Details in historical fiction

I'm going to be doing a fair bit of research in October, so that I don't have to do much in November. I plan to include several historical events in my story, so I'm going to plot those out on a timeline and then do my scene planning around them.

When November comes around, I imagine that I will run into areas that call for historical detail that I haven't yet researched. When that happens, I will probably just insert a placeholder tag that I can come back later to fill in. I don't want to have to disrupt the flow of writing to do research, no matter how simple.

I'm hoping that good planning and good research in October will save me from running into a roadblock in November. November is all about keeping the flow of words going.

I started research and note taking for my NaNo in March. My story takes place in 18th century England and it grinds my gears when things are inaccurate so I've been doing what I can to make sure all my information is up to snuff before I start writing because if I wait until after and try to fix the details then, something will surely get overlooked.

I have websites bookmarked as well as books that I've bought on fashion and hairstyles of the 18th century. Used book stores sometimes will provide you with awesome resources. I recently got my hands on a book entitled "Inn's, Ales and Drinking Customs of Old England."

My novel is going to be set in the late 1800's. I have done some minor research, just to make sure i get my facts right but at some point you need to stop researching and just write. Details are important but don't forget you're a fiction writer and sometimes the details get a little blurred. As long as you have a good plot and strong characters you really shouldn't sweat too much over the details.

I've done a fair bit of research...been researching since last year sometime but haven't really had much time lately.

Since mine is taking place in Japan, I've gotten a phrase book to put in a few Japanese phrases within the novel. I've had a trying time though looking for information regarding the yakuza (or Japanese mafia) before the 20th century. It existed then, though they weren't called that yet. I've only ever been able to find a few pages of information on it and I need more than that...haven't had any luck with it though and it's a bit frustrating.

However, now I'm focusing on other things like the clothing, customs, etc. of the Meiji era--I've got a huge Excel sheet with tabs for all the info. Also, I'm planning on putting a placeholder tag as well in places where I'll want more research.

I've always gotten lost in the research process...this time I won't be able to! :-)

1. How much research into a particular time period are you doing ahead of time?

I've done 5 months of research thus far. By the time NaNo starts it'll be a full 6 months.

2. How much leeway are you giving yourself on the historical details? (For example, do you want them to be correct up front, or are you anticipating that you'll do research after you finish to fill in/correct all the details?)

I'm hoping to have very little to research during NaNo. Researching in November means snags and a slower pace writing the actual novel. I'm aiming to get most of my research needed and if I find one or two things I have to double check that's okay. Any more than that and it'll become that much more difficult to get to 50K by month's end.

I'm dealing with my Romans since 2003, so I know them pretty well by now. Sure, there are differences between the early and late Empire, esp. concerning the army structure, and I'll have to make sure that no character quotes an author who wasn't yet published, and things like that. but overall, I mentally live in Roman times when writing.

What I do need to research are the facts for the plot (like the Varus battle last year and Mons Graupius this year). And I have to research tribal cultures. But little is known about 1st century AD Germans or Caledonians, so I can make up a lot and more or less invent a culture drawing from later sources, reading Roman authors between the lines, archaeologiacal finds, and my own imagination.

When I stumble over pesky little details during writing, I usually research them on the spot - I won't get 50K words anyway, lol - except if it would take a trip to the library; in that case I'd set a placeholder.

It also helps that I've seen most of the places where my novels play; and that's the best part of the research - traveling around. :)

I would say, don't sweat the little details that aren't important to the plot. If you can't remember whether ladies of that decade were wearing their sleeves long or short, it's really no big deal in the first draft - you can fix that in revisions. Much more important are the details that will affect how your characters behave and act, because that could result in errors that are much harder to fix.

1. Travel and communication - these can have a huge impact on your plot. if you think your characters will need to travel anywhere, by train, carriage or whatever, bone up on some basic facts, like whether there was a raliway station in the town where your story is set, and how long the stagecoach takes to travel from London to Brighton (or whatever).

2. Social mores. These have changed a lot in the last 200 years! Read up on how the social classes interact, and what is considered appropriate behaviour, especially for women. For example, a young unmarried woman of the middle or upper classes would never be left alone with a man (apart from her father and brothers).

3. Anything else that might crucially affect your plot - would your protagonist actually be able to buy a commission in regiment X? Was strychnine readily available from the local chemist/druggist in the 1860s? And so on...

