Sometimes It’s Better Not To Do Too Much Research

There was a recent interview with Thom Yorke in the New York Times, in which he talked a lot about fame and how he’s adapted to it. Much of what he said would really resonate with the main character of our Music Novel. It felt neat to read something that validated so many aspects of our depiction of rock stardom. And, considering that we wrote that book well before Yorke’s interview even happened, it was especially nice not to have something come along and tip over our whole applecart.

Sometimes, it’s better that you didn’t do a huge amount of research. It forces you to use your imagination. And even if you get it “wrong” it’s still yours. If you say that’s how it works in your world, then so be it.

Had this interview been something we read back when our Music Novel story was still coalescing, it might have been hard not to end up cribbing from it. Here is an articulate and intelligent person describing all the same things we need to describe. It might even have influenced the whole makeup of our main character, skewing him to be more similar to Thom Yorke. It might have made him a bit less original.

We did some research, of course. Our experience leads us to encourage that you do sufficient research as well. But maintain that power to dream. Rely on your imagination, and avoid becoming hung up on someone else’s reality.