THE ONE ABOUT RESEARCH

Photo by Clay Bankson Unsplash

“I can’t write historical fiction. The research intimidates me.”

“I’ve always wanted to write a story set in another era, but what if I get something wrong because I didn’t do enough research?”

“Doesn’t writing historical fiction take a lot longer than other genres? I just don’t have time for All That Research."

As a historical fiction author, I’ve often heard my fellow writers express apprehension when they consider writing historical fiction and its sub-genres, even when they have a strong desire to do so. And most of that apprehension is centered around research.

Fear gets in the way of a lot of things when we become writers, and the fear of trying something new is one of them. All writing requires research. Historical fiction is not harder than any other genre, it just requires a passion for learning and a story that interests you.

In this post, I talk about the approach I use when tackling research, and I think it makes things far less intimidating. I hope it will encourage you to give historical fiction a try!

Choose an Era or a Subject You’re Already Interested In

When I first started writing historical fiction, way back in my late teens, it sprouted from an interest I had in 18th Century European history, specifically the period of time leading up to the French Revolution. That interest led to a short story about a serial killer haunting Paris during the Reign of Terror that I will revisit someday in novel form. You never know where your research will take you, and that’s part of the fun.

When you choose to focus on something you’re already intrigued by—whether it’s an era, a historical figure, your own or your ancestors’ culture, or an event in history that compels you—research feels much less like work. Human beings are infinitely fascinating and history is full of unique subjects to explore through fiction. Find the thread of history you want to chase, and you’ll soon discover you can’t get enough.

A lot of my story ideas come from watching films and documentaries. Before I started writing my debut novel, I was a big fan of Downton Abbey, which led to me watching Million Dollar American Princesses, narrated by Elizabeth McGovern, who played Cora Crawley. This led to me reading more widely about the headstrong American women (like the fictional Cora) who married into the British aristocracy during the late 19th century and the challenges they faced: broken-down, ruined mansions without functional plumbing, widespread shunning by their British cohorts, and marriages that were based more on financial standing than passion. All of that is perfect fodder for a Gothic tale, isn’t it? Throw in a few ghosts, family secrets, and talk of murder, and the idea for PARTING THE VEIL was born. You can do this. Trust me.

Don’t Tackle All Your Research at Once

Before I start writing the first draft of any project, I research a broad overview of the times. I look up major events that happened in the decades surrounding my potential timeline, watch documentaries, and read generally about the period.

This level of research is more about making sure you don’t have global inconsistencies and inaccuracies that could create a domino effect and take down your plot—things like wars that would prevent travel to certain areas, or well-known natural disasters like floods, tsunamis, and earthquakes that would affect daily life for the people who lived in your setting. Big technology like electricity and steam engineering also fall into this category. Laws, religion, and politics. Medicine. You will retain a lot of this information organically as you read, but note anything that’s specific to your idea and flag it as a deeper reference for later.

After I’ve done this global research on my topic and era, I craft a minimal “tent pole” outline, and start writing. I worry about the nitpick-y research in my next drafts.

Historical Details Matter

My main characters are not real people in history—although they may occasionally brush up against real historical figures—but just like us, even fictional people from the past will have daily lives full of mundane details. As your characters move through the plot, you will encounter things you need to research on a deeper level. Things like fabrics available in the era, the color of textiles, the order in which your character gets dressed for the day, etc. And that’s just what they’re wearing! Here are just a few of the things I had to research for PARTING THE VEIL: Food, agriculture, flora and fauna in historical Hampshire, and how an American from the south might respond to the differences in weather and environment there. Monetary values, exchange rates, and what a day’s wages were in 1899. Etiquette during a high society ball. Train schedules and routes.

All of this can seem overwhelming, so I address it in steps. When I’m drafting and don’t want to slow myself down to research details, I leave notes for myself for the next pass, using brackets and highlights. Here’s one from my current WIP: [research how a lighthouse keeper would light the lighthouse’s lantern and verify that the Fresnel lens was in use at this time]

Things like this probably won’t affect the plot in a big way, but savvy historical fiction readers will know when the Fresnel lens went into use in lighthouses, so I need to know that, too. All of these seemingly small bits you take the time to confirm will make your copyeditor/fact checker very happy later. And that leads to my next point…

Read Books from the Era You’re Writing In

Old books can be tedious and slow, bringing to mind the laborious required reading we had to do in school. Commercial fiction has changed dramatically over the centuries, and books written long ago can lack the sort of deep point-of-view and defined character arcs we’re accustomed to as modern readers. However, reading a book that was written in 1875 will tell you so much about the real life experiences the author had through their characters. Your characters are likely to have experienced similar things.

