Research for Your Novels

Research for Your Novels: Behind-the-Scenes Tips for Authentic Storytelling

Unlock the full potential of your fiction by mastering the art of Research for Your Novels!

In this expanded guide, we dive deep into the principles discussed in our video, showing you exactly how thoughtful research can elevate your storytelling, captivate your readers, and keep your worlds believable.

By the way, don’t forget if you want even more hands-on tips and examples, be sure to visit the full supporting post on our website!

1. Avoiding Immersion-Breaking Mistakes

Nothing pulls a reader out of your story faster than a detail that doesn’t add up. Whether it’s a weapon that fires more rounds than it holds or a character acting out of sync with their environment, these “clunks” in your narrative are like hearing a bad noise in your car-they immediately signal that something’s wrong.

• Example: In Shawshank Redemption, the prosecutor’s case hinges on the revolver’s six chambers and the number of shots fired. That level of accuracy not only drives the plot but also makes the story believable and compelling.

• Takeaway for You: Double-check technical details like how many bullets a weapon holds or how a tool works to maintain credibility and keep readers engaged.

2. Building Worlds with Historical and Cultural Depth

Rich, immersive worlds are built on a foundation of real history and culture. Knowing how people lived, worked, and even slept can transform flat settings into living, breathing environments.

• Beds in History: In medieval times, beds were expensive and often shared. Inns rented space by the number of people per bed, not per room. Including these details can make your fantasy or historical world feel authentic.

• Sleeping Patterns: Humanity was historically a biphasic species, people often slept in two shifts, waking in the middle of the night to eat or tend fires. Incorporating such rhythms adds vibrancy and realism to your narrative.

• Takeaway for You: Research daily life in your chosen era. Small, accurate details about food, shelter, and routines make your story resonate.

3. Emotional Resonance Through Realism

When you ground your fiction in real-world experiences, you create emotional connections with your readers. Referencing historical fears (like sea monsters on ancient maps) or genuine survival tactics (like guarding a campfire at night) draws readers in and makes your world relatable.

• Example: Ancient maps depicted krakens and killer whales, which reflected genuine seafaring fears. Using such references can both educate and emotionally engage your audience.

• Takeaway for You: Tap into universal experiences and emotions by weaving in authentic historical or cultural fears, hopes, and challenges.

4. Hands-On Research and Expert Sources

Watching practical anthropology videos or reading expert sources gives you firsthand knowledge that shines through in your writing. Avoid relying solely on internet forums or hearsay-seek-out demonstrations, documentaries, and scholarly works.

• Modern Example: Jack Carr’s thrillers are praised for their technical accuracy because of his real-life Navy SEAL experience. Readers trust and get lost in his stories because every detail rings true.

• Takeaway for You: Seek out videos, books, and expert interviews. Watching someone build a medieval hut or demonstrate swordplay can provide insights you can’t get from secondhand sources.

5. Technical Accuracy in Speculative Fiction

Research isn’t just for historical novels! Science fiction and thrillers demand just as much attention to detail. Whether it’s quantum communication or the societal impact of self-driving cars, understanding the real science behind your ideas can make or break your story.

• Quantum Communication: Knowing the limitations and possibilities of quantum entanglement can help you craft believable futuristic tech and plot twists.

• Urban Planning: Considering how self-driving cars might change city layouts or emergency evacuations adds depth to your world-building.

• Takeaway for You: Stay curious about emerging technologies and scientific discoveries. Use them as springboards for fresh, plausible story ideas.

6. Connecting with the Era-Past, Present, or Future

The most compelling stories come from understanding how people in your chosen era would logically and practically exist. Whether you’re writing about medieval peasants, modern survivors, or future explorers, immerse yourself in their worldviews and daily challenges.

• Personal Anecdote: The transcript shares how a poorly researched scene in a Star Wars novel broke immersion for a reader who had real desert experience. Authenticity matters!

• Takeaway for You: Step into your characters’ shoes-literally and figuratively. Know their environment, their tools, and their mindset.

By the way, don’t forget to visit our website for the full post and bonus materials to supercharge your novel research!

Avoiding Immersion-Breaking Mistakes: How Research Protects Your Story

Immersion is the magic that keeps readers turning pages late into the night. But nothing shatters that spell faster than a detail that doesn’t add up what the transcript calls the narrative equivalent of hearing a “gu-unk” in your car. Let’s explore how you, as a writer, can avoid these pitfalls and build a world readers never want to leave.

