Digging for Details: A Historical Fiction Writer's Guide to Research
by Rebecca Pickens
You've got a brilliant idea for a historical novel. The characters are taking shape in your mind, the plot has potential, and you're itching to dive into the world you’re recreating. But wait—how did people address each other in 1840s Boston? What would a medieval midwife have in her toolkit? What music played in Paris cafés during the 1920s?
Finding the kinds of details that will make your story feel authentic means you’ll need to do research—lots of it! And for those drawn toward writing historical fiction, that’s probably good news because research is half (maybe three quarters) of the fun!
Once you start digging, you might catch yourself telling friends about Victorian dating customs or Ancient Roman plumbing systems at dinner parties.
Of course, the details you unearth will only be as good as the sources you find them in. Fortunately, more than any other time in history, good resources are easy to access.
First Stop: The library of course!
Libraries can take you anywhere. Get to know the librarians in your neighborhood. Tell them about the book you’re writing and watch how excited they become.
If you’re fortunate to live near a university, visit its library. There’s no need to be intimidated by the academic sources there. Someone spent years becoming an expert on Victorian mourning jewelry or Colonial-era farming techniques so you don't have to!
Pro tip: If you find a particularly helpful academic paper, check out its bibliography for additional leads. This is an efficient, easy way to track down more information.
In addition, university libraries often house special collections of items such as rare manuscripts, old newspapers, and personal letters from important figures.
Visit Historical Societies
When I’m coaching an author who is writing historical fiction, one of my favorite suggestions is to visit historical societies in the areas they’re writing about. They’re full of quirky, local primary sources—like town records, personal letters, or local news articles that won’t show up in most research databases.
Staff and volunteers at historical societies tend to be an enthusiastic bunch! Tell them what you’re writing about and see where that conversation takes you.
Museums Are a Must!
Museums make historical details easier to visualize. Best of all, they’re full of ordinary items your characters might have used such as tools, articles of clothing, furniture, cooking utensils and other objects that can provide a better understanding about how your characters lived. Taking time to linger and observe these items carefully can spark new ideas and ensure your story’s accuracy.
Keep an eye on museum calendars as they often host events, lectures, and temporary exhibits that dive deep into specific historical periods or themes. These are great opportunities to hear directly from experts and immerse yourself in a specific topic you’re researching. You might stumble upon a small, obscure detail that becomes the heart of your story or the catalyst for a plot twist!
Can’t make it to a museum in person? No problem. Many museums now offer online tours or digital collections, like The British Museum or the Smithsonian. You can “walk” through exhibits and explore artifacts from home.
Visit Historic Sites
If you’re writing about a specific location, nothing beats visiting it in person. Walking the streets, standing in old buildings, and studying landscapes can provide a much deeper understanding of the time and place you’re writing about. Take this opportunity to notice the little details—the sound of the wind in an old-growth forest, the smell of the sea, and the kinds of plants that grow in the area. Specific details such as these will make your setting feel more authentic.
Digital Archives: History from Your Couch
Remember when researching meant physically traveling to dusty archives? While there’s something kind of nice about that, digitization means you can browse centuries-old documents in your pajamas—with your cat!
Visit the Library of Congress and the Internet Archive to find digitized photographs, documents, and audio recordings.
The National Archives makes gathering resources such as old census records, court documents, and military service records easy to access.
Europeana, The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA), and Gallica (from France’s national library) are packed with digitized documents, art, and books from a range of historical periods.
If you’re writing about a specific place, local archives have collections full of the kinds of unique, specific, intimate details that will breathe life into your story.
Old issues of town newspapers often offer a more personal view of history, reflecting the opinions and everyday concerns of local people. Check out databases like NewspaperArchive or Chronicling America to access archived articles.
Oral history archives like StoryCorps or the American Folklife Center provide personal, unfiltered accounts of history from the people who experienced it.
Harness the Power of Social Media and Online Communities
Scrolling social media isn’t just a way to put off writing. It’s a research opportunity too! Wherever you hang out online, look for hashtags like #histfic or #researchtips to discover new resources. Look for groups and forums dedicated to historical fiction writers, history buffs, and niche topics. These communities can offer advice, resources, or even feedback from others working in the same period as you.
Good Old-Fashioned Books
While primary sources are essential, books written by historians can give you the broader context you need. Check out biographies, memoirs, and history books that focus on the time period or events you're writing about. Scholarly books tend to be more fact-driven, while memoirs and biographies are often written in an engaging narrative style that can inspire your own storytelling.
Evaluating What You Find
Not all historical sources are created equal, and the internet has made it easier than ever to stumble across questionable information. When you find something interesting, pause and ask yourself a few questions:
Who created this information, and why? A newspaper trying to sell copies might sensationalize. A government document might present a sanitized version of events. A personal diary might be brutally honest—or completely biased.
Is this describing something typical or exceptional? Newspapers rarely reported on a "normal Tuesday where nothing unusual happened," which is exactly the kind of day your character might be having.
Asking questions like these will help you assess your research and determine if you’ve found the right resources for the job.
The Research Balancing Act
It’s possible to get so caught up in research that you never actually write your book. It might be helpful to set a reasonable timeline for your research phase, knowing you can always pause writing to look up specific details later.
To maintain your creative flow and avoid going down the research rabbit hole every fifteen minutes, you might find it helpful to designate certain hours as “research time” and leave the others for writing. Keeping the two jobs separate is likely to save you time.
What's your favorite research resource? Have you found a resource that other historical fiction writers should know about? Share in the comments below!
Rebecca Pickens is a certified book coach, developmental editor and host of Self-Editing Essentials: Group Coaching for Fiction and Memoir Writers. She works with writers at all stages of the creative journey to help them start, finish, and get their stories into the hands of readers.
During long winters in Northern New York, she writes literary fiction spiced with a dash of magical realism. In the bright bursts of summer, her attention turns to flash fiction. Her short fiction has been nominated for the PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers and, most recently, The Pushcart Prize. She is currently at work on a novel.
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