Get Your Hands Dirty Historical Research For Novelists
Below is a MRR and PLR article in category Writing Speaking -> subcategory Writing.
Get Your Hands Dirty: Historical Research for Novelists
Overview
For over a decade, I had the incredible opportunity to hone my writing skills while working at Old World Wisconsin, a large outdoor ethnic museum near Milwaukee. This historic site, featuring a crossroads village and ten working farmsteads with restoration dates from 1845 to 1915, became a rich source of inspiration and knowledge. Through hands-on experiences, I learned invaluable historical domestic and agricultural processes, which greatly enhanced my storytelling.
Learning by Doing
At Old World Wisconsin, I delved into the past by actively participating in various tasks. I mastered weaving on a loom, milking cows, and making rennet and lye soap. I also prepared traditional foods like wine, sauerbraten, hops yeast, and Finnish egg coffee, passing these skills onto the characters in my stories.
Yet, the benefits of hands-on research extend beyond technical knowledge. Living history sites offer vivid sensory details that breathe life into scenes. I experienced the smell of hog intestines used for sausage casings, the texture of flax fibers turning into linen thread, and the sound of threshing machines in a wheat field. These experiences allowed me to vividly imagine the lives of people long gone.
Standing on brick kitchen floors until my knees ached, chasing draft horses that broke fences daily, and despairing when crops were destroyed offered new perspectives on the women who once inhabited these homes and now fill the pages of my novels.
How to Gain Authentic Insights
Fortunately, anyone can gain similar hands-on perspectives. Visit working historic sites if possible. It's easier for those writing about, say, nineteenth-century farm life, but even sites with indirect relevance can provide useful sensory experiences. Engage with interpreters by asking questions. Visit during different seasons, take photos, and jot down sensory details.
Seek out reenactors interested in your period. Ask about their experiences beyond just processes and facts. Hold a musket, try your hand at making sauerkraut, or volunteer at an event. Immersing yourself will deepen your understanding.
Creative Ways to Experience History
Be creative in finding ways to experience historical life. Try sewing a period-appropriate outfit or learn to tat lace or carve shingles. Grow heirloom vegetables or ask a farmer for a chicken-plucking lesson. Make a fire pit and practice traditional cooking methods.
By truly getting your hands dirty, you’ll enrich your writing and captivate your readers.
You can find the original non-AI version of this article here: Get Your Hands Dirty Historical Research For Novelists.
You can browse and read all the articles for free. If you want to use them and get PLR and MRR rights, you need to buy the pack. Learn more about this pack of over 100 000 MRR and PLR articles.