What Breaks Immersion?

Immersion breaks when a story includes technical or factual errors, or when the logic of the world doesn’t hold up under scrutiny. These mistakes can be as small as a weapon firing more rounds than it holds, or as big as a character acting out of sync with their environment. Readers who notice these slip-ups are immediately pulled out of the story, questioning the credibility of the narrative1.

The Power of Getting Details Right

• Weapon Accuracy:

  Imagine writing a thriller where your character uses a revolver with six chambers, but the story describes seven or eight shots before a reload. Any reader familiar with firearms will spot the error instantly. The transcript highlights Shawshank Redemption as a masterclass in getting this right: the prosecutor’s case hinges on the revolver’s six chambers and the number of shots fired, making the plot both believable and compelling. This level of detail not only drives the story but also earns the trust of your audience.

• Historical Realism:

  Details about daily life like how beds were rare and expensive in medieval times, or how inns rented space by the bed, not the room can transform a generic setting into a living, breathing world. When you show four people sharing a bed at a crowded medieval inn, your story gains authenticity. If you ignore these realities, your world feels flat and unconvincing.

• Cultural and Environmental Logic:

  Understanding historical sleep patterns, like biphasic sleep (two periods of sleep broken by a wakeful interval), adds vibrancy and realism. If your characters are awake in the middle of the night, tending fires or sharing stories, your world feels lived-in and true to its era. Overlooking these patterns can make your story feel anachronistic or artificial.

Why Research Matters

• Reader Trust:

  When your story is technically and culturally accurate, readers feel safe in your hands. They can relax and immerse themselves, knowing you’ve done the work to make the world believable. This is why authors like Jack Carr, a former Navy SEAL, are praised for their technical precision-his firsthand knowledge keeps readers engaged for hours without a single “clink” of disbelief1.

• Emotional Connection:

  Accurate details do more than just prevent mistakes; they create emotional resonance. When you draw on real fears (like sea monsters on ancient maps) or genuine survival tactics, you tap into universal experiences that connect readers to your characters and world.

Learning from Mistakes

The transcript gives a personal example: reading a Star Wars novel set on a desert planet, the narrator was pulled out of the story when a character touched metal in the blazing heat without consequence-something anyone with desert experience knows is unrealistic. That one error was enough to break the spell and put the book down for months. This illustrates how even a single misstep can lose a reader’s trust and investment1.

How to Avoid These Mistakes

• Double-check technical details (weapons, tools, technology) for accuracy.

• Research daily life in your story’s era – food, shelter, routines, and customs.

• Understand environmental realities – climate, geography, and how people adapt.

• Use credible sources: Prefer expert books, documentaries, and hands-on videos over internet forums or unverified opinions.

• Put yourself in your characters’ shoes: Imagine living in their world, facing their daily challenges, and acting accordingly.

Bottom Line:

Immersion-breaking mistakes are preventable. With careful research and attention to detail, you can build worlds that feel real, characters who act logically, and stories that hook readers from start to finish.

By the way, don’t forget to check out our full supporting post for more tips, examples, and resources to help you master research and storytelling!

Building Worlds with Historical and Cultural Depth

Creating a world that feels authentic, immersive, and emotionally resonant is one of the most powerful tools in a novelist’s arsenal. By grounding your settings and societies in real historical and cultural details, you invite readers to lose themselves in your story and believe in your characters’ lives even if your world is entirely fictional.

Why Historical and Cultural Depth Matters

When readers encounter a world where the details ring true-where the beds are scarce and shared, where sleep patterns reflect pre-electric rhythms, where ancient fears and legends shape the landscape-they become invested. They recognize echoes of their history, or the history they’ve learned, and this recognition forges a deeper emotional connection.

1. Everyday Details: Beds, Sleep, and Survival

Small, lived-in details make your world feel real. For example, in medieval times, beds were rare and expensive. Inns didn’t rent rooms by the bed-they packed as many travelers as possible onto each bed. Understanding this, and showing how characters might sleep in crowded conditions or even in barns, instantly grounds your story in a believable reality.

