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Get historical facts right with Charla Chin

Researching the Historical Romance

by Charla Chin

For the writer who loves history, researching is the best part of writing a historical novel. Even so, for the beginner, the job often seems a horrendous undertaking. Just deciding where to start is confusing. But researching is absolutely necessary.
There are three good reasons for properly researching a historical novel. First, historical fiction readers know and love history. They can spot a phony in an instant. Fudging isn't allowed. Second, historical facts set the boundaries or limits within which the writer must work. Third, history can be used as external conflict and thus strengthen the plot.
So where does the job start? To keep things simple, we'll compare researching the historical to building house.

The Foundation: General Background Research

Like building a new house, researching starts with the foundation, the foundation being the initial or general historical background. Study the general historical facts leading up to the time the novel takes place. The whys wheres and whats of any culture can't be understood without knowledge of its upbringing or experiences.
For example: Character idiosyncrasies aside, if a writer wishes to characterize a young Irish immigrant, the Irish heritage and the immigrant experience must be understood. Hence, the writer studies the reasons behind the Irish leaving Ireland and their experiences once arrived in America.
The same holds true when setting a novel in an unfamiliar country or state. Example: Suppose you're writing a story in 19th century England and you know little of its people and history. A study of England's general history up to the point being written about is needed. In this way the writer learns what motivates an Englishman, why they react differently in a given situation than say an American might. The general background would also familiarize the writer with English government and environs.

The Walls: The Limiting Historical Facts

Once the general historical background is finished, it's time to add the walls of the house to the foundation, or the factual boundaries that determine the specifics of a story—the exact who, where and what. For the sake of example, assume the writer wants to write about rivaling Old West ranchers, one a gringo newly arrived on the scene and one a Spaniard who's family has owned their land since Spanish exploration days. They are both claiming the same land. Since the Spanish dwelled predominately in the Southwest and California, the historical facts limit the setting to that area. The research process may go something like this:

Study general history of the Southwest and California and especially the Spanish settlers and their backgrounds—how they came to receive their land grants. Look for land conflicts between Americans and Spanish landowners.
Let's say you discover that such conflict took place throughout the Southwest but especially so in California after the US gained possession. Laws were passed to benefit Americans and many Spanish families lost land that had been theirs for generations. Note: We've just limited the research to California because its history supports our story premise. Also a specific year is chosen, say the year those unfair laws were passed. This limits our time span.
A study of those laws and exactly how and why they were passed is needed. This study supports the story's conflict and perhaps can be used to strengthen it. It's also limiting because the writer must work within the limits of the law's dictates.
Perhaps facts show that many Spanish ranches were located around Los Angles. The writer may wish to locate the ranches near this city. Thus, another limit is set—the specific city.
Research Los Angeles and surrounding countryside for physical setting and historical location of ranches. Study old city maps, locate actual businesses, discover actual citizens, and look at events that shaped the area.

The Roof: Cultural Details

Research local customs and culture of time and place. Again, let's say you learn there was an Indian culture. While your story will not focus on this, some background is good for flavor. Since the focus is on the Spanish, research how they lived, what they did for fun, who were their leaders, Spanish names of things. How did the gringos in the area differ? What was the general emotional climate among the Spanish ranchers, the gringos? This cultural background is another limiting factor that helps the writer shape the personality of his characters.

Making The House A Home: Decor, Plumbing, Furnishings
and Personal Needs—Everyday Life

The house is ready to move into and make our own. We do this in a way that will satisfy the way we like to live—our everyday lives. In the historical novel, these everyday things decorate and set us on a more personal level with the characters.

What kind of food did the Spanish serve? The Americans?
How did they dress?
Modes of transportation available to them
Modes of entertainment
Names of jobs done in and around the city and ranch, both Spanish and American
What newspaper did they read? Was it biased?
What did their homes actually look like? Spanish? Americans?
House furnishings, kitchen hardware, etc.
Ranch equipment and animals on the ranches
Etiquette of the two groups
Standard education of the two groups
Languages spoken, dialects that might be used
Religious differences between the two cultures, specific practices, etc.
Anything that pertains to some aspect of everyday life

Research Shortcuts & Tips

Research swallows precious writing time. Here are a few suggestions that might help. Rather than interrupting your train of thought and your writing to hunt down forgotten facts, refer to the items listed below for quick reference.
Don't take a lot of hand-written or typed notes.

In the library, make use of the copy machine then highlight important facts.
If using your own book, use tiny post-a-notes like tabs on the margins of pages, writing down one or two words to indicate what important information can be found there. This makes for quick reference and if you don't mind marking your books, use a highlighter too.

Use historical time lines. They keep you honest.

State time lines or time lines for a country are often included in the back of history books. Copy them.
If a time line isn't available, note prime dates as you research and make your own.

Keep a list of terms and definitions that will be useful in your story. Using our previous example, if researching Spanish and American ranchers, list ranching terms of both peoples, names of tools and what they were used for, slang, used special clothing items etc. Keep historical area maps handy, lists of important businesses and people. (Note: If using an imaginary town, it should resemble other towns of the time and place. It also helps to draw a blueprint of the imaginary town so that you don't describe a business on A Street one time and then mention that same business on C Street later.) Keep a list of indigenous plants and animals. Take into consideration that animals and birds that are now extinct may have inhabited the area at the time of your story. Note where they would be found: near water, desert, hills, mountains etc.

