Let's do the research

I have read a few historical novels that seem to have been researched by going to movies. They are rife with errors and give little flavor of the times. I am glad to say there haven’t been all that many. People use products or processes that haven’t been invented or aren’t in common use. I have run into baled hay several times in the 17th, 18th and early 19th century. Hay bailers use either steam engines or internal combustion engines, so, sorry no hay bales yet. I admit I made that mistake in one manuscript but removed it before the work came out. People ride trains where there were none. Yup, I made that mistake too, but again, it’s gone from the manuscript. Zippers on the Titanic? No way.
It isn’t all that difficult to do the research and there is no excuse to skim over it. Newspapers are easy to get and give heaps of information about daily life. Almost every time period has interpreters and re-enactors who are happy to answer questions and recommend sources. Look at the art and architecture, listen to the music, read the books. Then seek out secondary sources that will explain it.
Once you have done the research, it will provide texture for the work. I discovered that most horses stolen from south eastern Pennsylvania in 1751-2 were black. You can bet that isn’t going to show up in my writing, but it is one more piece of important background.