Similarly, research shows that before artificial lighting, humans often slept in two shifts-falling asleep after sundown, waking for a few hours in the night to eat, talk, or tend fires, and then sleeping again until dawn. Including these biphasic sleep patterns in your world not only adds authenticity but also creates opportunities for unique nighttime scenes, secret meetings, or midnight dangers1.

2. Culture as the Soul of Your World

Culture is more than food and clothing it’s the sum of traditions, festivals, myths, social hierarchies, and the way people interact. Drawing from real-world cultures, or blending elements thoughtfully, gives your fictional societies depth and cohesion. For instance, George R.R. Martin’s Westeros combines medieval European politics with Viking and other influences, while Tolkien’s Middle-earth borrows from rural England, Norse mythology, and ancient languages.

To make your cultures feel real:

• Develop unique traditions, holidays, and rituals.

• Create social hierarchies and class systems that influence daily life and conflict.

• Establish religions, philosophies, and mythologies that guide moral codes and societal norms.

• Invent languages or dialects, or even just distinctive slang, to add authenticity.

3. History, Myths, and Legends

A world’s history isn’t just background-it’s the soil from which your story grows. Significant events, wars, migrations, and discoveries shape societies, borders, and fears. Myths and legends, whether about sea monsters or heroic ancestors, influence how characters see the world and each other. For example, ancient maps were decorated with krakens and killer whales, reflecting real dangers and shaping seafaring lore. Incorporating such legends can both educate and emotionally engage your audience.

When building your world’s history:

• Develop a timeline of major events and turning points.

• Decide how these events changed cultures, alliances, and daily life.

• Layer in myths that explain natural phenomena, justify traditions, or warn against certain behaviors.

4. Geography, Climate, and Technology

Where your world is set its climate, geography, and available resources shape everything from diet to architecture to migration patterns. A cold, mountainous region will have different customs, clothing, and social structures than a tropical island. Population density, too, influences cultural complexity and the speed of social change.

If your world includes magic or advanced technology, treat these as you would any other cultural or historical element: establish rules, limitations, and how they affect society, economy, and politics.

5. Research Methods: Bringing It All Together

To build worlds with true depth:

• Study real historical documents, maps, and artifacts.

• Watch practical anthropological and historical videos to see how things were made and used in context.

• Visit historical sites or recreate period experiences when possible.

• Use your characters to showcase and question cultural norms, allowing readers to experience the world through their eyes.

In Summary

Building worlds with historical and cultural depth is about more than adding color it’s about creating a living, breathing environment that shapes your characters and stories. By weaving together authentic details, rich cultures, layered histories, and realistic geographies, you invite readers to step through the page and truly inhabit your world.

Emotional Resonance Through Realism: How Authentic Details Deepen Your Story

Emotional resonance is the invisible thread that connects readers to your characters and world, making your story linger long after the last page. Achieving this resonance isn’t just about tugging heartstrings it’s about grounding your fiction in reality so readers instinctively believe and feel every moment. Here’s how you can harness the power of realism to create unforgettable emotional impact:

1. Ground Emotions in Real Experience

Readers connect most deeply when they recognize truths from their own lives in your story. This means showing-not just telling how your characters feel, and letting those feelings arise naturally from their circumstances. For example, instead of stating a character is afraid, show the physical and psychological manifestations of fear: the racing heart, the irrational thoughts, the urge to flee. Classic literature, from Poe’s haunted minds to Remarque’s war-torn soldiers, demonstrates how visceral, realistic depictions of emotion make stories timeless and relatable.

2. Use Authentic Details to Anchor the World

Small, well-researched details make your setting and characters believable, which in turn allows readers to emotionally invest. The transcript gives the example of medieval inns, where beds were expensive and often shared among strangers a far cry from modern hotel rooms. Including such facts not only educates but also helps readers imagine themselves in that world, feeling the discomfort, camaraderie, or vulnerability that comes with it1. Similarly, describing biphasic sleep patterns or the danger of ancient sea voyages (complete with Kraken legends inspired by real killer whales) taps into universal human fears and needs, making the story’s stakes feel real1.

3. Evoke Empathy Through Relatable Struggles

Characters become emotionally resonant when their desires, flaws, and conflicts mirror those of real people. Whether it’s the longing for safety, the sting of betrayal, or the anxiety of survival, these are emotions everyone understands. When your characters face historically accurate challenges-like guarding a campfire against wolves or struggling with the limitations of their era-readers empathize, because these are problems anyone might face in a similar situation.

