Research -- How much is too much?

Most writers (myself included) can't look up a word in the dictionary without stopping to read other cool stuff along the way (yeah, writers are probably the only people who find dictionaries cool). Sometimes I get so engrossed in reading other stuff that I forget the word I was looking up in the first place. The same thing can happen with research.

For certain genres, it's critical to do research before you start writing. Say you're doing a urban fantasy, thriller, romance or pretty much anything that takes place in an actual non-make-believe place -- you have to know about the place where your story is set, and any accessories your main character might either have or use -- for example a Prada bag or an assault rifle -- or both. ; ) When you're dealing with real places and real things, it's critical to get the details right. Your readers will catch you if you try to fake it. But at the same time, writers can get so engrossed in digging out those details that before they know it, their deadline is a heck of a lot closer than it should be. So do the research needed to get it right, then get back to work. You can always read more about Elizabethan country house architecture later.

The same thing applies to the people in your novel: be they a detective, doctor, werewolf, or vampire (or any combination of the above). The day-to-day job of a detective or doctor is pretty much set, not much room for deviation there. But not so much with werewolves or vampires. Sure there are the basics that everyone knows for both. BUT . . . as the market is saturated with books on paranormal creatures, anything you write has to be different -- the story, the character, the voice, everything. You gotta make it new and fresh to get an agent and then an editor's attention. DON'T BE AFRAID TO DO YOUR OWN THING. It's worked great for me with my goblins. Most people perceive goblins as gnarled, ugly, with post-nasal drip, and either stupid or only moderately clever. I went with tall, sexy, chisled features, and a formidable intellect (except for Ocnus Rancil). ; ) It was different, and it's gotten me a lot of nice attention. Different is sometimes very good.

Coming up this week: In editing TTWD, I'm finding that some of the things I'm fixing might help those of you working on your own books. So this week, I'll blog on how much backstory to include in a series novel, and character introductions -- in a series book, what's the right balance between needed information and too much information?