Building Your Own Library

Public libraries are the logical place to start researching especially for general history. Do check out the children's books. Their simplicity makes them great for basic facts without the superfluous information found in adult books.

However, libraries often do not carry the specialized books needed. Consequently, most historical writers start their own resource libraries.

The Essentials. No historical author's personal library should be without the following:

Domestic Technology by Nell Du Vall
I Hear America Talking and Listening To America, both by Stuart Berg Flexner
Directory of Historical Organizations in the United States And Canada by The American Association for State and Local History, Nashville, Tennessee (very expensive but most libraries have them if unaffordable). It lists most of the historical museums in the US and is extremely useful in finding specialized books dealing with towns, cities, and states. It even lists such museums specializing in things like the logging industry, Indian heritage, railroads, etc. The biggest plus, are the phone numbers. Most museums have gift shops/bookstores. You can call and tell them what you're looking for. I've found most of these stores allow you to give them your credit card number and order the books over the phone.
A dictionary with dated etymologies such as Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary and Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary

Non-commercial research sources:
Catalog of Catalogs: The next time you receive a small catalog book listing specialty catalogs that can be ordered, glance through it very carefully. Many of the catalogs listed sell historic renovation items or facsimiles. More often than not the pictures are dated, thus making this two or three dollar catalog a cheap and valuable source of information. Two catalogs I found in a catalog of catalogs are Lark In The Morning Musical Catalog (historical instruments from all over the world, including medieval; in the back there is a listing by country) and The Antique Hardware Store (shows Victorian bath tubs, sinks, fixtures, hardware, lighting fixtures, weathervanes and more).

Antique and Collector's Magazines: Subscribing to this type of magazine often supplies the writer with more information than they'd ever find in any one book. One of my Favorites is Collector's Eye. This magazine always includes a lot of history about the items being shown. One magazine I have, had an article on the history of Halloween in America. Another such magazine is Victoriana. This one features articles like: beautiful historic homes, Victorian holiday celebrations, how to serve a real Victorian tea, Old Victorian fashions for adults and children etc.

Antique Shops: Antique shops often carry free newspaper-like newsletters with pictures and articles of extreme interest.
Also, if you need to see first hand how something was put together or how it worked, most antique shop owners are glad to demonstrate. Take a camera and notebook.
Antique shops are also great sources for antiquarian books at a reasonable price. (Antiquarian bookstores are usually cost prohibitive, but antique shops are not.) The first hand knowledge in these 19th century or earlier version books is priceless.

Living History Farms/Ranches, and Medieval Fairs: These places are great for viewing first hand how it was done in the old days. They also have wonderful bookstores with specialty books that can't be purchased anywhere else.

Museum Bookstores: With The Directory of Historical Organizations In the United States and Canada (see above), you have all the national museums at your fingertips. Call these museums for rare books with very specific historical information. Often written by people who run the museums, most of these books are not available anywhere else. This resource is my number one favorite and most valuable. Most times an expert is more than willing to help you find nitty gritty information.

Rock Shops: Find books on historical mining sites at rock shops. Sometimes they even have old maps available.

The Internet: There are lots of historical research sites with interesting information. And through the Internet, researchers can hook up with research lists—that is, a list where the writer can pose questions and receive answers. This is especially useful when time is an important factor. Look up historical research at http://groups.yahoo.com.

Research on the Internet usually starts by using a search engine like Yahoo. There are others that are better yet. My college-student son keeps me updated. One of his favorites is www.dogpile.com. Dogpile utilizes "all" search engines!

Magazines: State magazines like Arizona Highways and Texas Highways give excellent descriptions of different parts of the state and often offer historical information too. National Geographic Magazine offers much in descriptions of rain forests, mountains and peoples and places all around the world. It also describes national disasters, animals etc. There are magazines from/and or about foreign countries that can subscribed to, or found at libraries such as British Heritage. A good way to find out about these is to contact a bookstore in the state or country of interest. There are also specialty magazines whose stories offer great historical plot ideas and history. Many offer a history book selection. They can be found in most bookstores:

Wild West - Subscription information at (800) 829-3340, outside US at (904) 446-6914 or Wild West at PO Box 420466, Palm Coast, FL 3214-9097.
Old West - PO Box 2107, Stillwater, OK 74076
True West, American History Illustrated, and Historic Traveler are others. There are also magazines dedicated to the Civil War.

Charla's Best Sources for Historical Research

In my own library I have around eight hundred books. If you're getting started, take a look at the abbreviated Resource list. My taste covers a vast area, so time and space won't permit me to list every topic and book. Also, because medieval is not what I presently write my sources in that area are limited. However, perhaps this printable list will help a few of you get started.

Happy researching!

Born and raised in Iowa, Charla Chin resided in Scottsdale, Arizona for ten years until she relocated to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. She lives in a country town on the lakeside with her husband, Tony. When she isn't writing she pursues photography and collects authentically costumed dolls from all over the world. She also maintains an extensive research library that includes history and books on slang, sayings and dialects. Charla writes as Charlotte McPherren and Sharla Rae. Her most recent release, Love and Fortune, was a 1994 Leisure release.