How much research you should do depends on the requirements of the book. I am specifically referring to fiction. Non-fiction is another thing entirely.

In my Organized Crime and Corruption series, each book required in-depth research for the series to be interpreted as credible writing, and that’s the key: sounding credible.

You’re not writing a peer-reviewed article for a science journal. You’re writing an action thriller or a whodunit. The best part is you get to learn something with every book you write. The most important question is: How much actual science should you include to reach the credibility threshold but not bore the reader to death?

How Much Information is Enough?

Here is a simple formula to follow. Imagine you are a biologist sitting at the dinner table with family, and they start asking questions about your latest research project. You would ‘dumb down’ the conversation so as not to see their faces glaze over. That means losing a lot of the jargon and keeping it at a higher level than if you were discussing the last experiment results with a colleague. This rule also applies when characters described as experts are discussing the project among themselves.

The reader doesn’t want a lecture on how cell mitochondria react to the ultraviolet light spectrum, but that could be the explanation for a human mutation that has caused another zombie apocalypse. Will ultraviolet light exposure cause zombie-ism? Who knows, but it sounds plausible. Never let facts get in the way of a good story. Remember that you’re writing fiction for entertainment.

First, The Story Matters

Facts support the story, but they are not the story. Start with known facts, then embellish the facts. In the last book of The Organized Crime and Corruption series entitled ‘Sugar’, I claimed that researchers figured out how to use high fructose corn syrup to alter DNA and stop the telomeres from degrading, thus creating an immortality serum. Telomere degradation is, in fact, what causes aging, but how you could use corn serum to change them is the secret sauce the researchers discovered and the basis for the book narrative. The reader knows it’s fiction and plays along because it’s entertainment, not a biology seminar. We all suspend reality to some degree for a good story or joke; the key point is ‘to some degree’.

Reality and Fiction

There are exceptions to how far you can stretch reality. If you are writing a crime novel, a whodunit, you can’t stray too far from basic police procedure if it’s a police department that’s investigating a crime scene. Examples include: the homicide division always handles missing person’s cases in the event that it’s a homicide. The police cannot blatantly violate people’s rights unless the story is about a bad cop who does. Interrogation techniques need to be close to how it actually happens in real life. For example, how long can you hold a suspect? What about the lawyer-client privilege? A basic rule is that any fact that’s commonly known to the public is also known to the reader, so it can’t be altered.

Physical Reality

The laws of physics are always in play unless the story is about a person who can alter them. In my book, Michael, the main character can control objects with his mind. I lay the groundwork for this phenomenon, and as the character matures, so do his powers. By progressing reality-bending abilities through stages, the reader can suspend belief. I also provide a plausible explanation for why Michael can do the things he does. I’ve seen too many films and books where the writer takes the effort to do this. Even if the explanation is weak, it’s an explanation. Give the reader something believable so they will build the bridge from reality to fantasy.

Research Multiple Sources

Where do you find your research?  I find all of my material online. Google it. After three or four articles on the subject, you will have enough of a foundation to not embarrass yourself. You only need enough for your fictional story to pass the smell test. Do not overthink it. Concentrate on the storytelling and plot. That’s what the reader came for, not a biology or police procedural documentary, which are usually more fictitious than most novels.

Some writers say they go to a location to get the feel for the scene. Make your best judgment here, but a good rule would be the cost versus the benefit. Include your time in the cost, as well. In the book, Lottery, one of the winners visits Barcelona, Spain, where she meets her demise. I didn’t travel there because the internet is saturated with travel information. The city became famous from the Olympics, so readers know it. Watching a travel guide video is free. If I had a book primarily located in Barcelona, the trip may be worth it because everything could be riding on getting it just right.

Getting Help

A good developmental editor will point out weaknesses in your book’s believability. For that reason, I recommend having an editor who writes or edits police-investigated crime stories to edit your police-investigated crime story and so on. Your editor may tell you that in Europe, people don’t tip the taxi driver or the waiter. If you make that mistake in the story, and someone is well-traveled, it will hurt your credibility.

What we see happening today is new writers don’t want an in-depth developmental edit because it is expensive, but a read-through by an editor to point out problem areas would work. But, if someone approached me with a young adult novel, I would decline. Find a writer who writes in your category, and have them give your rough draft a read.

I hope this helps, and let us know if we can help you further.