: Re: What is a good methodology for researching a historical novel? I'm having difficulty with the research aspect of my historical novel. This question was originally going to be "how much research

@Debbie451

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I'd disagree with this answer—if you don't do any research beforehand, not only are you not going to know much about clothing, architecture, etc., you probably won't have a very good idea of what the mindset of the time would be. The person who has their patrician character from Ancient Rome sympathizing with slaves isn't going to get published—obviously. Make sure you have a good idea of everything that would be surrounding your character—architecture and clothing, how they would have done simple things like go to the bathroom or eat dinner—first, and if you forget something while you're writing and need to quickly research it, do so.

Also, look at the bibliographies of other historical novelists. You'd be surprised at the sources they reference. A book about what kind of perfume Marie Antoinette would have used might not seem so useful when you're writing about her, but it's the sort of book you may need to reference someday. After all, you need to be there in all five senses when you're reading a book, so do that for your readers with research, hopefully before you've tried to summon the time period.

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