Historical Research

[Brutal_One]

This may apply to a few writers or maybe not. If you are using any historic background or event in your stories how much time and effort do you put in to do any historic research that you might refer to. It may either be historic research or maybe you set your fictional character into historic events, the best example I can think of in that vein is Bernard Cornwell with Sharpe and other series.

There are of course numerous authors that do likewise.


In my own story arc I make use of references to Ancient Egypt as part of the origin. Although of course what I come up with plot wise is fantasy I do make a lot of historical references which if anyone checked are valid.

It may ‘appear’ bizarre but it lends the ability to refer to or reference certain events or practices that are valid.

Brutal One

 

[KeithD]

Time/effort required of me in historical pieces varies with what is needed for the story. But I do it (and I write quite a few historicals). The Internet makes it a breeze to do compared with the research world before the Internet (but I did it then, too--just fewer historical circumstances).

 

[NotWise]

This may apply to a few writers or maybe not. If you are using any historic background or event in your stories how much time and effort do you put in to do any historic research that you might refer to. It may either be historic research or maybe you set your fictional character into historic events, the best example I can think of in that vein is Bernard Cornwell with Sharpe and other series.

There are of course numerous authors that do likewise.


In my own story arc I make use of references to Ancient Egypt as part of the origin. Although of course what I come up with plot wise is fantasy I do make a lot of historical references which if anyone checked are valid.

It may ‘appear’ bizarre but it lends the ability to refer to or reference certain events or practices that are valid.

Brutal One

I put quite a bit of effort into research. Most of it has gone to "A Valentine's Day Mess," in which the two main characters tell each other historical tales; La Matanza (El Salvador, 1932), Late colonial conditions (1800) in Central America, court intrigues in renaissance Spain (1540s), life in the Kingdom of Leon circa 980 and 1000 CE.

The tales themselves are fantasies, but they're based on real events and places, and actual conditions. I try to describe things well-enough that an interested reader could pin the dates down.

Sometimes it's too much research, and doing it becomes and excuse for delaying work on the project. I put an awful amount of time into the history of Spain without writing that much about it.

 

[Salacious_Scribe]

Generally I write in current settings. My story The cowboy and the mermaid is set during and after the civil war. I did di research on locations of battles and prisoner camps as well as ships and hurricanes. Everything is factual except the ship that burns, and the mermaid.

 

[Sextified]

It may ‘appear’ bizarre but it lends the ability to refer to or reference certain events or practices that are valid.

In my second novel, I had my main character in a flashback go to an iconic modern day city, that I had never visited myself. The only references I had for it was pop culture, tv and movies. But since it was such an important five chapter swing in the series, I knew that I had to at least nail the feel of the place.

Luckily, one of my pre-readers actually had lived in that area, during the time period in question. I held up the release for each chapter, until they could look it over, to make sure I hadn't made any obvious cultural reference errors.

For my mainstream Sword & Sorcery/Fantasy novel I have a shelf full of books on armor, stone structures and their interiors, horsemanship, and ancient cultures. Not that I have read them all, mind you, but it's comforting to know that they are there.

On my erotic series, one character is heavily into martial arts, and will eventually visit Japan. He gets beat up a lot, sometimes. Browsing thru a bookshop one day, I found an EMT/Physical Therapist book on treating contact sports injuries that had a fight focus to it. I used it for how some bandaging should be done, and the self treatment regimen that a fighter might go thru after a heavy exhibition match.

When the series focuses back to the coasts and countryside of England, Scotland and Ireland, I hope to get a few pre-readers from there to help 'fact' and 'feel' check me for those chapters.

I think the secret is to always throw in standard references, along with a few specific facts, and not to make a single obvious cultural error.

Think of how a British citizen would use the words Lift and Hospital, and how quaint it sounds to us Americans. Then how our use of Elevator and the slight twist of 'hospital' makes us sound rather droll to them.

For the erotic series, I use the feel and presence of architectural buildings to convey extra meaning to some scenes. Old historic houses versus new condos. An overgrown garden first planted in the 1920's versus the other soulless backyard of a suburban retreat.

