Research Tips for Writers: Lessons from Jackie Chan’s Uncle

When I was a kid, Jackie Chan Adventures was one of my favorite shows. No, this series didn’t actually offer research tips for writers (at least not that I remember). But it did have Jackie Chan’s uncle, Uncle.

Uncle had a lot of catch phrases. One of the best was this: “You must do reee-search!”

…Listen, I promise it’s better when you hear him say it. Anyway, Uncle’s message still rings true today, especially for writers. We must do research!

Full disclosure: I do not like research. It might be one of my least favorite aspects of writing. It’s time intensive, sometimes not so interesting, and isn’t actually writing. Nonetheless, whether we like it or not, research is essential to writing a good book. Here are some research tips that would make Uncle proud.

Ask Others for Help

Just to be clear, I’m not suggesting that you hurl a dusty tome at your friend and say, “Tell me what it means!” Instead, try learning from people who’ve already done the research you need.

For example, I recently completed a short story entitled Virus/Affliction/Condition/Curse. I very much hope to share it with you soon. Without giving too much away, it’s a story that relies on legal procedure. And since I’m not a lawyer, I knew I’d have to do research.

Fortunately for me, I got lucky. A member of my writer’s group is married to a lawyer, and she very kindly offered to read my story. Afterward, she provided excellent feedback on the legal aspects of my piece. This allowed me to add legitimate experience to my writing without doing the research myself.

So my first research tip for writers is this: talk to people who know what they’re talking about.

Avoid Researching Too Much

Research sharpens the details of your story. But in and of itself, research doesn’t make a good book. We still need strong characters, compelling plots, rich settings, and more.

Instead of dropping sick beats of knowledge on every page, focus on details that are actually relevant to your story. If your book takes place during the Civil War, for example, yet the entire thing is about one specific battle, you might not need to research the entire war for months on end. That time might be better spent actually writing the book.

A good rule of thumb is to begin with enough research to feel comfortable. Then write! When questions come up along the way, delve further into the details.

Accept Common Historical Misunderstandings

During an interview on Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy (my favorite podcast), author Mary Robinette Kowal offered an interesting anecdote about research for writers. Her latest novel of the time took place in Victorian England. And in this novel, she used the word “dude.” Yes. Dude.

Her beta readers challenged her on that, and for good reason. Dude is the proper title of Jeffrey Lebowski, not some old English term. Right?

You might be surprised. Through research, Kowal found that the word “dude” did indeed originate from Victorian England. So even though she was correct in using it for her book, she still couldn’t. That one word disrupted readers too often.

Yes, I suppose this is a fairly niche example. But I think it’s worth discussing. If you’ve researched an established norm in pop culture and concluded it isn’t technically correct, you might as well use it anyway. It’ll be cleaner than explaining the truth.

In the words of Uncle, we writers must do research. I hope these tips help.

Kyle A. Massa is a speculative fiction author living somewhere in upstate New York with his wife and their two cats. His stories have appeared in numerous online magazines, including Allegory, Chantwood, and Dark Fire Fiction. His debut novel, Gerald Barkley Rocks, is available now.