HTH

Anne

Like Gabriele I know my Royal Navy and Ships quite a while now and this will not be my first novel set on a ship, so the basic things are set and I feel quite confident. The only research I will have to do now is about coffee and I will have to look up some things I already know but have not used in quite some time or was never sure about (there are things like "When was which officers watch?" I just can't get into my head *lol*). But happily you don't have to know anything, it's just important to know where to find it. ;-)

Of course... what many things I don't know yet and might have to research in November... nobody can say.

As for the details itself... I can research for hours and discover things I will never need (honestly: When will I need to know how to put on a Rococo dress when I am writing Regency? On a ship? *g*) and I really do love research and details and everything but then again I have to say that I am not worrying too much about things. If I can't find something and no one I know is able to explain it I can always... well.. write my way around it.
The main problem is that there were sometimes things I didn't even know about and of course described it wrong until someone mentioned it.

If I read or watch a historical book/movie I have to say it much depends on how it is written. If I like the story and the characters and the "feeling" is right I don't have a problem with things I would totally dislike in other works where much more details are correct but which are totally lacking the feeling.

For example, I was once watching a movie about pirates with some people I know. Most of them are totally into history, ships, the Navy, pirates, reenactment and living history and they do know what they are watching. Well and we had the time of our lives watching and criticizing every single mistake we saw, no matter how small it was.
But on the other hand we all love "Pirates of the Caribbean". Of course.
And there are novels where everything might be correct but it's horrible to read them because the story itself seems so... dead.

So I'd say... while knowing your time is of course essential there are things in writing fiction good characters and that strange thing called "feeling" is at least as important as knowing "everything".
(Though I have to admit that I think knowing as much as I can about the period and what I'm writing about is very important to the "feeling" in my stories)

I thought of this and decided against using any of my plot ideas that required research. Like you say, there just isn't time. Normally, though, I do as much research as necessary (ranging from a couple days to several months of full time nose-in-book research).

I did most of my research in September, although I do need to finish reading one book soon, because it would benefit me...I think I'm safe, historically. I know most of the facts, the stuff I'll need to know. I figure, it's NaNoWriMo. I'll just write it, and then when I edit, I can go through and clean it up. I want to be as accurate as possible, but we'll see how I do. hehe.

I've done some research on my period (post- Roman empire England) just to see if I actually wanted to write the story. Now that I know the basics I'm going to do some more research to fill in the blanks. The time period is remarkably hard to get info on.

As to whether I'll stop during the writing: probably not. Unless I feel the answer will drastically change the plot then I'll give it a good guess and keep going. 50k words- if I stop I might actually think about it and realize how crazy I am :)

It is important to me to be historically accurate so hopefully I will get most of the info on the day to day life of the time period out of the way so half way through I'm not "Did they have spinning wheels??" 'cause that would be tragic.

In any case, good luck all!!

Last year I did a whole raft of research in October, mostly for historical high points in Japanese history. I knew enough about the culture to muddle my way through the first draft. There were some subtle points that were brought to my attention that will be addressed in the rewrite.

To answer your questions :

1. How much research into a particular time period are you doing ahead of time? I have spent several months reading and researching Tall Ships, Pirates, Shipping, etc and feel that I have enough of a background to again cover the basics in the rough draft. Any obvious or glaring problems will be fixed in the editing. I've got maps of the Caribbean, photos of classic ships, lists galore of crew positions, rigging outlines with names for all the possible sails and masts a ship could carry, I've got my Main Character history written up and ready to use as part of the sub-plot of healing connections with his step-mother. I need his name though.

2. How much leeway are you giving yourself on the historical details? I try for as much accuracy as possible in the first draft. I mean do you really want to have to go back and rewrite a 20,000 word section because you didn't get the details right?

but that's just my 2 cents worth, and this is my 2nd NaNo.

I've been researching for a very long time. Read widely, and you will find that different books can conflict. Since I'm doing Roman, I am aware of opinions/interpretations being spouted as facts. A recent one that come up was an off-the-cuff remark that Christianity didn't take too well in Britain as there are only a few villa sites that have obviously Christian evidence, so therefore it only appealed to the rich. In fact, I've seen it argued the opposite - that it was taken up by the poor first, and eventually seeped into the upper class. Of course, there is likely to be less evidence from the poorer people as they had less to leave behind ... Underlying this, I think, is the idea that Roman Britain was a back water. In terms of the weather and sea - yes, definitely, emphasis on water. But politically perhaps not, due to the legions posted here and the number of usurpers it fielded. It gave me something to think on anyway.

