The Importance of Research for Novels and Memoirs

Writers use research most obviously in writing historical fiction, but they also use it in writing contemporary fiction and in writing memoirs.

Samuel Johnson, novelist, poet, essayist, and writer of one of the first English dictionaries—making him the authority on research had this to say: a writer “will turn over half a library to make one book.”

Nora Zeale Hurston said that “research was formalized curiosity.”

Important Elements about using Research for Writing Fiction and Memoir

Research is usually cited in terms of a reader accepting the “truth” of a book, i.e., developing the book’s credibility and verisimilitude for the reader.
However, effective research can also place the writer in his/her “fictional landscape.”
It can open up windows for the writer into their characters, the plot, setting, and even help to establish the writer’s voice.
It can give the writer a sense of masteryover their writing landscape.
In fiction and nonfiction, characters are developed by what they do or say, by what vocations and avocations they have.

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