4. Avoid Breaking Immersion with Inaccuracies

Nothing shatters emotional resonance faster than a detail that rings false. The transcript recounts how a Star Wars novel lost a reader’s trust by mishandling desert survival details an error that broke immersion and emotional connection1. To keep readers invested, ensure your facts are solid, whether you’re writing about weapon mechanics, historical customs, or the feel of a punch in a fight scene. When readers trust your world, they’re free to focus on the characters’ emotional journeys.

5. Leverage Sensory and Cultural Realism

Sensory-driven language-how things look, sound, feel, and even smell-makes scenes vivid and emotions tangible. Cultural realism, such as accurately depicting how people preserved food or navigated social hierarchies, also deepens the emotional stakes. When readers see characters adapt to their world’s true challenges, their triumphs and failures feel earned and meaningful.

In summary:

When you weave authentic, researched details into your fiction, you invite readers to fully inhabit your world and feel alongside your characters. This emotional resonance is what transforms a good story into an unforgettable one, forging a lasting bond between your book and its audience.

By the way, don’t forget if you want more tips and real-world examples on creating emotionally resonant fiction, check out the full post on our website!

Hands-On Research and Expert Sources: Elevating Your Novel’s Authenticity

Hands-on research and consulting expert sources are essential tools for any novelist aiming to create a believable, immersive world. Here’s how you can harness these strategies to bring your fiction to life:

1. The Power of Direct Experience

Drawing from your own life experiences can lend unique depth and credibility to your writing. If you’ve lived in a certain place, worked a particular job, or faced specific challenges, these memories can be transformed into rich, authentic scenes in your novel. For example, author Christopher Canniff used his year in Ecuador as the foundation for his novels, allowing readers to vicariously experience life in that setting through vivid, firsthand detail.

What you can do:

• Mine your personal history for unique settings, emotions, and challenges.

• Use sensory details and real anecdotes to ground your story in reality.

2. Indirect Experience: Learning What You Can’t Live

Of course, you can’t personally experience everything your characters do-especially if your novel is set in another era or involves expertise you don’t possess. This is where indirect experience comes in:

• Read widely: Dive into books, academic articles, and reliable online resources about your subject. Even seemingly “boring” books can yield surprising gems.

• Interview experts: Seek out people who have lived through or studied what you’re writing about. Their firsthand accounts and technical insights can lend authenticity and spark new ideas.

• Travel and observe: If possible, visit the locations you’re writing about. Libraries and archives, like the Toronto Library Archives, can provide access to rare documents and primary sources.

3. Watching and Learning: The Value of Demonstration

The video transcript highlights the value of practical anthropology and demonstration videos. Watching someone build a medieval hut, forge a weapon, or demonstrate historical swordplay provides insights that are difficult to glean from text alone. These visual resources help you understand not just the facts, but the process, the rhythm, and the challenges involved.

What you can do:

• Explore YouTube and similar platforms for channels focused on historical skills, crafts, and daily life.

• Observe the small details-how tools are handled, how people move, what challenges arise-that you can weave into your scenes.

4. Consulting True Experts

When accuracy matters whether you’re writing about weapons, medical procedures, or quantum physics-seek out true experts.

• Use databases like Google Scholar or SciLine to identify and contact academics or professionals in your subject area.

• Look for published works, interviews, and even podcasts where experts discuss their field.

• Avoid relying on unverified forums or social media opinions; instead, prioritize peer-reviewed or professionally produced sources.

Pro tip:
Authors like Jack Carr, a former Navy SEAL, are praised for the technical accuracy in their thrillers because they draw on real-world expertise. This kind of credibility keeps readers immersed and invested in your story.

5. Weaving Research into Storytelling

The transcript cautions against getting bogged down in research at the expense of storytelling. The goal is to integrate your findings seamlessly, using them to enhance rather than overwhelm your narrative.

• Write your scenes first, then return to fill in technical or historical details as needed.

• Use research to solve narrative problems like how to reload a revolver realistically, or how a medieval inn would operate.

6. Emotional Resonance and Reader Trust

When your research is solid, readers feel it. They trust your world, your characters, and your plot twists. Conversely, a single poorly researched detail like a character touching bare metal on a desert planet without consequence can shatter immersion and lose a reader’s trust, as the transcript vividly recounts.

