How much research and prep do you do?

[Coragem]

Hi Guys:

I have one published book that isn't sci-fi or fantasy. I'm now researching and planning a sci-fi novel, which has the potential to become a series.

I'm still a novice, albeit aspiring to be a professional, and as I tackle the planning stages of my novel I'm just wondering how much research and planning others do?

Personally I like to cover as many bases as I can before I start writing, because I don't want too many hassles (e.g., look this or that up, or overcome this or that unforeseen plot problem) once I'm writing.

I tend to stick with three detailed files for notes and prep:
1) Pretty detailed character profiles (anything I can use in monologues, reflections, and dialogues).
2) Synopsis.
3) Factions or groups, history and context, and setting.

At the moment the research is a bit dry, but survivable, and the main headache is probably envisaging the plot twists near the end of the story (when things get a bit frenetic).

Opinions and advice appreciated.

Coragem.

 

[Nik]

I tend to do a LOT of research to ensure I can 'back-stitch' potential loose ends.

For example, most of the research I did for a 'plausible vampire' story --No Transmogriflying !!-- never made it into the tale beyond a couple of throw-away remarks that nag at your curiosity...

I'm currently battling with an 'ISOT' tale. I find it difficult to be convincing about eg DIY kiln building without laying the groundwork and planting pertinent comments, drawn from multiple on-line sources.

I have a lot of reference books and keep Amazon busy, but Google is my friend.

 

[J Riff]

IN SF, sometimes you can combine the two, by reading stuff like NF Asimov books.
Vampire research gets into unverifiable myth, may as well just make it up. )

 

[Jake Reynolds]

I research as it crops up, though I find I'm doing more and more of it. My scrapbook is crammed with ship cross sections, horse and human anatomy diagrams, sword parts, medieval surgery and herbalistic charts, travel speeds, castle layout maps, old english town maps, aquaduct and plumbing designs, carriage driving manuals, effects of psychological trauma and god knows what else...

Its all about authenticity and confidence- in a fantasy world there are hundreds of shortcuts as opposed to an historical novel. Still, you need to know that nobody can ride a horse at a gallop for hours in full plate armour, then swing a sword all day. Having said all that though, there is no way I've caught everything, and it is inevitable that someone will read my books and just happen to be an expert on such and such. As long as you feel you know enough to write the plot reasonably, then finer points (i.e. not ones that will force the plot to change) can be checked later.

In fantasy you have the bonus of being God, too, so if you find out that the characters coudl never travel from X to Y with the timeframe of events you've done, just move X and Y on your map! Yay for omnipotence!

 

[Nik]

"Vampire research gets into unverifiable myth"

When you toss out the myth, legend and hype, you're left with a severe form of Porphyria, plus hypnotic Glamour and a neuro-toxic Bite. Assume their branch of Humanity stayed in the trees a bit longer, and Eurasian DayWalkers were no match for Bronze Age weapons. The rest follows...
;-)

 

[J Riff]

Vampires. Not some other subject that hasn't been written to death, especially in re: myth-based versions of same.
Nothing against vampires! Writing based on Dracula, Vlad or any of the legends, however, is about as interesting as yet another hack at Jack the Ripper. Not at all uninteresting, just rather well covered.
Mayhap reading the odd book about science or natural law would provide more information about how to break those laws, and therefore write more believably about supernatural beings. Maybe.
The fun is in digging out the needed info, but some things are difficult to research. Plumbing on a Starship of the future, for example. )

 

[Coragem]

For me research is a foundation, so lately I've been going into aspects of science (fusion, genetics), and martial arts, and also (since my novel is set on Earth) I need to know objective facts about my settings.

However, beyond that A LOT of the hard groundwork comes from my own over-stretched head. I'm established a detailed world, with different groups and factions, with different moral and political affiliations. Then there's all the context and history within that world, which has led to the state of affairs that my characters find themselves in.

Being a novelist requires such a range of skills, and part of it is the ability to be "hard headed" when pinning down things to do with science, and plot, and context. THEN there's the "softer" empathic and creative stuff, which is at least equally as important (or to me more important, and more fun!).

