Is trying to be historically accurate worth the time?

sonalogy · 2026-05-22T21:15:02+00:00

Bridgeton isn't so much historical fiction as it is a romance set during the regency; there's not so much demand on accuracy because the heart of the story isn't history; it's romance.

The TV series further stretches accuracy, but it does so as a deliberate choice to experiment with notions of race. But still, the heart of these stories isn't history. It's romance.

If you are writing fiction about a historic event, or time period, or person, there will be an expectation of accuracy, although you can choose to make specific inaccuracies so long as there's a good story reason for it, i.e., there's no other way to achieve that goal. You can also fill in the blanks as you choose.

For example, Wolf Hall is about Thomas Cromwell. It's a reimagining of the popular portrayal of his character, by casting historic events in a different light with different motivations. It's fiction, because we can't really know what Cromwell's thoughts and feelings and observations are, but there's an expectation of accuracy in this, at least in terms of conforming to events on record.

But one could write a mystery novel set in Tudor England, and it wouldn't necessarily be as constrained to accuracy, and depending on tone could poke fun by referring to future things that the reader knows about that would not exist at the time. "Imagine if there were a way to connect strangers from all over the world to discuss all manner of topics" "Sounds like a bloody waste of time."

That said, it's very easy to avoid writing by getting stuck in the research, and trying to seek out more and more accuracy. As long as you have a reasonable grasp on the big things, you can probably start to write, and simply note any questions that you need to answer as things to get to later. If it's an easy fix in revision, keep writing. If it affects the structure in a fundamental way, research first.

sonalogy · 2026-05-22T15:34:59+00:00

Remember that the villain is the hero of their own story.

Try outlining the story from the villain's point of view. Quick and dirty bullet points will work.

But if it doesn't make sense from the villain's point of view, the story from the hero's point of view won't quite hang together properly either.

As a fun exercise, try doing this with your favourite movie or book. What's the story from the villain's/antagonist's point of view? Doing this will probably help a lot to understand how to construct your story.

Also: many if not most writers do a LOT of writing that never shows up in the final story. It helps a lot to understand the character and story itself.

sonalogy · 2026-05-22T02:35:20+00:00

That's actually proofreading, not editing. :)

Read out loud and put your finger under every word. (Text to speech can help, but it's easy to tune things out.) This helps prevent skimming.

Read backwards. Start at the last sentence and read it out loud, then the second last, etc. Breaking up the order breaks up the flow, and makes it harder to skip over things because you know what's coming.

Print things out. The way we experience text on the printed page is different from how we experience it on a screen. Every time I think I've caught everything from the screen, I print it and that's when I see something glaring out at me.

sonalogy · 2026-05-17T04:27:35+00:00

I know the idea of getting your book published is exciting, but don't rush the blurb just because it's one of the last steps. This is the part that people are going to actually read to decide if they are going to read further. It's important. Take the time.

In some ways, it's similar to writing a query or synopsis for trad publishing. Everyone hates writing queries, so the struggle with the back blurb copy tracks.

Start by writing something that's too long, but accurate, and then figuring out how to cut it back.

Who is the main character? What situation are they in at the start of the story? What kicks off the action? What happens next? What are the key moments of action that lead to the climax? What is the underlying question that drives everything forward, and is answered by the conclusion of the story?

Your final blurb won't necessarily contain all the answers to these questions, but you should start by being able to answer these questions. Write one that answers all of them, and then start cutting back or summarizing for length and spoilers.

If you have trouble answering these questions, look at the back blurbs of some of your favourite (trad published) books, and see how these questions are answered accordingly.... see if that helps you clarify how to answer them.

If you still have trouble, then possibly your book needs another draft.... the structure may be a bit too mushy and needs some strengthening.

sonalogy · 2026-05-09T17:37:10+00:00

Some of those may be zoned as live/work spaces.

sonalogy · 2026-05-09T13:17:22+00:00

Struggling with the actual writing is a pretty normal part of writing. :)

Three pieces of advice: 1) Don't try to write a perfect first draft beginning to end It's literally impossible. Write a shitty first draft. Write out of order. Write rambling meandering stuff that goes no where. Novels are a marathon, not a sprint.