What you can do:

• Strive for details that resonate with readers’ own experiences or knowledge.

• Use research to connect emotionally, not just intellectually, with your audience.

Final Thoughts

Hands-on research and expert sources are your secret weapons for writing novels that readers can lose themselves in. Whether you’re drawing from your own life, consulting experts, or watching practical demonstrations, every detail you uncover is a building block for a richer, more believable story.

Technical Accuracy in Speculative Fiction: Why It Matters and How to Achieve It

Technical accuracy in speculative fiction-whether science fiction, near-future thrillers, or stories set in alternate realities-is about more than just getting the details right. It’s about building trust with your readers, deepening immersion, and making your imagined worlds feel plausible and lived-in. Let’s explore how you can harness research and real-world science to craft compelling, believable stories.

Why Technical Accuracy Is Essential

• Maintains Reader Immersion: Just as a misplaced historical detail can break the spell in a period drama, a technical error in sci-fi or speculative fiction can jar readers out of your story. For example, describing a weapon firing more rounds than it holds or mishandling the effects of extreme environments (like desert heat on metal) can instantly lose the trust of knowledgeable readers, as the transcript illustrates with the Star Wars desert anecdote1.

• Builds Credibility: When your story’s technology and science “work,” readers are more likely to suspend disbelief for your more speculative elements. This is why authors like Jack Carr, who draw on real-life expertise, create such gripping, immersive fiction-the technical details never break the story’s flow1.

• Sets the Bar for Genre Expectations: Hard sci-fi readers expect plausible, well-researched technology, while soft sci-fi can take more liberties-but even then, internal consistency is key. If you establish rules for your universe, stick to them.

How to Achieve Technical Accuracy

1. Research Real Science and Technology

• Use Reliable Sources: Seek out peer-reviewed journals, expert interviews, and reputable science news. Books like Putting the Science in Fiction offer vetted advice from professionals in various fields.

• Watch Demonstrations: Practical anthropology and technology videos can show you how things work in the real world, providing details you might not find in text sources.

• Consult Experts: If you’re writing about a field you’re unfamiliar with, reach out to professionals or enthusiasts who can fact-check your ideas.

2. Extrapolate from Emerging Trends

• Track Innovation Cycles: Many speculative technologies have roots in real-world trends. For instance, quantum computing and self-driving cars were once pure fiction but are now shaping society and presenting new ethical dilemmas.

• Ask “What If?”: Take a current technology like quantum communication or autonomous vehicles and imagine its evolution over decades. How might it reshape society, warfare, or daily life?

3. Use Real Science as a Launchpad for Speculation

• Quantum Communication: The transcript discusses using quantum entanglement for instantaneous interstellar communication common trope in science fiction. While real-world quantum entanglement can’t transmit information faster than light (yet), it’s plausible enough to form the basis of fictional technology, especially if you acknowledge its limitations and challenges.

• Self-Driving Cars: Consider not just the technology, but its societal impacts: changes in urban planning, privacy concerns from constant surveillance, and emergency evacuation logistics. These ripple effects add depth and realism to your world.

4. Balance Accuracy with Storytelling

• Don’t Let Research Overwhelm the Story: You’ll often uncover more information than you can use. Select the most relevant, story-enhancing details and leave the rest out. If a choice must be made, prioritize narrative engagement over encyclopedic accuracy-but never at the expense of glaring, immersion-breaking errors.

• Stay Consistent: Even if your technology is invented, it should follow consistent rules. Readers will forgive speculative leaps if you play fair with your worldbuilding.

Examples from Fiction and Film

• The Martian is lauded for its meticulous attention to scientific detail, from space habitats to botany, making even extraordinary events feel plausible.

• Interstellar worked with physicists to accurately depict black holes and time dilation, enhancing its emotional and intellectual impact.

• Many sci-fi novels use quantum entanglement as a hand-wave solution for FTL communication, but the best stories ground these inventions in real science and explore their implications.

Practical Tips for Writers

• Read Widely: Stay updated on scientific advancements through journals, magazines, and trusted online platforms.

• Watch and Learn: YouTube channels, documentaries, and hands-on demonstrations can provide invaluable insights into how things work.

