Period Writing

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I've been blogging about literary writing. A very popular area of writing (not even a genre since it's wider than that and can spread across several genres) is period writing.  I'm not talking about faux period writing, meaning, for instance, fantasy set in a medievalish setting, one of the most popular kinds of fantasy writing.  There's nothing wrong with that kind of story, but that's a separate subject.  This is about real period writing set in a real time period.  This kind of story requires a lot of research. 

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There are many pitfalls one can fall into when it comes to writing about a period of history.  The most common would be to skip the research.  The hardest part could very well be really understanding the period about which you want to write.  Experts know this period. A poorly researched piece that purports to be about one period but uses anachronistic hairstyles, setting, fashion, technology, or other detail will throw the astute and well-educated reader right out of the narrative.  My husband tried reading Braveheart but could not take it seriously when someone lit a match long before matches existed.  If you want to skip the research, it's time to build a new world, which is an entirely different skillset and headache.  The first step in period pieces is always research, lots and lots of research. Long before Lacey can meet Juan, you need to know if those names could exist where and when you want them to live and love.  What could they wear?  What would they do in a day?  What tools might they use?  If you don't know the time, you can't know any of this. 

[Plague Doctor: source]

Even more important than the trappings of the period, how would someone who lives in that time period think?  Modern feminism would be a foreign concept to a woman of the Renaissance.  Environmentalism would not necessarily be the first concern for a pauper from Dickensian England.  Know the thought processes, the theories, the basic understanding of the world of your character.  Don't just tack your thinking onto their faces, or it won't be convincing. If you're going to write about a doctor living during the late middle ages, research what medical theory would have looked like.  Would he have even washed his hands before performing surgery?  Why or why not?  You need to know that because a historian reading your piece certainly will.  And if you can't convince your reader that your setting is real, all the deeper meanings in the world won't mean anything to your readers because you've already lost them.  They're not your readers anymore. 

If you have a period piece from any period, do you know enough about your time period?  Do you understand how your character would think, live, and love?  If not, it's time to research some more.