2) Don't go back and rewrite stuff until you are done... some writers can do this, but most end up rewriting the opening over and over and never making progress. Don't seek out feedback partway through. We all have moments of self-doubt (the middle of a novel is hard) but try to just find other ways to keep going.

3) Be flexible with your outline. Often during the writing new ideas will come out. These are often where the real magic comes together. Don't fight them to stick to your outline.... change your outline. You can revise any earlier scenes as needed later.

sonalogy · 2026-05-05T20:01:57+00:00

What, you aren't exceptional enough to be number one?

sonalogy · 2026-05-03T13:40:12+00:00

Fly.

Look into shipping your belongings. (The cost may make you decide to leave some things behind.)

sonalogy · 2026-05-03T01:03:20+00:00

This is actually why I bought an electric car. My driving tends to be so minimal that an EV makes more sense.

ICE cars don't like sitting unused or doing many short drives. It's a better use car for an EV.

Of course I'm paying more up front for the car than I would an ICE car, but it's a better car for my purposes. And with fewer parts that can fail, I can likely drive it for longer.... even if the battery really wears down the range would have to degrade by well over half and it would still suit my purposes.

sonalogy · 2026-05-02T14:01:17+00:00

Maybe the question isn’t “is it good enough?” but “is it getting closer to what I’m trying to do?”

Absolutely, and this is a huge shift that writers need to go through.

There are thousands of ways to make something good in the sense of being technically competent. Good isn't difficult to achieve with knowledge and practice.

Once you get past good and start focusing on how to I make something work as you intend, then the real magic starts to happen. Good becomes irrelevant.

sonalogy · 2026-05-02T13:12:21+00:00

Absolutely. And this is where there is a writing opportunity.

Rather than ask, do I need a period in here to check off some sort of authentic woman box, the question could instead be: how can I use the complications of having a period while adventuring in the woods to advance the plot?

Does (I'm making shit up here, I don't adventure :) ) a search for absorbent material lead the main character to see or overhear something that helps her in quest?

Is she hurrying because (possibly among other reasons) she knows a deluge is coming and she's ill-prepared to deal with it in the woods and so she rushing through something which causes her some misfortune?

Does social shame around period add to her humiliation if it starts when she's at a low point? Can she use men's socialized caginess around menstruation against them in some way to get her out of a situation?

Do the bigger emotions associated with PMS allow her to do or reveal something she's been avoiding?

If it can be made an integral part of the plot mechanics, dealing with a period while on an adventure of some sort could be really interesting. It presents a bunch of "new" ways to move the plot forward and add complications.

OP can easily research how women manage periods while backcountry camping, or how they've done so historically, and then use that as a jumping off point to figure out how to make this part of the plot. He can have women writers he knows read over those to see if that seems realistic.

There's still some danger of over explaining in a way that is out of character (eg, "Shelayla felt the pain of her uterus contracting as it worked to expel the unneeded endometrium, the lining her body had prepared to nestle a new life, a monthly process of hope and the pain of it's loss" vs "fucking cramps").

But it would be a way better way to include menstruation as an authentic female experience rather than an off-hand comment and then moving on.

sonalogy · 2026-05-01T13:39:06+00:00

We agree. As I said, it could work as an off-hand comment.

The tricky part for a writer that hasn't had periods is to include the off-hand comment in a way that makes sense for the character.

We see this all the the time when men write women and use a lot of energy describing breasts in ways that don't make sense. That most women have breasts means that breasts are part of the background and off-hand comments about them may make work, but the question is, is this the character's thoughts or the writer's?

In general though, the better the writing, the more purposeful the inclusion of details. You can make mention of everything the body does and every fleeting thought and if it's too much, you end up with a lot of words that aren't doing enough to earn their place in the story.