Classic, period-written fiction will have information about meals people ate at restaurants, social conventions, local landmarks (that may now be long-gone) and what the experience of riding a streetcar or a paddle-wheel steamer was like. Even though we don’t write like that anymore, it’s vital to look at firsthand resources from the era you’re writing in. Novels, newspapers, magazines (and even their advertisements) can tell you so much about the historical world your characters inhabit, and can also reveal how many things have changed or stayed the same. I get pleasantly surprised by many of the things I learn from old books!

Word Etymology and Patterns of Speech

I could go on forever about word etymology, because I am a nerd who loves language. But a character would not say words from the 1960s in 1899. Here’s a big one: petrichor. Oh, how I love that word! The smell is heavenly! But even though it has linguistic roots in ancient Greek, no one used petrichor to describe that scent until 1964, my friends. Here’s an article about the history of the word, if you’re interested.

Not to get too pedantic (looking over my teacher glasses) but this also applies to modern-sounding words like “zapped” or “zinged” used as action tags before the 20th century. Things like this will throw a reader out of the story immediately.

If you’re being traditionally published, your copyeditor will query any words of historical concern in your manuscript. But some agents and acquiring editors who specialize in historical fiction will reject your manuscript outright if you include too many modern words throughout, because it’s considered lazy writing. Cringe. Sorry.

So do the research, especially if you’re self-publishing. Investigate when words, aphorisms, and colloquialisms were put into common use. This kind of research doesn’t take very long, and Merriam Webster and Cambridge usually always have the date of first use listed with the definition. I usually do this research during my third draft, when the story is pretty much complete and I’m editing things on a line level.

PS—The exception to historical nitpicking concerns contractions. Please, for the love of everything, use contractions. It’s okay. I promise. Your reader will thank you.

You’re almost done! But first, you may have one more step before you can query or publish…

Cultural Sensitivity and Expert Readers

So you’ve crafted rich, multi-layered characters and a plot that will rivet a reader. You’ve probably even had beta readers tell you they can’t put it down! It’s tempting to send this book out into the wild. But first, you need to consider whether or not you need to hire sensitivity readers. Major point: A sensitivity reader is not a beta reader. A beta reader is someone reading your novel to offer a broad response to the manuscript as a whole—usually for free.

A sensitivity reader is a specialist. Someone who gets paid (well) for their work and offers insight on their lived cultural experience. They will also flag problematic content such as micro-aggressions or harmful tropes. A sensitivity reader can be hired to read for secondary characters outside of your own culture or race, characters with disabilities, and LGBTQIA+ characters. A character who has any identity outside of your own as the writer warrants review by at least one sensitivity reader. Preferably more.

I had three sensitivity readers for PARTING THE VEIL. I either compensated them financially according to their fee, or my publisher contracted with them for a manuscript review. Ask for this during your negotiations with your agent and acquiring editor if they don’t bring it up. It’s important.

The feedback my sensitivity readers provided for my secondary characters was affirming, beautiful, and bolstered my confidence with writing supporting characters outside of my own lived experience. Accurate and responsible representation is important when you aim to write diversely. Do not skip this step. Irresponsible representation can do great harm.

You also may want to consider hiring an expert reader if your main character has a profession outside of your own knowledge or expertise. They can offer so much insight and education on the realities of what your character would encounter in their career or their chosen areas of interest. For example, as a professional photographer, I can’t tell you how many times I come across erroneous information about photography within published works of fiction. Editors can’t catch everything.

Salt and Sage is a great resource for a variety of cultural sensitivity readers and expert readers.

It’s your responsibility as a writer to take research seriously, but also to have fun with it, because…

Research is Learning

A lot of us come to historical fiction due to an insatiable need to discover more about our world and the people who inhabited it in the past.

It’s humbling and fascinating to learn about the ripple effects history has made in our modern lives. I always find new ideas for future stories as I do my research. Keep a small notebook nearby to jot down inspiration as you read. You may just uncover the idea for your next novel while researching your current one!

The nuanced details you acquire through research will enrich your world-building and create an immersive experience for your reader. While research is vital to historical fiction, it needn’t be tedious. Approach it in layers, and give yourself grace if you get something wrong. We all do, from time to time. The beautiful thing about writing is that you’re always learning, and that’s exactly what research is—learning.

Good luck on your historical fiction journey! You’ve got this.