Research in fan fiction: how deep is too deep?

As fanfiction readers we have sometimes marveled about the details or facts included in our favorite stories. Sometimes authors effectively transport us to places we have never visited or introduce us to concepts or objects we have never heard of. For authors, writing is never an easy task, but writing about something familiar is slightly easier than dipping our toes in the waters of the unknown.

However, possessing imagination to write a story does not always come paired with an ample baggage of experiences and that’s exactly when research comes in handy. So what can you research for a story? Anything and everything, the sky's the limit!

No resource left unturned

I’m an occasional fanfiction writer and more often than not I have made use of a little (sometimes a lot) of research for my stories. So from Cosmo to the Bible, every source of information available can be used.

Considering that I started writing pretty vanilla fanfiction ages ago, the range of my research topics had widened and deepened in many directions.

Some of the topics that my research has covered include but are not limited to:

• Hierarchy and organization of Scotland’s clans for my very first story which I wrote in Spanish
• Names and specific patronage of some angels (included the fallen ones) for Nameless
• The Faraday’s cage principle for a story I currently working on (not yet published)

I did quite a lot of research for Innocuous: posh neighborhoods in Tokyo, the cost and actual location of an apartment in Tokyo ( I needed one to be close to a hospital with a psychiatric ward), international airports’ names and actual flight times, Alfred Kinsey’s birthday, Chinese high couture designers, restaurants in Shanghai, Sake brands, high end watches, high end tuxedo makers, the settling velocity of Sakura flowers. For Rent I researched the age of consent in New York city and the location of a sunflower maze in New Jersey. Tips to flirt with men (I actually used Cosmo as a source) for Best-laid plans.

And since my cup of tea is gay romance, let’s just say that my next book purchase will probably be an edition of the Gay Kamasutra for, you know, research purposes.