In the end, for the earlier eras, you need to have read the major sources, be happy with the material culture (as seen in museums, re-enactment, etc.) and then choose your line and create the world. Almost World Building ala our SF colleagues. However, the closer you get to the modern day, the more information there is, and the more mistakes you can make. Oh, I'm much happier with the Romans thank you ;-)

Good luck!!!!

I've been struggling a lot with this... normally (the rest of the year) I start writing and then come upon some detail I really need and go spend time looking into it. In this case, I don't want to stop writing come November, so I'm trying to think up every little thing I could possibly need to know NOW and getting it all ready beforehand. Obviously, this can't be 100% successful - there is always going to be some little thing I did not think of. (I must confess that this is my first year here, so take everything I say with a grain of salt.)

Given that, I've found it really useful to do historical research hand in hand with outlining my plot and characters. Maybe you're not an outliner (it sounds like you're still a little unsure what you're writing about... though that impression could just be because I have no idea what steampunk is) but if you are/can I think it's helpful both for research and when you get to writing. I started with a general outline, which told me the big things I needed to know (there's a shipwreck - where? well, where are hurricanes common that English people also happened to live in the 19th century?) and looking up those things gave me more ideas for the plot, which enhanced my outline (I chose the Bahamas for my shipwreck - the Bahamas grew rich during the American Civil War because they were a great base for blockade runners in the South - I have a main character who needed to make a fortune out of nowhere... ta da, he was a blockade runner, and suddenly from knowing that my story is set in the 19th century, I know it's set in the years immediately following the Civil War. Now I can research blockade runners and find out what his ship looks like, I can find out what kind of crinolines they were wearing in 1867, I can relate it to other current events, etc.) There's a lot of detail out there you don't really need - it can be fun to research, but if you're short on time, you can fudge a lot of things. But depending on what your story is about, there are a few things you WILL have to know to even write it - so basically I suggest figuring out what you need to know (things that directly affect the plot and characters) and other things can be filled in later as you have time.

My other suggestion on research is to make use of the internet. Books are wonderful, I love them, but they're going to give you a LOT of detail, and often analysis, that you don't need. In many cases, an online summary a la wikipedia or a Victoriana fansite or similar will probably be enough to get you going.

I've only been doing actual research for this novel for about two or three weeks, but I try to stick to locations and periods that I am fairly familiar with. This novel is a western. I've watched westerns for decades and read quite a few western novels. So, I really just need to study up on the technical/practical details of open range cattle ranching and do as much research on the chosen location as possible.

Would I stop writing to do research in November? I'm pretty thorough on my outlines, so I shouldn't have to do any lengthy research in Nov. I plan to reserve a few well-indexed reference books from the library and have them on hand, so I can look something up quickly if I have to. I'll add pertinent websites to my favorites list, so I don't have to scour through a bunch of websites that didn't provide much info the first time through. Then, if I haven't found the answer, I'll hit the forums here. Anything else can wait for NaNoEdMo.

Two ideas:

First, remember the motto from the early versions of Word for Windows (Yeah, back when DOS was still operating too). Write first, format later!

So, write! Write like mad! However, if you put in something you're unsure about, or want to include something you simply don't know, put it in and highlight it. That's a message that says "I'll come back later and dig into this." November is a time to write. The other 11 months are time enough to complete research and fix errors.

Second, accuracy is everything in historical fiction. As soon as a reader hits something they "know" is wrong, they'll tune out. As an example (and I'm not pushing her books in any way) I would offer Jean Auel. A Russian Archeologist/Anthropologist read her stuff and remarked that he couldn't believe she hadn't been "there" since her descriptions were absolutely spot on. Now, most readers didn't know anything about such things, but a few might. Don't jar the reader with something that's completely wrong.

Using myself as an example (and I'm not trying to toot my own horn) I've found you can get almost anything on the net if you search or join the right forums. Want to know what insignia was on the left sleeve of a German artillery officer in WWI? Somebody knows. It might not be important (really) but getting it right can mean everything to some readers. I'm sitting in the US, writing about Berlin...where I've never been. (going next spring) But, I want a reader in Berlin who's lived there all their live to say "Yeah, that's the way it really was." It's the ultimate compliment, and also a hook that will keep the reader going to the end.

So...write and then dig. Or, dig and then write. In November put the emphasis on writing.

GP

------------
2006 NaNo winner - Berlin, Book IV

1. For NaNo? Not much! Mostly, I read fiction written in and set in the time period I'm writing about, supplemented by young adult books (which are very good about distilling down information) about the specific topics I have an interest in. After the first draft is done I'll research the period and setting in more detail to make sure I haven't made any horrible glaring mistakes, then hand it off to some history geeks who can pick apart the mistakes I haven't noticed.

