And for writing, I use one level past what the story and the reader need - so there are no embarrassing gotchas out there that I would have found if I'd gone far enough.

The idea for my kind of realistic fiction is to make the reader feel that if they'd followed that detour, there would have been more in that direction, but we're not going to do that right now. Maybe later...

It's all an illusion - and all dangerous - and once or twice I've had to tell myself that 1) most people don't remember something in that much detail and aren't going to look it up, and 2) for a persistent researcher reader I will just claim 'artistic license' if something works, but isn't QUITE literally on the right timeline. Or, in some cases, 3) the CHARACTER got it wrong - they're not infallible!

Fiction, Alicia, fiction.

If it bolsters a major plot point, I'll go an extra layer to be sure.

For example, in most states, things like marriages are in the public record under legal names. But in California, there's a 'secret marriage' used by people like movie stars to preserve their public image?

I have notes. When I get to that place, I'll see what some of the details were (the story is set in 2005/2006), and why I planned to use that there. And then use it to keep someone from finding out someone else IS already married.

I'm an extreme plotter with an execrable rough draft that was written precisely for that purpose: make sure anything in the plot that is important had the facts of the time right.

And most of the time, things like the illegal poppy harvest in northern India were researched until I could safely write what I did.

You bring up a good point. Not knowing what you don't know. Communicating with people who are more familiar with a particular subject helps.

A project I'm working on revolves around trains. I chatted with several people who are in a miniature train club. Wow! That was a real education. They also connected me with a gentleman who used to work at train yards in the Chicago area. He seemed to know everything about historical train routes, making the outline of my story change.

Lisa, you found the humor in my post! Huzzah, I feel seen too.

I'm pleased that you enjoyed the article.

Yikes! Lots of complications in your writing journey for this project.

To keep the story moving forward at a good clip while including more technical details is quite a juggle. Wow!

Hi Mara. I am also a big fan of using facts in fiction. For me, it doesn't matter if it's historical fiction or not.

Congratulations on your Faction award! That's awesome.

I love historical fiction and agree that one aften doesn't know what they need to know.

Those little details, like types of lanterns and muskets enhance the story.

Thank you, Carol! I'm glad there's information here that you can use.

This is why it's wrong: you have no idea how much you don't know about any given subject. Worse, some of what you think you know (based on novels, movies, or TV series) is incorrect.

Granted, I'm already quite familiar with my chosen period (mid-1700s) after writing twelve novels set between 1739 and 1745. The chief advantage of my experience lies in not having to research the entire period. Now I usually only have to look up very narrow questions, like what kind of lantern was in use, or what kind of French army musket might have been imported by the Jacobites, or how a marriage could be annulled.