Weekend Writing: Why Research is a Necessity

To all of the people in the world who think writers simply write and come up with all the information in their books by themselves--it's a myth you need to stop believing. To the ones who say writing is an easy profession that doesn't require any outside work--stop believing that rumor, too. To the people who think anyone can be a writer--stop being naive and ignorant. 

Writing is a real profession that requires something that even the sciences require: research. 

For a story to "make sense" and be accurate, writers need to do research on their topics. If a writer is working on a project about two lovers in 19th-century France, well, that writer will need to do some research on the societal standards during that time period. What were the courting customs of that time? What was the fashion like? There are so many questions, but for the story to feel like it truly belongs in 19th-century France, then the writer needs to do some research and make sure everything is accurate in his/her story. 

Here's an example: Last year, I wrote a novella about a PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) patient who struggled with infertility. Therefore, she turned to surrogacy as a means for her and her husband to start a family. 

As someone who has never went through the surrogacy process, I did extensive research on the process, both the legal and medical, and how it would have been performed in Utah, the setting for the novella. For my work to be convincing and believable, I had to do this research. If I chose not to do research on the topic, then I would have looked pretty foolish as the writer. 

Research files (photo/qualitative-research.net).

Therefore, research is a necessity in the writing process. In fact, I would say that research needs to come before the writing process even begins. Before you can even start writing your story, you need to understand the characters, the time period, the setting, and the situation in your work. Research helps make your story real. The more details you have, the more convincing you are as the writer. 

So, to all of those people who say writing is easy and doesn't require any "real" thought or work, think again. We do research, just like the scientists. It may be a different form of research, but it's still research. And, just like a chemistry experiment, our work would suffer if we missed a step in the process. 

Write on. 

-KJL-