How much fact should you have in your fiction?

I am suffering from factual flatulence. I know, I know – but hear me out.

The vortex of research has pulled me over the event horizon of fictional reality and I have started to include too much factual information by way of explanation and dialogue. I have fallen into the novum trap where I am trying to base my fiction on so much fact that it might be scientifically plausible -which is insanity because one of my characters has a cybernetic parasite in her brain.

I do understand the need for historical accuracy (in most cases) but I can feel myself beginning to lose the plot as it struggles under the weight of factual accuracy. No story needs a chapter entitled ‘Here comes the science bit’ and so, dear Reader, I have taken the Internet’s advice (yes all of it) on how to reduce actual flatulence and it’s a pretty good list to be fair.

List disclaimer: not scientific, fully researched or vaguely accurate.

Reduce consumption

I’ve been procrastinating. I’m in the middle bit and there was a plot pivot that could go either way and the research was supposed to help me decide; or at least pretend I was doing something connected to my WIP. Instead, new developments led to new questions and then a bit of rethink which then made me wonder if I should have added something earlier. (Spoiler Alert: No – I shouldn’t have). It only made it more confusing and didn’t help move the story along. Too much time following the white rabbit through the factual warrens is not good and so I have stopped looking too deeply at things I already know about.

Have a balanced diet

I have taken this as a reminder to myself to balance the science with the fiction. No one really explains how Superman can defy the laws of gravity at a molecular level or how a time-travelling hot-tub actually works. So I won’t try to either (not for everything at least).

Chew your food slowly

This is a ‘show not tell’ metaphor. Small pieces, slow build-up and even slower release set the reader up for a more satisfying experience (if you imagine in this case that your reader is actually a stomach).

Finally, exercise regularly

Which in this case means taking a step back and reviewing, editing out (or saving for later in a chaotically curated file called ‘My Dead Darlings’) anything and everything which isn’t directly helping move the story along, develop your characters or engage your readers in their lives.

As writers, we all have our own way of dealing with how much fact should be in our fiction and I recognise that for me, scientific plausibility is important but should not be the overridding ambition. My Beta-Reader extraordinaire reminds me that these are stories about people, and the WIP is in fact, about motherhood – which despite all the supporting science still feels a bit like magic. She also reminds me, because she is a real doctor, that the joy of sci-fi, and fiction as a whole, is that there is no burden of proof.

I’m finding out where to draw the lines, with a pencil so I can smudge them if needed, but also how to build better fictional realities where the facts aren’t as relevant. I’m learning to extract and edit, but also to trust my reader’s imagination to do all the hard work.

And if it all goes horribly wrong? There’s always the option of footnotes.