FICTION WRITERS ARE TAUGHT that if the background research required to make a novel feel authentic is done well, it’s rarely noticed. If the writer has done their job, there are no anachronisms that jerk the reader out of the story. If the details feel historically accurate, the reader puts themselves into the competent hands of the author and enters the narrative wholeheartedly.
There are various ways to proceed with this research. Some novelists learn as much as they think they’ll need about the subject area of a novel before beginning to write; others write a first draft and then research the areas that are thin on background material.