I think that the best research an author can do is to just keep their eyes open, and be able to take life in every day. Then you can apply what you learn to your characters, settings and plot lines in a much more believable way.

Oh, and stay away from technological references! Nothing dates a story like having a character reach into their pocket and pulling out their flip phone! Or using a website email service by name, that was defunct a decade ago?

Such items are useful if you are 'trying' to place a chapter in context, but it immediately puts an indelible 'sell by' date on your current work. Worse, if you get it wrong, you can accidentally put a modern item into the recent past!

I have a planned on scene when a modern day young couple visit a historic old hotel, where they discover new uses for the abandoned little phone booth room in the lobby at night. Imagine their shock when the house phone actually rings right during the peak of their lovemaking! Do they answer it or not!

 

[ElectricBlue]

I wouldn't write about a period (or a place) if I had no background (or foreground) knowledge of it. Tiny detail permeates every sentence of a story, I think, and if you're just making stuff up, eventually something will come unstuck and the story will stumble, because a reader will know you don't really know what you're on about.

I call this principle, "the tiny grain of truth" - my belief that, if you anchor every story, however fantastic, with something that is true, readers will be willing to suspend a thousand disbeliefs and go along with it - because they'll sense that truth and thus believe what is around it. Do it right, and the spiral around that centre can be very big indeed.

In my Arthurian myth thing, for example, which is set in the fifth century AD, my knowledge of the British myths and legends from literature, archaeology, and history is placed into a physical setting that is true, in that when I wrote the "places" they were always somewhere I had been in Britain when I lived or visited there. I like to think that comes across in that work - I'd walked the same ground my characters do.

This doesn't mean I spend a great deal of time researching anything though - I rely on pre-existing knowledge or a quick Google check on some detail or other I'd forgotten or didn't know.

It seems to work. I have several stories where readers thank me for "sharing." One in particular always makes me smile, because a reader wrote, "Thank you both for sharing," from which I inferred they thought it was a recount of something true - when in fact both protagonists and the events portrayed were completely fictional.

 

[KeithD]

I'll add that I marshal historical detail in a story to the minimum level that supports the timing/circumstance context of the story.

 

[yowser]

I agree that this calls for a delicate balance, as it is tantalizingly easy to go overboard (hear about the innards of a B-24 bomber, the nature of a 16th century dinner in Castile) when those details detract from the story.

And even more embarrassing if you get something 'wrong,' your authorial credibility is instantly shot, no matter how good the rest of the story is.

I think the best success comes when those historical bits are woven into the characters' lives, so you experience them from the 'inside out' and the story isn't a museum piece.

That said, it is awfully enjoyable, and instructive, as a writer to dig through a different era and incorporate the unfamiliar.

 

[vanmyers86]

I put a TON of time into researching post-WW1 England for No Men to Love, because outside of Agatha Christie's early novels, and a few other novels, I didn't really know that much about it.

And once I determined I wanted to expand the story into a novel, I wound up watching films, visiting the only WW1 museum in the US and buying books about the period.

But then, I love learning new things and tend to fling myself into research projects. Your mileage may vary.

 

[KeithD]

I'd go this far with a mainstream novel I expected to profit bigly from. Literotica erotica? Not so much.

 

[yukonnights]

A good number of mine required research. I've done one western themed story and have another in the cooker — in both I wanted the details of, primarily, the setting. Historic trails/roads, railroads, towns/mining camps, firearms of the times, etc. As EB said, get enough right and then the made up parts blend in.

I had to do a bit more digging on One Night In Baton Rouge in order to get the details right on a Jimi Hendrix concert that was a major part of the setting.

On the one I'm currently writing, I had to do some research on parks/trials, ferry routes, and a hot spring resort, driving distances & times.

Like KeithD said; Mostly just enough to avoid glaring mistakes that would compromise the believability. I'm definitely not a fanatic on the details though.

 

[Athalia]

My advice would be to set it in a historical period that you're already familiar with. I write a story (not on this site) that took place in Renaissance Italy, a time and place that I knew something about. Even then, I made a few timeline mistakes that caught my eye upon re-reading it a few years later. Forturnately, none of the readers caught them, which means that I knew more than they did about the period. But someday, some reader will catch them and I'll feel just awful about it.