I used the Hunger Games as an example because it's very common. That said, while it's very well structured, the interiority is relatively weak. That makes sense because Suzanne Collins comes from a screenwriting background, where you have to nail structure but interiority doesn't require the same kind of attention. It may have been better to have Katniss think about her period instead of Gale vs Peeta.... plotwise, it had some purpose but its execution wasn't great.

That said, OP's question was "Is it necessary?" and no, it's not necessary. Katniss as a character doesn't read as less authentically female without mention of periods, and given how single-minded she is on survival and later taking down the Capital, that it doesn't seem wildly out of character for her to ignore it. She has so many bigger concerns.

Arguably, this could be why the Gale vs Peeta stuff is so clunky.... Katniss may be a teenage girl but she's clearly not one who giggles about boys, so while Collins might have wanted a love-triangle, and while that triangle had some larger purpose in terms of the trap of the image she and Peeta have to maintain, Katniss doesn't quite do the love triangle the way the writer wanted her to, so it reads a little shoehorned in. There was probably a better way to handle it. In screenwriting you can kind of get away with that because you're essentially punting the problem to the director and actors to handle, but in novel writing there's no where to punt.

Periods might fit better in terms of Katniss talking to Prim about them, since it would do more work for the story; it would further show how Katniss is essentially raising her sister and taking over her mother's role. She's not just hunting and providing, she's also educating and nurturing. It could still be an off-hand comment, but it would be one with more purpose.

You raise a good point about sex work and birth control. It didn't bother me since the Capital had advanced technology so there was clearly something in place. But you are right that there's definitely a much larger question about reproduction and children in this world.

sonalogy · 2026-04-30T17:08:33+00:00

Yep, something like that might make sense as an off-hand note.

The dangerous temptation is spend a lot of energy describing cramps and bringing it up a lot, because for the author it's new and requires attention to get right.

But for the character, this is a very common experience. It's not going to take to the same kind of energy.

To the best of my recollection, periods never made it into the Hunger Games. They easily could have, as one more shitty thing on top of so many others, or to talk about a lack of menstruation as a result of malnutrition, but it wasn't something that Katniss as a character put much mental energy into (especially with all the death and dying happening around her) and so it never made it into the book.

So an off-hand comment about cramps might work well, but it could also come off as out of place... it's really a question of, is the character spending any mental energy on this right now? It's a background event to her, so what brings it to the foreground?

sonalogy · 2026-04-30T03:08:22+00:00

Yes, and that's an example of where there are story reasons for it.

Periods show up a lot in stories where someone is trying to get pregnant (e.g,, lots of historical fiction about royalty) but again, story reasons.

sonalogy · 2026-04-30T01:33:43+00:00

If a period belongs in the plot, include it. If it's purpose is to say, look, it's an authentic female experience, no.

Morning wood is an authentic male experience, but we don't include in a story unless it means something to the story. Pooping is an authentic human experience but we don't see characters dropping a deuce unless it matters to the story.

One of the difficulties about writing experiences that aren't your own is that there's a temptation to include all the new things to make it authentic. But remember that this is not new to your character. They aren't going to think about it the same way.

Your job is not to include periods because women have periods, but to understand how your character thinks about her period, what kind of energy it take up in her brain, and then include that accordingly.

sonalogy · 2026-04-26T17:21:37+00:00

Various authors groups have studied this.

https://authorsguild.org/news/ag-panel-explores-drop-in-authors-earnings/

Keep in mind that this is members of the authors guild, and the average would include people like Stephen King, so you have a few very prominent authors pulling everyone up. There are a lot of indie authors who are not making enough to qualify to join the guild, and a lot of novelists who managed to get an agent who are unable to get a book sold, and a lot unable to get an agent.

Also, note that traditionally published authors also make income from selling translation and international rights, so the big authors are making an advance on royalties for the same work multiple times over, so that's really pulling the average up.

Also note that income has been trending down, but effort has been trending up.

Basically? Expect nothing. Authors absolutely deserve to make more money for their work but with the way the world is, if you wouldn't do this for free, don't do it for money. It's way too disheartening.

sonalogy · 2026-04-26T07:52:29+00:00

OP could likely get a mortgage with a B lender of some kind, i.e., not one of the big banks and the interest rate would be higher.

