Research adds so much to a story, but with so much great information available to us today finding the right information can sometimes become overwhelming. 

Don’t let your research overtake your writing project! Create a clear and effective process to find the perfect tidbits to add validity and relatability to your story. 

Research is one of my favorite activities when I’m setting out to write a new story. It feels like I’ve just opened a box containing a 1000-piece puzzle, and I’m digging in to see what the pieces look like and imagine how they’ll fit together as the story progresses. But that excitement can lead me to days, weeks, months (ok, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit) of endlessly searching for new possibilities for those puzzle pieces to come together.

My ideas for the story constantly change, transforming one idea into other ideas, deepening the story’s narrative and taking me places I hadn’t thought to go, which can keep me stuck in the first draft stage where I am interminably drawn to another piece of information that has me reconsidering the other directions I’ve already considered. It can be overwhelming and self-defeating.

To help the get past this bottleneck issue, I’ve done something that will not surprise you—I’ve researched!

I’ve researched how to be more productive, targeted, and to know when to stop, and I want to share that information with you.

What’s the Benefit of Great Research

Facts gleaned from research adds a layer of authenticity to a story, juices up your storyline with real world complexities, and gives readers leads to chase when they want to find out more about the world your characters reside in. During the writing process, it helps inspire the author and pulls back the curtain on the mysteries behind the topic you want to add to your story. No matter what genre you write in, think of research like the border pieces of the puzzle. Good research gives context to your story and delivers a more satisfied experience to your readers.

Good research serves three essential purposes:

Builds trust with your readers
Fills in gaps in your own knowledge
Provides concrete examples to inspire or reinforce your narrative

Begin Your Research with Trusted Resources

The best start to any research project is to find the right resources. Make sure they are reliable, relevant, and relatable in some way to your story. If you’re writing a romantic scene with references to a specific type of cuisine don’t just rely on the last best meal you had. Find recipes or meal plans that give you the right words to describe the meal. If you are writing a western, look for reliable resources that will tell you the specifics about how to shoe a horse. Here are some good places to start when thinking about where you want to conduct your research—

Familiar Resources

• Your own bookshelf
• Podcasts on your particular subject
• Articles you’ve saved
• Experts you already know

Outside Resources

• Your local library system
• Professional associations for expert opinions
• University research departments
• Industry journals
• News archives
• YouTube videos
• Online websites, such as the online encyclopedia Wikipedia
• Search engines (But be careful—this is where most of my available time gets stuck as I start chasing research tidbits)

Research Tips   

Check an author’s other work if you like their approach
Makes sure there are citations and references listed
Check the publication date to determine if the information is current
Take a look at the bibliographies of the books you read to find more sources
Avoid information that is part of an advertising pitch or contains extreme or vague information
Save everything that looks useful – you can sort it out later

Types of Data

One of the best things I found in my research about research is there are only three types of data:

Statistics and data offer an author straight-up facts and findings, and each one should come with a citation to its sourced material
Quotes from experts or people “in the know” require the exact wording and a citation
Anecdotes require a brief summary and the appropriate sourcing

Your Research Project in Action

Now that you have your reliable resources, it’s time to get busy! If you’re like me and can get caught up in finding out more juicy details to add to your story it may be a great time to implement the “5, 10, 10, 5” rule, and it goes a little something like this:

1. Pick one key point to research for 5 minutes
   • Research one specific item and stay focused on that one item
   • Write down three questions that you want to find answers to
   • Note the type of evidence you are looking for, such as statistics, examples, or expert quotes. This is particularly helpful to me because it sets me on a direct path to the information I need, rather than through a divergent path of anecdotes, say, when I actually need statistics.
2. Scan the information for relevant references for 10 minutes
   • Only work from 2-3 reliable sources to simplify and focus your research project
   • Save links, bookmark, or take photos of the information you need
   • Highlight key passages
3. Record the information you need most for 10 minutes
   • Create a simple system to record your research; include space to write down where it came from, when the information was collected, who collected it, and a link to the resourced information if available
   • Save your best findings and note how you’ll use them in the story
4. Quality check for 5 minutes
   • Read your original point
   • Add your research
   • Make sure it flows naturally

Research Tools

Having effective tools in your research toolbelt can really take your effectiveness to the next level, but don’t get carried away! Only use the tools you need to avoid your research project from becoming chaotic. Here are some of our favorite tools—

• Microsoft Word and Excel, and Google Docs are helpful to create simple research documents you can easily search, share, and back up
• Web Browsers’ “Bookmark” features allow you to create folders for different topics or sources
• Microsoft’s Notebook can turn you into a record keeping superstar!
• Evernote: Clip web articles and organize by chapter
• Apple Notes/Google Keep: Quick capture of ideas and sources on your phone
• Kindle/eBooks: The search feature combined with its ability to highlight specific passages is the solution to foregoing typing out quotes, and their search function helps you skim through the content to find the information you need most
• ReadWise saves and organizes the highlights and quotes you’ve found through your Kindle app
• Zotero is a great free resource often used by Academics to track biographies and create folders to track their research. Powerful for anything that might require an annotated bibliography
• Index cards and journals lets you see your research without logging into your computer, and using index cards allows you to move your thoughts around as you plot your story
• Sticky flags will take you right to the information when researching physical books
• File folders will help you organize physical information by topic, chapter, or source
• Highlighters let you color-code different types of research
• Voice memos and photos of book pages for quick grabs

Beware of research pitfalls! 

Finding Research Mistakes:

• Looking at only the first page of Google results—some of the most important information I’ve found has come from page 2 or 3 of a Google search
• Using only one type of source and not verifying the information with other sources
• Believing what you see on social media—never give your blind trust to what you find on social media
• Not checking dates of your sourced material

Organization Research Mistakes:

• Saving everything “just in case” (I’m raising my hand in guilt here)
• Not noting where you found something
• Keeping research scattered across multiple places; good organization will alleviate a lot of stress
• Forgetting to back up digital notes
• Trying to use too many research organizational systems at once

Writing Mistakes:

• Letting research overwhelm your own voice
• Including facts just because they’re interesting, not relevant
• Dumping research without context; don’t make your story a lesson for your readers, make it an adventure in storytelling!
• Not fact-checking quotes and forgetting who said what

And always remember

Research should support your message, not become the message!