 

[gunhilltrain]

The oldest setting I have for a story is 1949, and even for that, I had to check to see if a certain drive-in theater was open at that point. (Fortunately, it was.)

Even stories set forty or fifty years ago, within my own memory, sometimes require research. Right now I'm trying to figure out when cars first had tape decks, and if they were factory-installed or aftermarket. This would be during the early to mid-1970s, and some of the characters have used cars that are fairly old. The first car I owned, a 1983 Toyota I bought new, came with one from the factory.

 

[RetroFan]

I mostly write stories set in the past and do my research and try to be careful when I write stories set before I was born and in locations I am unfamiliar with so as not to create an anachronism.

For example, my oldest story takes place in Cairo Egypt in 1926. I have never been to Egypt, nor was I around in 1926, so kept my details limited.

Being an Australian, I give many more details about landmarks/geography in these stories but am also careful in past settings. I'm currently writing a story set in Sydney in 2001 so am fine to reference the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. But lets say I set a story in Sydney in 1961, and the characters see the completed Sydney Opera House. It would be a huge anachronism as the Opera House didn't open until 1973. Non Australian readers may not pick up on this but Aussie readers would straight away.

 

[NotWise]

The oldest setting I have for a story is 1949, and even for that, I had to check to see if a certain drive-in theater was open at that point. (Fortunately, it was.)

Even stories set forty or fifty years ago, within my own memory, sometimes require research. Right now I'm trying to figure out when cars first had tape decks, and if they were factory-installed or aftermarket. This would be during the early to mid-1970s, and some of the characters have used cars that are fairly old. The first car I owned, a 1983 Toyota I bought new, came with one from the factory.

Hmm. Factory-installed 8-track players date to 1966, when Ford offered them as an option in the Mustang, Thunderbird, and Lincoln. I remember other makes of cars (Olds 442, especially) dating from the late 60's with 8-tracks that I thought were factory-installed.

I had a factory-installed 8-track in a 1976 F-100 that was one of my all-time favorite vehicles. I loved the truck, but the 8-track sucked. Still, when it hit the guitar solo from "Hell is for Children," I could go from 65 to 95 in the middle of town without even realizing it.

 

[KeithD]

For example, my oldest story takes place in Cairo Egypt in 1926. I have never been to Egypt, nor was I around in 1926, so kept my details limited.

I'm writing a 1910 story set in Egypt now (and already have several others set there). Read Michael Pearce and Naguib Mahfouz and you'll do fine. (Although I'll admit I've spent a fair amount of time in Egypt.)

 

[yibala2]

I put a lot of time and effort into historical research. But much of that is for my own benefit, because I love history and research. If you're into world-building as a writer, then there should be a lot that you know that your readers never see.

My Lit stories are swords & sorcery that takes place in an African fantasy milieu, so I do a great deal of research, mainly on technology and various cultures. One of the intended underlying themes of my stories is the breadth of human ingenuity and experience - both its variety and its universality. So it's important for me to know how people dealt or could deal with universal human problems. Building materials, foods, political formations, mythical beliefs, etc. The world I write about is purely fantasy, but it is about humans, and I want details to ring true, or at least be plausible.

I've written some non-erotic historical fantasy, based in the U.S. during the 1810's, 1840's and 1920's, and for those the historical research was more about accuracy and less about spurring the imagination.

Having said that, most of the research isn't included in the story - a point others here have already made. Most readers don't care about the details, as long as they don't intrude upon the plausibility of the story. The story is the whole point, after all, and background detail can easily distract from that or suggest to the reader that something is important to the plot when it isn't. If I have historical details I can't use... well, I can always write more stories.

-Yib

 

[Jada59]

I haven't as yet written anything that goes back before my time but I still do my research to make sure that I haven't forgotten something. Sometimes details matter. Sometimes not. But I don't want to get something glaringly wrong!

 

[Jamie_and_Lisa]

I agree that this calls for a delicate balance, as it is tantalizingly easy to go overboard ... hear about the innards of a B-24 bomber...