• Ask “What Would Really Happen?”: When inventing new tech, consider its practical limitations and side effects. How would people adapt? What new problems would arise?

• Test Your Ideas: Run your concepts past experts or knowledgeable beta readers to catch mistakes you might miss.

Final Thought

By weaving technical accuracy into your speculative fiction, you not only avoid breaking immersion-you invite readers to believe in your world, care about your characters, and ponder the future right alongside you.

Connecting with the Era-Past, Present, or Future: Deepening Your Fiction’s Authenticity

Building authentic stories means more than just sprinkling in historical facts or futuristic gadgets-it’s about truly understanding and conveying how people lived, thought, and interacted within their unique time and place. Whether your novel is set in the distant past, the present day, or a speculative future, connecting with the era on a practical and emotional level is crucial for immersive storytelling.

1. Understand Daily Life and Social Norms

To convincingly write characters from any era, you must grasp the realities of their daily existence. For historical fiction, this means researching everything from sleeping arrangements (like medieval inns renting beds by the person, not the room) to food preservation, clothing, and social hierarchies. For instance, peasants often shared beds because furniture was expensive and scarce-a detail that adds realism and helps readers visualize the world.

In speculative or futuristic fiction, consider how technology and societal changes alter routines. For example, the introduction of self-driving cars could reshape city infrastructure, eliminate traditional rush hours, and create new challenges for emergency evacuations. These details ground your future worlds in plausible reality.

2. Capture Authentic Mindsets and Motivations

Characters are shaped by the cultural, political, and economic forces of their time. A 19th-century woman fighting for suffrage faces different obstacles and motivations than a modern activist or a space explorer in the distant future. Understanding these forces lets you craft characters whose beliefs and decisions make sense within their context.

For historical settings, immerse yourself in period literature, letters, and even sermons to tune your “ear” to the era’s voice and worldview. For the future, read up on current scientific advancements and imagine their logical societal impacts.

3. Integrate Sensory and Emotional Details

Bring your era to life by engaging all five senses. Describe the smell of a medieval kitchen, the roughness of homespun garments, or the chilling silence of a starship’s bridge. Sensory details make the world tangible and vivid, helping readers feel truly present in the story.

Equally important is emotional authenticity. Historical fiction can foster empathy by showing how past struggles and triumphs echo into the present. Likewise, science fiction often reflects contemporary hopes and fears, using imagined technology as a lens for today’s anxieties and dreams.

4. Avoid Anachronisms and Breaks in Immersion

Nothing shatters immersion faster than a character acting or speaking in a way that doesn’t fit their era. Whether it’s a medieval knight using modern slang or a sci-fi hero misunderstanding basic physics, such errors pull readers out of the story. Always check your facts and, when in doubt, consult primary sources or expert demonstrations (such as practical anthropology videos or technical manuals).

5. Weave Historical and Contemporary Threads

Multi-period novels and dual timelines can highlight the connections between past and present, allowing readers to see how historical events shape modern lives. This approach can deepen your narrative, showing that the struggles, hopes, and fears of humanity are both timeless and ever-evolving.

Practical Tips for Writers:

• Research Deeply: Use primary sources, expert videos, and hands-on demonstrations to understand the era’s technology, customs, and daily life.

• Balance Authenticity and Readability: Capture the flavor of historical or futuristic speech without making dialogue inaccessible.

• Empathize with Your Characters: Step into their shoes whether they’re forging swords or piloting starships-to write with conviction and credibility.

• Reflect Societal Change: Show how new inventions or historical events reshape the world and your characters’ lives.

By connecting deeply with your chosen era past, present, or future you’ll create stories that resonate, immerse, and endure.

By the way, don’t forget to visit our website for the full post and even more tips on researching and writing authentic fiction!

The Big Wrap-Up!

Thanks for joining us on this deep dive into the art and science of researching for your novels! Whether you’re building ancient worlds, crafting near-future thrillers, or simply aiming to keep your readers fully immersed, thoughtful research is your secret weapon for storytelling that truly resonates.

By the way, don’t forget if you’re hungry for even more tips, inspiration, and practical writing advice, be sure to check out our full collection of writing-related posts. Visit our Writing Category page and explore a treasure trove of resources designed to help you level up your craft, connect with fellow writers, and bring your stories to life.

Happy writing, and see you in the next post!