Do you research your writings of any kind? Whether it’s a short story, novella, or novel?

I entered a short story in one of Writer’s Digest’s many contests. The only condition is that it has to be under 4k. Still, there were a couple of sections that I did a bit of research to make it accurate.

For my children’s series, I have notes for each animal in the book to be sure they are in the region I am writing in. I have checked to be sure the scenery is how it’s supposed to be. I have pages of links that I have used to prove my research. Some people have mentioned this genre does not need it. It is such a big part of the book. You get one big thing wrong, and the person who knows about it to read your book, prepare yourself for that review.

I was reading a book for review, and the author mentioned how his cockatiel could sing songs with 40 different lyrics. I knew that was inaccurate. I let it go. But every time he went to his office, this bird would sing.

I knew again this was wrong. How? At that point, I had been rescuing and adopting birds for over 15 years, and of the ones with me were four cockatiels. While they can sing multiple songs and sounds, I have never heard them sing the words to them. I even contacted a breeder I knew who had been doing this for over 40 years, and she laughed at me. It did ruin what was a great book.

You never know who reads your book. If your novel would benefit from research, do it.