Writing Historical Fiction Authentically

Historical fiction. Since it's one of my favorite genres to both read and write, of course I had to write a blog post about it. ;)

Today I'm going to be talking about writing historical fiction authentically. Which I guess you could also call, “researching for historical fiction.” *shrugs* Whichever angle you prefer. XD

One of my very favorite things about reading historical fiction is all the little details I get to learn about whatever time period the book is set in. There's just something exciting about opening a fictional book and knowing you'll come away with actual facts about the past.

But it can be hard to try and research those details. I mean, it's not like we can time travel back and find out what we need to know. (Oh that would be amazing, though!)

So how do you manage to find out all those little facts and details you must know to write historical fiction?

1. Use firsthand accounts. This works really well for WWII onwards, because there are still people who lived during that time who you can find and interview. Letters that have been preserved and published in books are an invaluable tool for facts. This works well for a variety of time periods, because corresponding often includes small details about life that aren't included in history books.
2. Museums. I know, I know, maybe not the first thing that comes to mind when you think about researching. But really, these provide hands on research for so many different time periods. World wars, the middle ages, revolutionary war...Museums are filled with info that other people have put together for you. It's a win-win situation. ;)
3. Another way to be sure you're writing authentically is yo be careful of the themes you're trying to bring across. Make sure they fit with the time period you're writing. More the likely, a girl during the crusades is going have a lot more struggles then trying to figure out her self worth. Not that it couldn't work, but that is a theme that would fit a contemporary novel much better. The same goes for trying to write feminism in any time period before the 1900s. Not that it can't ever be done, but because it wasn't a large part if the culture, it's hard to pull it off well without it coming across as forced and unnatural. So instead of trying to be the one author in a thousand who managed to pull something like that off, try and find another angle or write about a struggle that was authentic to the time period. Your readers will appreciate it.

So yes. Three tips that I've found works well for writing historical fiction authentically . ;) Have you used any of these methods?