First Drafting, Part 10: Research

So today I have something new and exciting - my first guest post!

Because today's topic is on research, and I am not a historical fiction writer, I reached out to Mrs. Carol Baldwin for help on this subject.  She has been an encouragement to me, as when I first started getting serious about my writing, I read her book, Teaching the Story.  It helped me realize that I needed to do some prep work before actually sitting down and writing.  She is currently writing an historical fiction novel set in the 1950's, and you can learn more about it here: Half-Truths.  (Personally, I think it sounds super cool!)

"It’s a good idea to cast a wide net when you’re researching historical fiction. You want to immerse yourself in the time and place so that when it comes time to write, your characters will speak, act, dress, eat, play…you know, just about everything…authentically. Although the internet is fantastic for finding material, don’t rely on it alone. Read books about your time period as well as books your characters might have read.

As you are researching, make sure you have a good system of keeping track of your sources. Whether it’s a Word document, Scrivener, or notebooks with dividers (yes, I have a friend who still does it that way), you want to be able to track down your sources easily. Saving images in Pinterest (with the websites where you found them) works well for visuals. Here’s a link to my Pinterest boards so you can see what I have saved.

Inevitably, you’re going to itch to start writing and when you do, you’ll find you STILL don’t know the type of pasta your Italian peasant ate in 1828 or the color of her dress or what kind of feather was in her suitor’s hat (did Italian men even wear hats with feathers in the 19th century?). Don’t stop to fill this in. Leave words such as WHAT COLOR or MATERIAL OF DRESS or TYPE OF HAT in the manuscript. I read an article recently in which the writer recommended inserting something like “TK" so she could search the entire document for those letters and fill in the necessary details later.

The reason you want to wait to search out these important details is that there’s a good chance that in your final draft, that scene will have changed so dramatically that you don’t even need that information (turns out her suitor was a prince and he only wore crowns on his head…you know, that sort of thing). Or the scene isn’t even in your final draft.

I can’t tell you how many times I wish I’d had this advice before I started writing Half-Truths!

Like Julian has said, get the story out. Leave holes if you need to. You'll fill them in later."

Carol Baldwin blogs at carolbaldwinblog.blogspot.com where she loves reviewing and giving away books. Follow her on Facebook, her author page, or Twitter. 

 

Just a quick farewell...but I (Julian) will return on Wednesday for the first part of the new Shared-WIP Tag!

Does anyone else write historical fiction?  Have you had any problems with research?  Any tricks for getting through a first draft with HF?  Comment below, and please check out Mrs. Baldwin's blog!  She's awesome.  :D