Coragem

 

[ali565]

Usually I don't do any research and just jump straight in but that never seems to work and I always get stuck so for my current novel I have decided to try a different approach and do lots of research before hand and hope that it makes it easier.

 

[MstrTal]

I have been struggling with the opposite end of the spectrum.

I find my world-building or research becomes to involved. For instance while researching the historic background for one of my character races I ended up reading the Apocrypha in its entirety and then moved on to the Talmud and associated texts. I for one get so bogged down in research and minutia that I can not develop a storyline or plot to even get started with any actual writing.

For instance I have only been able to come up with three characters for my latest endeavor. One protagonist, one historic and one possible background/plot developmental character (?) and each character has a minimum 5 pages of individual development and another 3 pages of how they might possibly inter-relate.

I need to figure out how to take all of this and make the leap from development/ research and "put the pen to paper" so to speak. I guess I am of no help what so ever huh?

 

[Susan Boulton]

A lot!

But the story and plot are the main thing. Research is good, but when it bogs down the plot it does more harm than good.

I try and learn about the subject so I can create a world where the information given and knowledge of the characters is not false or bolted on for the reader. Sometimes a gun is just a sword if you get my meaning

 

[dragonkain]

I tend to do a lot of backwork with my writing. I'll map out the characters pretty well and have the plot set out before I get to work doing any actual writing. This allows my fickle mindset to twist the plot around a few different ways before settling on one idea. For example, the most recent chunk of scifi that I've been working on actually went through four different re-drafts before I chucked the lot of it and rewrote my villains from scratch to make everything more natural.

I suppose what I'm trying to say is if you have to have anything down in stone, go for the characters and their motivations/goals, as they are what drives the plot forward. Yes, it may serve the storyline for this event to occur, but if it isn't naturally what your villain would want, then it isn't going to flow naturally in your story.

As far as other research, I make it as I go and take notes in one big file that I keep open while I'm writing. I also keep a third file open to diagram out the individual scenes before I write them so that I have a fresh handle on what I am working with before I get started.

So, if your plot twists near the end are the problem for you, I'd say settle down with a drink and get yourself into the mind of your villain. Not just 'okay so he's crazy, he'd do this.' I mean get in there, get gritty. Become your villain and lay a few traps that you know your hero is going to end up falling for/into. Spin the story around and throw in a few kinks to make the bad guy be the one that wins, if they succeed. At least thats how I always end up doing it.

 

[Coragem]

I
For instance I have only been able to come up with three characters for my latest endeavor. One protagonist, one historic and one possible background/plot developmental character (?) and each character has a minimum 5 pages of individual development and another 3 pages of how they might possibly inter-relate.

I make similar notes, and I probably would've been as obsessive about it as you ten years ago. I'm a little more aware nowadays of how notes can become an end in themselves, or how they can become a huge cumbersome monster that you don't know how to deal with once you're writing!

I do think planning, and lots of it, is normally VITAL. If you're writing a novel (maybe 150,000 words) you're going to get lost if you don't have a map (even though you're bound to finish up adapting your map as you go along). And I do, always, do character profiles with useful background that I can use in character reflections (monologues and dialogues) -- and then further notes on the interrelationships between characters.

If I'm going to put a timeframe on planning I'd say, in truth, I'm normally looking at 4-to-6 months hard work. Maybe half that time is running exciting ideas through my head and scribbling rough notes and reminders. Then the other half of the time is serious and strategic planning, developing a well organised set of notes that'll give me a reference and a foundation once I'm writing.

Coragem

 

[ali565]

A lot!

But the story and plot are the main thing. Research is good, but when it bogs down the plot it does more harm than good.

I try and learn about the subject so I can create a world where the information given and knowledge of the characters is not false or bolted on for the reader. Sometimes a gun is just a sword if you get my meaning

I agree with you, if I do too much research then I end up getting worried that everything that happens doesn't fit in with my research so I try not to do too much!