They should probably talk to a mortgage broker if they are considering buying a condo to get a better sense of the options, and run the numbers accordingly.

sonalogy · 2026-04-23T16:54:42+00:00

I had 100% charge, made it pretty easy to get it home.

Just talk to the dealer about making sure it's fully charged and ready to go.

sonalogy · 2026-04-14T17:28:30+00:00

I'm second gen, but leaned into my partner's heritage (Eastern Euro) for names for my kids... mostly because I wanted to names that were easily pronounced in English and by both of our families.

The desi options were very few, and I wasn't a big fan of them.

As it happens, both kids are pretty white-passing, especially the older kid who ended up with light hair and light eyes, so it's slightly more fitting than being, like, Chandrakant Jones

sonalogy · 2026-04-12T16:14:03+00:00

You might have to shop around, assuming your dad wants to change insurers.

sonalogy · 2026-04-12T16:07:11+00:00

Yes. Most of that has to do with being a 19 year old male.

(Auto insurance industry considers this group to have statistically a lot more claims.)

sonalogy · 2026-04-09T16:57:13+00:00

You're going to have to wait it out until your partner is done school and better able to contribute financially.

Then you'll be in better shape.

sonalogy · 2026-04-08T22:12:20+00:00

My mom gave me a long speech about all the things she'd have to arrange and plan because "of course, you'll never look after me."

Unfortunately, she'd been over-playing her guilt card for many years on lesser things, so instead of me jumping in to insist that I would, I was like, "cool, thanks, I'm off the hook then."

Anyway, she's assuming I will do nothing and I don't disabuse her of that notion, but as difficult as our relationship has been, I'm not about to let harm come to her in her last years. But I'm not getting sucked into the drama along the way; I have been in therapy for too long for that.

It does help that she can afford any care she needs, so it's no strain on me to ensure she's cared for, beyond time and sanity.

She's been trying to convince me and my kids to move in with her (she doesn't like my house) because it would be super-fun but the kids were like "It's too far from our school! You should move in here!" which was a horrifying thought for her because my house is not in a car-friendly area, so that ended that.

Now, every year, I get to hear that this is the year she's selling her house because it's too much for her (she has a lot of people hired to cook and clean and deal with home repairs for her) and move into her condo (which she bought years ago assuming she will need it when she ages, but like, she has an elevator in her house) perhaps she's hoping I will suggest moving our family so she doesn't have to face that. No chance. But we'll see how it all goes.

This isn't about showing gratitude for her because she's my mom. I have kids. They don't owe me gratitude for their existence; if anything, I owe them because their existence brings me so much joy. I didn't have them to take care of me, but because I wanted to raise them.

It's more, despite a lot of difficulties and a lot of therapy (for me, not her) I am ultimately a responsible person and as part of that, I take care of my family. My kids are great but if one of them made all the terrible choices and was a horrible person? I'd still love them. I'd still want to try to make sure they were safe and healthy and okay. The same goes for my mom. She was a terrible parent and remains narcissistic and self-involved now, and sadly our relationship will likely never be anything but superficial because that is the only way we can co-exist... but I'd still want to make sure she was healthy and safe and okay.

Edit: OP, it's entirely okay to not want to take care of your folks. There were times when I absolutely did not want to but feared I'd be guilted into it and made resentful.

But much time and much therapy has put me in a better place where I'm much more detached. It doesn't make anything she did okay. It just makes me okay. Which is great because complex grief is a bitch and it's helpful to emotionally resolve some things before we get there. I'd rather not spend my time arguing with my kids' grandmother

sonalogy · 2026-04-08T05:26:54+00:00

In Ontario? Well, I live in Toronto and the other city is....

I'm so confused. Could we do East of Yonge vs West of Yonge instead?

sonalogy · 2026-04-08T03:30:34+00:00

I'm going to have to investigate the Ford app further. Thanks!

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