Researching by doing

I read once about a fantasy author who traveled to foreign countries and lived there while he wrote novels based on the history of those locales. Even with centuries separating him from his target time period, no amount of library or interview research would have imparted the same flavor as being on location surely did. People notice different things about the same experience, and those unique little details are often what are most convincing.

Since I write a lot of traditional medievalesque fantasy, my characters engage in archery, sword-fighting, and horse-riding. So far I've managed to write about these activities because I've read so many other fantasy novels with characters who did these things — but since some of those authors were likely faking it themselves, this inevitably leads to the writing of scenes that probably cause Judith Tarr to despair. (She raises horses and blogs about the reality of dealing with them.)

So when I was offered the opportunity to take some free fencing classes, I leapt at it. Would it be anything like actual sword-fighting back in the day? No, but it would be closer than, say, tennis, which was the only one-on-one competitive sport I'd played where you held an instrument.

Next up: a Groupon for indoor archery instruction. And then horse-riding lessons, I think.

I'm not looking to become an expert in any of these things — don't expect me to start galloping around with a bow slung over my shoulder and a foil in my hand, performing martial feats. But even brief experiences will let me observe with five senses, and hopefully bring those observations to the page with a ring of authenticity.

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