could save millions of dollars in repair and rework costs, while also increasing safety and security for spent nuclear fuels storage applications. The project involves both experimental and computational work.

Related work with the DOE

Misra and Menezes have been collaborating for the past three years on a similar project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, which is responsible for research and development into the long-term disposition of spent nuclear fuel.

This other project, supported by $799,000 in DOE funding, focuses on mitigating stress corrosion cracking in nuclear storage canisters through various peening techniques. The project offers an alternative approach to extending the lifespan of the welded areas in dry storage casks by applying mechanical and thermal peening techniques.

Menezes brings over 20 years of research experience in surface modification techniques, degradation analysis, HPCS and finite element modeling. He has written over 180 refereed journal publications, 10 books and holds one issued U.S. patent. Recognized as a leading scientist, Menezes boasts a Google Scholar citation count exceeding 10,000 and an H-index of 50. He was listed among the top scientists by Research.com in its 2024 national rankings and is also featured in Elsevier's top 2% of scientists worldwide, both for career-long and single-year contributions.

Misra, with over 200 papers published in refereed journals and 14 issued U.S. patents, is a longtime collaborator of Menezes’. Their partnership has previously secured several significant grants, including those from the National Science Foundation, NASA, the DOE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office and the Nuclear Energy University Program.

Research & Innovation

Andrei Derevianko elected AAAS Fellow in the field of physics

From being recognized as University of Nevada, Reno Outstanding Researcher to Sara Louise Hartman Endowed Professor, Derevianko is adding another item to his impressive list of accolades

Visit Lake Tahoe on May 30 to learn about “The Promise of Chemical Ecology”

Neurodegenerative disease prevention, “blue zones” and environmental conservation to be discussed at the Hitchcock Center for Chemical Ecology keynote presentation

University recognizes Engineering researchers this spring

Ebrahamian, Pagilla and Tavakkoli acknowledged at Honor the Best May 14

2024 Research & Innovation Awards

Honoring faculty through awards and fellowships

Editor's Picks

AsPIre working group provides community, networking for Asian, Pacific Islander faculty and staff

University confers more than 3,000 degrees during spring commencement ceremonies

Father and son set to receive doctoral degrees May 17

Strong advisory board supports new Supply Chain and Transportation Management program in College of Business

University of Nevada, Reno team develops new vegetation mapping tools

Improved management of rangeland, better recovery from wildfires, among likely benefits

Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology to host second annual Aphasia Camp in September 2024

The annual Nevada Aphasia Camp brings people from diverse backgrounds together for a weekend of camping filled with activities, good food and great conversation

United States Congressman Ro Khanna joins President Brian Sandoval for 'Discussions in Democracy'

Congressman Khanna joined the President in a conversation at the University of Nevada, Reno about voter education, exercising the vote and working across the aisle

Mackay School celebrates another year of excellence

The annual John W. Mackay Banquet took place on April 26

College of Science 2024 awards

The College of Science student, faculty and staff awards include several University-wide awards and external awards

Sanford Center for Aging’s new vehicle expands transportation services

The transportation program keeps older adults mobile and engaged in the community

Publication 'The Atlantic' gifts complimentary access to University community

Following the ‘Democracy at a Crossroads’ event, students, faculty and staff can access the publication through the University Libraries

Reynolds School of Journalism looks back at the spring 2024 semester

Dean Yun recaps the highlights of the semester in the semester in review video

UTA program helps students achieve medical school dreams

Tuesday, Jun 04, 2024 • Katherine Egan Bennett : contact

Getting into graduate school to become a doctor or a dentist is difficult. By some estimates, only about 37% to 42% of students who apply to medical or dental school are accepted.

To help pre-medical and -dental students achieve their dreams, UT Arlington created a program called the Health Professions Advisory Committee (HPAC) . The odds of graduate school admission for students participating in HPAC is significantly higher than average, with an estimated 85% succeeding.

This is just one of several UT Arlington initiatives helping  alleviate the shortages of health care professionals in Texas , particularly in rural areas .

“Our numbers vary slightly every year, but it’s so exciting to see so many of our students achieving their dream of going to medical or dental school,” said Sandy Hobart, health professions advisor and HPAC chair. The program is run through UTA’s College of Science, which includes the departments of Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics—the core subjects pre-medical and -dental students must take before applying to graduate school.

To participate in HPAC, students must be either an alumnus or a current UTA student with a minimum grade point average of 3.25. The program also works with attending UTA as postbaccalaureates to take additional courses required for graduate school in the health professions.

Those interested must submit information on why they want to become a doctor or a dentist, explain their relevant experiences and submit letters of recommendation. A designated group of faculty and staff across UTA then completes a holistic evaluation of each student to see if they’re prepared to apply to medical or dental school in the upcoming cycle. Not all students who apply are ultimately accepted; however, there is no limit to the number of students who can participate each year.

“HPAC is one great way for students to stand out in the medical school application process,” said Nina Nguyen, a third-year medical student at UT Health San Antonio’s Long School of Medicine. Nguyen graduated from Bowie High School in Arlington before earning a degree in biochemistry from UTA.

All students who submit an HPAC application receive feedback and mentoring from Hobart throughout the medical and dental school application process. As part of this supportive approach, accepted students also receive an interview and letter of recommendation for their graduate school applications from the HPAC committee.

“Often times, medical school applicants have similar grades, MCAT scores, interests and volunteering experiences,” Nguyen said. “HPAC provides one additional letter that applicants can use to allow them to stand out against the crowd. Since the HPAC letter is an accumulative recommendation from multiple faculty and staff, it carries significant weight. Personally, I think my HPAC letter helped reinforce what was already on my application.”

“Many of our students are first-generation college students and need guidance on how to achieve their goal of becoming a physician or a dentist,” said Laura Mydlarz, associate dean of the College of Science and a distinguished professor of biology. She works closely with many of the students taking biology coursework as part of their graduate school prerequisites.

“Seeing my students not only reach their goals, but also grow as people and feel confident pursuing these goals is one of the most fulfilling parts of my career,” said Hobart (’07 BS, Biology, Chemistry). “Some members from our earlier cohorts of students are now practicing doctors and dentists. I’m excited to see all the good they do to improve the lives of others in our communities.”