We perform a public service. Where else would the average reader of erotica learn that every C-109 that ever existed was converted from a B-24 bomber at Ypsilanti Michigan? Or that you have to fill that little 125 gallon tank in the nose first and empty it last if you want a 109 to stay in CG? Or who built Willow Run? Or who Ypsilanti was?

 

[ChloeTzang]

We perform a public service. Where else would the average reader of erotica learn that every C-109 that ever existed was converted from a B-24 bomber at Ypsilanti Michigan? Or that you have to fill that little 125 gallon tank in the nose first and empty it last if you want a 109 to stay in CG? Or who built Willow Run? Or who Ypsilanti was?

Yes! My kind of detail. For One Night in Xanadu I spent a couple of hours reading up on jow the Mongols made their bows, just for one line in the story. For Huginn’s Yule, I read a dozen sagas just to get the language and phrasing, and I read book after book on the Silk Road and on contact between China and Europe in ancient times. For Tales from Old Shanghai I ended up filling two shelves with books on Shanghai that I read. And I spent a day researching 1920s lingerie and cheongsams. I do that sort of research all the time - like for surfing in Chinese Eyes. When you’re writing about something the authenticity is so important- you throw readers with stupid mistakes so easily. And there’s always someone who’ll pick you up. Someone caught me out in White Wedding with the weight and volume of gold. Oops stupid mistake!

 

[gunhilltrain]

Hmm. Factory-installed 8-track players date to 1966, when Ford offered them as an option in the Mustang, Thunderbird, and Lincoln. I remember other makes of cars (Olds 442, especially) dating from the late 60's with 8-tracks that I thought were factory-installed.

I had a factory-installed 8-track in a 1976 F-100 that was one of my all-time favorite vehicles. I loved the truck, but the 8-track sucked. Still, when it hit the guitar solo from "Hell is for Children," I could go from 65 to 95 in the middle of town without even realizing it.

Thank you.

I'm pretty sure you could get them installed aftermarket too. I remember a lot of shops around that offered upgraded sound systems. People still do that, I think, although the factory-installed systems - I don't even know what people rely on nowadays - must be much better than they used to be. CD-based systems were big for a while. I guess it's all gone digital now?

 

[NotWise]

Thank you.

I'm pretty sure you could get them installed aftermarket too. I remember a lot of shops around that offered upgraded sound systems. People still do that, I think, although the factory-installed systems - I don't even know what people rely on nowadays - must be much better than they used to be. CD-based systems were big for a while. I guess it's all gone digital now?

You could get them dealer-installed, too.

Yeah, I think most cars have gone digital. I just have my characters link their phone to the car.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

I really don't write anything older than about seven decades ago. That I lived through. Mostly, if I go back, it's takes place in the late 60s. I lived it, so no research needed.

What I need to research is my stories set in the near future, although the dystopian aftermath of things that happen, I can usually just make up. After all it's sci-fi.

 

[SouthernCrossfire]

I've written a number of non-erotic westerns that took a lot of research to get the area and timeframe correct. Seeing Colt Army Single Action revolvers (first released to the public in 1873 in any number) and Winchester 66s and 73s in old westerns set prior to the American Civil War has always been a pet peeve.

My one period piece on this site takes place during and after the Civil War but in the South rather than the West, so more research on the area and what it was like there during the period was needed to get it right. I included a visit to a famous hotel as a way to firmly establish the location and timeframe, and to illustrate that while the character could choose to visit the dining room as a special treat to himself, he couldn't afford to stay in one of its fine, expensive rooms.

A trip to an auto museum a couple of years ago inspired another period piece (1912-1914) that I hope to finish someday. However, it will take a LOT more detailed research before it is ever completed or published.

 

[yowser]

We perform a public service. Where else would the average reader of erotica learn that every C-109 that ever existed was converted from a B-24 bomber at Ypsilanti Michigan? Or that you have to fill that little 125 gallon tank in the nose first and empty it last if you want a 109 to stay in CG? Or who built Willow Run? Or who Ypsilanti was?

Well Blimey.

I may just have a question for you about the placement of a waist gunner on a B-24.

And Ypsilanti is just about my favorite name for a US town, ever.

CG?