I write inspirational and/or sweet historical romance. My stories have taken place during the American Revolution, French Revolution and the Regency Period. Even though my time frame spans roughly only 45 years, a LOT happened. So, I spend a lot of time researching. A few of the things I needed to recently look up were 1) at what age could a man become a vicar, and 2) what would the parishioners have been singing, by way of a hymn, in 1811. I have no clue to either of those answers. I am sure my favorite songs were not part of their hymnal since I am partial to contemporary Christian music.
As for the vicar, luckily one of my critique partners (thank you Heather) had a biography and the man became a vicar at the age of 22. So, I am safe on that one since my hero is older than that. I had to go to the internet for the music, however. It appears that in England, most of the hymns were Psalms. But I am sure there were hymns other than Psalms then. Or, perhaps they were written but not sang in church. I think I am going to play it safe and simply call it a Psalm. Okay, maybe that is cheating or lazy and I probably should look into it further and put the name of an actual song in the story. Any suggestions?
What do you write? Have you chosen a topic or era that requires a lot of research? What are some of your favorite research sites?
I admire those who write books that need extensive research. I am not one of them. This would bore me to tears. I write non-fiction (memoir) and have started my first novel. No research though. Maybe a little if there is something I need for one of the characters, but nothing like what is required for historical novels. Honestly, i think you historical writers are amazing :)
ReplyDeleteI feel terrible. I have not read one of your books yet. I am going to put that on my list to order this week as soon as I return to work. Regarding the music, ask a minister of music who has been to college to study that - - or ask a professor at a college. I admire a person who does the research to make the story valid. Have you read any of Deeanne Gist's books? In her "A Bride in the Bargain" and others like it in the series, she takes an actual historical event (in this case people in the west wanting mail-order brides and girls in the east needing jobs) and makes a fictional story with almost all the exact details - - other than the conversations that might have occurred. So once again, thank you for taking time to make your historical research accurate. As a librarian, we have people who begin to follow an author because they know she can be trusted to tell the truth about a time period.
ReplyDeleteYou are ambitious. I write family histories and sometimes have to do research in a library or online about places or times. Don't have a favorite site just google it. Good luck
ReplyDeleteI write my own life, which lends itself to some research, since I remember different events than my DH. I often exagerrate- NO! But I call it literary license. It makes the stories more readable, and funnier. As if my life weren't already funny enough...
ReplyDeleteHi Amy,
ReplyDeleteI have studied hymn writers. Issac Watts was one of the first English hymn writers and he lived in the mid 1600's to early 1700's. Charles Wesley is called the father of hymns and he lived during the 1700's. You would be safe to use hymns in the earlly 1800's, probably more accurate than Psalms at that point. Although some of it may depend upon what church you're referring to. Anglican vs. Baptist, these would have been different in type of service and type of hymns.
I start out without research then find myself looking up all sorts of things that my character knows and won't tell me.
ReplyDeleteMy historical epic, The Last Waltz (http://last-waltz.com took 40 years to write. All the research was done in Austria when I was young and at school there. But it took a mighty effort to become the woman who could say she had triumphed in the face of overwhelming adversity and write about it authentically. The most difficult research is the research of the soul.
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