: Re: Is it important to research the topic of your novel/story before writing it? Let's say you're writing a story about magic. Does it have to be based on real facts and real magic or can you

@Angie602

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It all depends of your goals and the targeted readers.

If you want something realist and avoid naive approaches, you must study a lot your subject, specially if you expect that your readers already know something about it. Even if you have deeply studied, expect some experts to point how newbie you are. If you target a wide audience, there will be experts doing so... or jerks thinking that they are experts.

You also may want to follow a naive approach. This may be motivated by the style of your narration, the ambience of your story. This can be poetic in a way. Or just what you need for kids. But, even in this case, you cannot avoid at least a little study of the subject if you don't want to make a fool of yourself.

Regarding, magic, both approaches may work. It all depends of your story. You may have a look in old cryptic memoirs, or learn about the Kabale. Read the Papyrus of Ani, and so on if you want your story to plunge its roots in reality. You may study the history of illusionism, and play on some ambiguities with Magic, real or fake.

If you want to write fantasy, you may avoid studies, but expects some experts to compare with already written magic systems, and finding that your work is not so original - and depreciate it for that.

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