It depends on what I'm writing. For Althanas, it for high fantasy, I rarely do research, as, like Breaker, I've been reading fantasy for something like fifteen or sixteen years (and probably was before that too) so I have a basis to build on there. For Althanas, more often than not I'm just writing for fun so I don't need to - though a few times I have looked up things for Nevin's Alchemy, seeing if there was a real world plant that does this or that and using it if I can.


For when I write urban fantasy, I do actually like doing some general research, looking into a city or a region's mythology to see if there's something contemporary that would be important. I agree with Breaker, in that Science and Historical Fiction are what will require a lot of research, but I would also add contemporary fiction, especially things revolving around specific fields, like the military or something. Horror might also require a bit of research, into a different category - more psychological study, to see what works as horror topics and tropes.