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foolish_m0rtalDo your research
Seriously. I cannot stress this enough. Do your RESEARCH. There is nothing worse than reading a story by an author who hasn't bothered to learn the details of a character's job or setting. It shows to me that the author doesn't have time or respect for her readers and worse, for her own story. Why should I spend some of my time reading someone's work when the author hasn't put in that same time?
So you don't know anything about the subject. Join the club. This is the new age. There is internet. There is Google. I don't know how many times people have actually saved me. Interviewing people who are familiar with the subject of your research is a great way to get some first-hand resources, and they are generally willing and flattered that you want their expertise. Soak up as much knowledge as possible, and don't let lack of knowledge deter you from the story.
In short, there is no such thing as too much research.
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Seriously. I cannot stress this enough. Do your RESEARCH. There is nothing worse than reading a story by an author who hasn't bothered to learn the details of a character's job or setting. It shows to me that the author doesn't have time or respect for her readers and worse, for her own story. Why should I spend some of my time reading someone's work when the author hasn't put in that same time?
So you don't know anything about the subject. Join the club. This is the new age. There is internet. There is Google. I don't know how many times people have actually saved me. Interviewing people who are familiar with the subject of your research is a great way to get some first-hand resources, and they are generally willing and flattered that you want their expertise. Soak up as much knowledge as possible, and don't let lack of knowledge deter you from the story.
Not doing the research also won't help you at all when it comes to writing your story. I remember doing about a month's worth of research on paleontology, dig sites, and the American northwest for a Jurassic Park fic, and that really helped me get into the right mindset for writing the fic. I had the general structure of the environment already set up, and all I had to do was walk into it. It was one of the smoothest experiences I've ever had writing a fic.
Research WELL. If your character is an engineer, you can't just have him say, "Haha, I see you've done the Pythagorean Theorem incorrectly There, I've solved your problem." Skimming the surface with research is almost as bad and embarrassing as doing no research at all. If it's too complex for you, it's probably going to be too complex for your reader, and you can abstract it out. The readers aren't actually focused on the engineering problem but the fact that the character can solve it. You don't have to go into details and try to get full marks, but you need to know the background of what the character is talking about.
Research WELL. If your character is an engineer, you can't just have him say, "Haha, I see you've done the Pythagorean Theorem incorrectly There, I've solved your problem." Skimming the surface with research is almost as bad and embarrassing as doing no research at all. If it's too complex for you, it's probably going to be too complex for your reader, and you can abstract it out. The readers aren't actually focused on the engineering problem but the fact that the character can solve it. You don't have to go into details and try to get full marks, but you need to know the background of what the character is talking about.
In short, there is no such thing as too much research.
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