2. Lots of leeway, with notes and reminders inserted when I'm not sure about something.

To be fair, I'm writing 'historical' adventure fantasy, sort of Indiana Jones meets Sky Captain, and I don't mind playing a little fast and loose with facts as long as the 'feel' of the period suits the story. If I was writing more straightforward historical fiction, I'd want to research a bit more thoroughly before beginning.

1. I wrote historical fiction for the very first time last November. It was about the Batavian revolt, which I knew practically nothing about except that the Romans eventually won and that a guy called Julius Civilis was the Batavian leader. I spent two weeks reading up on it (I didn't find out about NaNo until mid-October). I made sure I knew the main events and characters - battles, sieges, generals, etc. - but I didn't spend much time reading up on the structure of the Roman army for example.
I was going to do lots of research this summer for NaNo07, but NaNo06 turned out to be a never-ending mess of a novel (still not finished, I have more than 250 k) so I didn't have time. I got a plotbunny last week (it'll be about Agricola's invasion of Angelsey and have a Batavian with divided loyalties and a mad Celt with an unpronounceable name), and am trying to read eight books about the Roman army, Roman Britain, the Batavians, Roman Wales, Celtic tribes of Wales, and whatnot, at the same time. Like last year, I want to know the basics - legions, generals, battles, whatever - but I don't have time for much more than that *coughphysicscough* There's less information about the campaigns in Wales than the Batavian revolt, so some will be of my own imagination.

2. I want to get the basics right - where the battle was, who won, who died, which city was sacked, etc. And I'm avoiding the obvious anachronisms like Romans having potatoes for dinner or quoting Shakespeare. I'm planning on researching the rest later. If it's not important to the plot, it's not researched in November. Only the really major stuff is researched while I write. And if I get stuck, I send in the ninja deus ex machinas ;)

Can someone sticky one of these threads? We do seem to end up answering this question quite often - it would be maybe useful for people to come in and see a relevant thread already there.

1. How much research into a particular time period are you doing ahead of time?

Once I had the seed of the story I began immersing myself in Roman history for four-five months before I thought to tackle the writing. In that course of time I must have read a good 40-50 books, watched dozens of documentaries and movies and did extensive Internet research. I breathed, ate and talked Romans...there is so much to know that I knew I would have to really intensify everything to make sure I could write it well.

2. How much leeway are you giving yourself on the historical details? (For example, do you want them to be correct up front, or are you anticipating that you'll do research after you finish to fill in/correct all the details?)

As Gabriele (hi there!) can attest, there are a lot of people who are WAY into Roman history and would be quick to notice any historical inaccuracies. I'm trying to make sure that the historical details are as correct as possible as I work and that the leeway is primarily with the characters and situations that they find themselves into. I do anticipate a large amount of fact-checking afterwards but I want to get as much right as I can up front. Just this week I realized that the Roman recipe books I've been working with don't have lemons in them...so I wondered if I should have a lemon grove in my book. Sure enough, lemons weren't introduced until nearly four centuries after my book takes place.

That said, if I don't know something I try to just put a big [XX FIX THIS] sort of thing in as a placeholder so when I go back and edit I can figure it out. It's so easy to get lost in the research and not write anything.

*waves back*
I didn't know you joined Nano as well. :)

The Romans are taking over!

1. How much research into a particular time period are you doing ahead of time?

I'm using every spare minute of October to get all my researching, outlineing, notetaking, planning, and plotting done, that way I'll have Nov. as free as possible so I can just write using only my notes... the goal of NaNo is to write as many words as possible in 30 days and hope you beat 50,000 at the same time, what you have on Dec 1st, is your first draft. As with any first draft, this is only a rough draft and not your actual novel. You can worry about the details when you edit your first draft to create your second draft, in Dec. Once you have that finished you can polish it up into your third draft in Jan, and hope by than it'll be ready to publish.

As for myself, it helps that I own a private library of 10,000 books, I have only to reach from my computer to my bookshelf to grab a book I need on whatever topic. So researching while writing is a bit easier for me, cause I don't have to run to the library or the bookstore at the last minute; chances are if I need to look something up, I've already got a book on the topic.

2. How much leeway are you giving yourself on the historical details? (For example, do you want them to be correct up front, or are you anticipating that you'll do research after you finish to fill in/correct all the details? )

Well, the point of doing research first is to have enough facts in your head (or in your notes) so that you can you write without haveing to stop and look something up. If you find you do need to go back and research something after you start writing, you can either jot down a note so you'll look it up after NaNo, or you can stop writing and look it up than, but I recomend that you don't stop writing unless it's absolutly nessaccary for your plot to progress.

