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Click hereResearch is the lynch pin of writing a good period piece and it can be a lot of fun in its own right.
At the end of the day, writing a period piece is much like any other you write. The same mechanics of story building and characterization apply. The difference is the world you write in is more demanding of you. Writing to that more exacting standard is a challenge, but well worth the rewards.
- COMMENTS
Anonymous6 months agoGood work as far as it went. There are certain rules that govern writing, both fiction and nonfiction alike.
1) Write what you know, especially in the beginning. Every writer begins with autobiography to start. Hemingway to Grisham, they wrote out of the wealth of their experiences.
2) Be aware of cultural boundaries even today. It never ceases to amaze me when writers living outside the South attempt to write about it. Even within the South are many nuances in speech, culture, and practice. Heck, Texas is its own world.
3) Research, research, research. You never know who is reading your stories. Inevitably, and it will happen, some smart ass will find your one mistake and point it out in the comments. To prove my point, CT did her due diligence, but something always slips through the cracks. In Cold Reception, Annika, a Soviet sniper, shoots a German soldier with a Mauser, which was a weapon during World War Two omn the Eastern Front…by the Germans. One could argue that she was resourceful and picked it up. Problem, where’s she gonna find ammunition? Lesson: fact check the hell out of your story before publishing it. The internet is forever.
4) Watch for anachronisms. Time machines don’t exist. Nobody in 1776 would share your views on the Revolution. Take CT’s advice and find some primary sources to inform your writing. Also, don’t take modern (read revisionist) claims at face value. When neo-Marxist historians, an ideology born in the Modern Philosophical paradigm, evaluate thinkers from the Pre-Modern paradigm, they inevitably apply a foreign framework to the past.
p.s. If you have a question you can’t find the answer to, be smart and ask for help. The first rule of scholarship is admitting what you don’t know.
Anonymousabout 1 year agoThank you for your writing, Colleen Thomas. I hope you’re doing well, in Heaven or on Earth, whichever you currently reside in.
Anonymousover 3 years agoSage and sound advice.
RIP Colleen Thomas, 3-26-2006
Shaima32over 6 years agoI agreed with everything you said. I laughed at the endless research just to ferret out a couple of details to write into your story. I have done endless research just to make everything seem more real. In particular when dildos were first used, turns out the ancient Greeks used them!
Anonymousover 6 years agoShe could have us fooled? A talented male writer disguised as CT? Hmm never know do we?
rockchaserover 6 years agoSuccinct and useful guide! I frequently worry about building a plausible world for my stories, with the goal of making the background immersive and largely invisible. In practice that can mean becoming bogged down in endless research that has little effect on the story (particularly true for my SF stories, which is why none of them are really finished). The idea of writing historical fiction with realism is terrifying because I can't even rely on the skills I have for SF research.
Your examples and suggestions are exactly what I need, to see how a little can go a long way. I think their usefulness extends beyond historical fiction.
Anonymousabout 10 years agoIntellectually brilliant submission; par excellence!
Anonymousabout 10 years agotruly enjoyed the specific detailing of revelant inclusion in the story body.
Jdeauover 11 years agoI find "The Writer's Guides" (such as the one on "Everyday Life from Prohibition Through World War II") to be invaluable.
