--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The thing I always tell my writing…" description: "\"The thing I always tell my writing students - I'm not a full-time instructor, by any means, but periodically I've taught writing students - what I alwa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87e/erik-larson-1710_always_the-thing-i-always-tell-my-writing-stude_2535442.png" --- # The thing I always tell my writing students - I'm not a… ![“The thing I always tell my writing students - I'm not a full-time instructor, by any means, but periodically I've taught writing students - what I always tell them is that the most important thing in narrative nonfiction is that you not only have to have all the research; you have to have about…” quote by Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87e/erik-larson-1710_always_the-thing-i-always-tell-my-writing-stude_2535442.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87e/erik-larson-1710_always_the-thing-i-always-tell-my-writing-stude_2535442.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87e/erik-larson-1710_always_the-thing-i-always-tell-my-writing-stude_2535442.png) > “The thing I always tell my writing students - I'm not a full-time instructor, by any means, but periodically I've taught writing students - what I always tell them is that the most important thing in narrative nonfiction is that you not only have to have all the research; you have to have about 100% more than you need.” [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Narrative nonfiction requires exhaustive research, exceeding the minimum to ensure depth and credibility. **In simple terms:** Do more research than you think you need. Key Takeaway Gather excess evidence to strengthen storytelling. Themes research depth credibility storytelling Mood determined analytical serious Type advice instructional professional When to use this quote - book writing - documentary filmmaking - academic papers - news reporting - podcast production Key Concepts journalism nonfiction investigative excess confidence Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance thoroughness with efficiency? - When does extra research become unnecessary? A Different Perspective Too much research can lead to analysis paralysis and overwhelm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Always](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/always/) [More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/more/) [Narrative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrative/) [Narrative Nonfiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrative-nonfiction-1383089/) [Nonfiction Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonfiction-research-1383090/) [Only](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/only/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) [Taught Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taught-writing-1383092/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-students-1383091/) ## Related quotes > [I primarily write nonfiction. Research, reflection, and spending time with ideas are important to me. 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They must strive to reach great truths by recounting untold lies with acute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/writers-never-ending-quest-involves-investigating-genuineness-while/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) > [I think the goal with any writing, but especially narrative nonfiction, is to put the blockade of putting your thoughts in this unnatural medium…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/i-think-the-goal-with-any-writing-but-especially-narrative-nonfiction/) [Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/) > [In terms of a narrative nonfiction book, when you're describing scenes that you have multiple sources for, and that you have differing sources for,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-mezrich/in-terms-of-a-narrative-nonfiction-book-when-you-re-describing-scenes/) [Ben Mezrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-mezrich/) > [Narrative nonfiction was not my forte. 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Fine writing isn't enough. Writing students can be great at producing a single page of well-crafted prose; what they sometimes lack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-tremain/pace-is-crucial-fine-writing-isn-t-enough-writing-students-can-be/) [Rose Tremain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-tremain/) > [“We are writing in the age of stylish minimalism that in truth has become even more cautious because of word processing. Nowadays, creative writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kuusisto/we-are-writing-in-the-age-of-stylish-minimalism-that-in-truth-has/) [Stephen Kuusisto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kuusisto/) > [It's very hard to find good and wholesome, edifying and challenging writing for the students to perform. In my classroom I strive to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-mauceri/it-s-very-hard-to-find-good-and-wholesome-edifying-and-challenging/) [Patricia Mauceri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-mauceri/) ## More by Erik Larson > [I've heard from the movie marketplace that James Cameron did such a killer job with 'Titanic' that it's almost impossible to do anything better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/i-ve-heard-from-the-movie-marketplace-that-james-cameron-did-such-a/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [As a rule, I am very skeptical of tying books to anniversaries. I don't think readers care. I also feel that it just about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/as-a-rule-i-am-very-skeptical-of-tying-books-to-anniversaries-i-don-t/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [“look as if they had been plucked from the Palace of Versailles or a Jacobean mansion—that you were aboard a ship being propelled far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/look-as-if-they-had-been-plucked-from-the-palace-of-versailles-or-a/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [That's what I love about history - nuance. I don't believe in unalloyed heroes. Everyone's got warts, and everyone's got a surprise side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/that-s-what-i-love-about-history-nuance-i-don-t-believe-in-unalloyed/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [“Holmes was charming and gracious, but something about him made Belknap uneasy. He could not have defined it. 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I understand it is somewhere in the hinterland.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/at-present-he-said-i-am-responsible-for-conveying-my-associates-to-a/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [I knew from an online search that the Wisconsin State Historical Society, on the vast University of Wisconsin campus, held the papers of Sigrid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/i-knew-from-an-online-search-that-the-wisconsin-state-historical/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [Dodd continued to hope that the murders would so outrage the German public that the regime would fall, but as the days passed he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/dodd-continued-to-hope-that-the-murders-would-so-outrage-the-german/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [I envy other writers who claim to have a backlog of books they'd like to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/i-envy-other-writers-who-claim-to-have-a-backlog-of-books-they-d-like/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [Trying to find ideas is the hardest part of my job. You'd think it would be the most fun. Just sitting around reading whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/trying-to-find-ideas-is-the-hardest-part-of-my-job-you-d-think-it/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [“Her blind endorsement of Hitler’s regime first faded to a kind of sympathetic skepticism, but as summer approached,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/her-blind-endorsement-of-hitler-s-regime-first-faded-to-a-kind-of/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [“Perhaps, Herr Ditzen, it is less important where one lives than how one lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/perhaps-herr-ditzen-it-is-less-important-where-one-lives-than-how-one/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [I figured, correctly, that Berlin in February was not a destination coveted by tourists. I found good airfares on Lufthansa, an airline I quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/i-figured-correctly-that-berlin-in-february-was-not-a-destination/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [“It was truly a transitional moment: There he was, at the cusp of the twentieth century, using the telephone to send a telegram.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/it-was-truly-a-transitional-moment-there-he-was-at-the-cusp-of-the/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) [Explore all 214 Erik Larson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) ## More Always quotes > [I think performing has pretty much always been a part of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isa-briones/i-think-performing-has-pretty-much-always-been-a-part-of-me/) [Isa Briones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isa-briones/) > [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/) [Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [It's always great to see old friends, especially those I have not been able to see in 15 months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-regal/it-s-always-great-to-see-old-friends-especially-those-i-have-not-been/) [William Regal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-regal/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) > [I have really good lateral movement. I've always had quick lateral movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-rivers/i-have-really-good-lateral-movement-i-ve-always-had-quick-lateral/) [Austin Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-rivers/) > [There is something magical about being able to feel somebody. And that is something that has always moved me with music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-brink/there-is-something-magical-about-being-able-to-feel-somebody-and-that/) [Maria Brink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-brink/) > [Mythology is something that always has opportunities to explore. 'It' has been on Earth for millions of years. He's been in contact with humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-muschietti/mythology-is-something-that-always-has-opportunities-to-explore-it/) [Andy Muschietti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-muschietti/) > [It's not writing in the traditional sense, but I've always said that the writing process continues on the set and even into the editing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-weide/it-s-not-writing-in-the-traditional-sense-but-i-ve-always-said-that/) [Robert B. Weide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-weide/) > [I always watch my matches back 100 times afterwards because that's how I improve. 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