After you've finished, than you can go back and plump up your story, filling in the cracks and tieing up any lose ends... that's what editing is for.

As for my novel, it's going to be historical/adventure/fantasy, so while I need enough facts to make it "feel" real, it's going to have an addition of things such as mythical beings and deities as well (shapeshifters and tricksters from Native American folk lore), so staying 100% historical is not a big worry with me. My goal is to write just enough historical stuff to make the reader feel that it "could have" happened. I'm only striving for the illusion of historical accuracy.

I'm pretty lucky here as I've always had an interest in medieval history and in particular medieval monasticism in England. For me the Renaissance was a big mistake!! The result has been that I'm okay about the general background for my novel and have really onl had to research the detail. Much of my story will be based on "fact", both substantiated and unsubstantiated, and on legend. The most difficult part of the research has been on the alchemical processes believed to have been used in the creation of the Philosopher's Stone. The surviving texts are highly symbolical and allegorical and the commentaries have tended to muddy the waters even further. I've actually found C.G. Jung's alchemical writings to be the most useful.
Basically the novel will revolve around the legend that St Dunstan, whilst Abbot of Glastonbury, discovered the Philosopher's Stone. It then goes in sections from the 10th century to the 17th following adventurers and "magicians" who tried to discover the Saint's secret, some real some fictitious, culminating with Dr Dee who allegedly did find it.
I looking forward to getting started.

I've already done some research on Victorian England for other stuff I've written, but for my NaNo (also in Victorian England) I've done heaps more to save time in November. I find that if I can get a good enough idea of what the period is like, then the descriptions come easier, without having to look stuff up all the time.

I *think* I'm going to be writing something about Vietnam and part of what I *think* I'll be including involves MASH and mobile medic units.

How much research? Well, since I'm still trying to narrow my focus - not a good sign for my prospects of finishing up a minimum of 50,000 words - resesarch has been sporadic and not too productive. I'm hoping that once I start writing I'll have a better picture of what, exactly, I want to know.

How much leeway? I plan to give myself as much as possible and if necessary, reduce the importance of any aspect that I can't learn enough about to make credible in a story line.

I am finding a lot of very early history war medicine sources, The Civil War, WWI, WWII, the Peloponnesian War, the Punic Wars. And, there is a lot of literature dating back to about 1985 that is readily available both in the local public library and online. There does, sadly, seem to be a gap for the Vietnam and Korean Wars. I may just try to *extrapolate* and as I mentioned above, reduce the significance of these aspects and keep them as vague and ancillary as possible.

Hi, Jewelstride ~ May I ask what year(s) or century you are looking at writing about? Just curious. Thanks!

Mary w/a Storeetllr

Hey Mary,
I'm not exactly sure but I'm thinking either 400-500's after the Roman Empire was definitely gone but the Saxons were not a huge threat...yet. I like this period because of the strong uprise of 'Briton' nationalism and the conflict of the fairly new Christianity and the more local paganism and Mithraism. This is also the period that King Arthur has been assumed to be from, and although the king will be a main character in my story, he will not be Arthur, more a local king/warlord that I'm finding was common during the time period.
Ha! Now that I've bored everyone with history facts from the period.....
-Hope that answered your question, and if I may ask, are you planning on a historical bent to your novel?

Jewels

As long as you know the basic events and life style of your period the most important things for fiction writing are the sights, sounds and smells. I like to find old pictures and keep them on my desktop while writing. I am working with the period right before World War I so I can use photos, but any pictures from the time period would work.

I find the internet to be great for finding little details and I am not afraid to stop and look something up if I need it. Don't be intimidated about writing 50,000 words -- steady writing can reach that goal easily.

I'm writing in the Taisho period, so a lot of Meiji-era research is pretty relevant to my story, too. I used to study the late Meiji and Taisho democracy at university, about 10 years ago, so the basic details seem to have stuck in my head but I'm having to look up lots of dates and place names! The Excel sheet sounds like a good idea.

My novel is mostly set in 1790's Ireland, which I have some background on, having taking a few Irish history and literature classes that covered that time period. My struggle is going to be the other more minor part of my novel, which is set in the same time in Turkey. Considering I have two weeks, my plan is to do a crash course of research on the Ottoman empire, wing it as I go and whatever details I've screwed up, I'll revise later. This is going to be very hard for my inner editor, but I can't be in the library researching while my word count languishes.