Yes...research has to be the most important thing you do when you begin writing anything. Whether you are writing a work of fiction, a Non-fiction or even a Fanfiction piece. Research makes everything plausible it captures the imagination and in the end it provides you with the backdrop for all characters.
In reality research essentially defines the characters, settings, plot and even the direction of the novel which the author is working towards. That being said, you don't have to be Tom Clancy and use copius amounts of detailed research to convey your story. It helps but you don't ultimately have to use all your research. Some authors can get away with less is more like Matthew Rielly, his novels are always fast paced and even when he writes his exposition he still only puts in enough detail to keep you interested before he places you back into immediate action. In the end it is really all up to the Author's own discretion to begin with.
Research can take all forms, whether you are searching through old news articles or interviewing people first hand. Depending on the author and their ability to jetset around the world in order to do research certain locations, interview certain people and certain organisations. I've read some FAQ's from author pages like Kyle Mills in reagrds to research and travel http://www.kylemills.com/faqs.html now its all well a good if you can travel particularly if you have time and money, sometimes you may not get the chance. Matthew Reilly for an example http://www.matthewreilly.com/faq.html spends his time pouring over books and using the internet. So never think that you can't research if you can't travel. Ultimately you are the Author, that means you are ultimately in control of how you research and what you use within your writing.
I'm currently researching the US Navy SEALs using a book By Dick Couch called the The Warrior Elite due to a main character's background. It isn't easy either, I've not been very disciplined in sitting down and just pouring over the book there is just so much information within its pages that sometimes you just look at it and groan. I going to use it? Now looking at it I may not use any of it, then again I probably will as the first chapter or Prologue will comprise of a Navy SEAL mission. Until I read through the pile of books that I have sitting on my desk I'm not sure how much use I'm going to need from them. I have also spent my time emailing the FBI, CIA so far the FBI has been kind enough to email me back with general information which I'm very grateful to them.
When looking at characters sometimes research can be hard, particularly if you're trying to create a character who has flaws and is not a cardboard hero. For me at the moment I find that looking at characters through a series of books often helps. I also find that Tv show characters that have been around for a while help and even characters from movies provide decently detailed character types that I try to use and a base for characters.
On the subject of research though for me though I feel that I can't start a novel until I have enough information in my head to feel comfortable in writing something that makes sense and is at least 50% factual. Once again however it does depend on the particular author and the genre that the author is writing for...
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