: Re: How do I write dialogue to evoke a historical setting? I want to write a novel set in the 12th century. I can learn about the platform for the story, like city life and culture of people

@Shelley992

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This is primarily a stylistic choice.

The situation is this: accurately reflecting the speech patterns of the time is virtually impossible, would require absurd amounts of research, and would drive away any readers who don't have academic background in the period. Realistically, what you want to do is evoke the speech patterns of the period, without mimicking them perfectly.

The correct way to do this varies by your writing style, the genre and tone of your story, and the readers you hope to attract. Most importantly, it depends on what you feel comfortable writing. It may seem counter-intuitive to say that the amount of research you should do is determined by what you're comfortable writing, but at the end of the day it's your story and only you know what level of verisimilitude is right for it.

The bottom line: historical fiction is, by definition, a synthesis of the period it depicts and the period it was written in. This is not a bug, but a feature. How far you diverge from common usage will reflect how 'alien' you want the story to feel for a modern reader.

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