Frank Mundo
asked
Jane Steen:
Jane, How important is research to writers of historical fiction? Even though the stories are fictional, there seems to be an expectation that the details are right.
Jane Steen
Research is very important. Some writers go overboard with research and spend years reading every possible book on their subject, visiting obscure libraries for original materials, etc. I don't do that, but I do try to ensure that my story is as true as possible to at least the spirit of its age. I look up a lot of tiny details, because questions such as "what kind of moisturizers were available?" occur to me all the time while I'm writing.
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