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Hello fellow writers!

Today, I'm going to share a few tips for researching recent-ish history. I think there is a special challenge in researching something that is within one-hundred years of our time. Often, we almost feel like we know some things because we've heard about it from people or have seen it depicted in various media forms. In writing Emmeline, and in helping with the research for The Vintage Jane Austen series, I learned a few things.

I think the biggest thing I learned is that even if you think you know something, look it up. There were so many facts I thought I knew about the early 1930s because of what I had read and talked with my grandparents. Some of them, I was right about, a few things, I was wrong about. Recent history is great a fooling you into thinking you know more then you do.

The best resource for recent history is people. Since we were sharing what we learned as we researched for The Vintage Jane Austen series, we were all able to share what relatives and older people we knew had to say. I tell you, some of those details may not have been huge, but they added so much realism to the story.

While there are many books and movies depicting the time, I spent a lot of time reading books that were written by people who lived during the time. Grace Livingston Hill was my favorite author,  but I read a couple of others. No, they don't have a completely accurate view, but they captured the feel of the time, what scared people and gave them hope, better than anything else because they lived it.

Oddly enough, one of the things I found to be most helpful in getting a feel for the time was finding out slang words of the time. Slang changes rapidly so including period-correct slang words (in moderation) really helped bring out the flavor.

I always look at the source of my information. There are a lot of good books and online articles, but every once in a while, in looking up the source of the information, I find it not to be a reliable source. Along that same line, make sure to keep good notes on where you get what information for future reference.

This is the first in a new feature of Wednesday blog posts just for writers! Next week, I'll be giving five tips for retelling an old story. 

Still deciding on what to read this year? Here are some historical fiction books you might want to consider. 

Or go ahead and get the Paperback, Kindle book, or Audible book.

I read a lot of books this year. I found there were about twenty books I wanted to put on my top ten list. It was a really good book year. However, I made myself stick with ten. Before we get to that, here are my reading stats for this year.

What were your favorite books this year?

I like concrete goals. I like things that are easy, at a glance, to see if you reached them or not. This year, I know plans have to be fluid. I have to allow my arm time to heal. I have to plan on the fact I won't be able to write much. So, my goals this year are important but less concrete. Here they are:

Joy is so important, but I allow things to steal my joy. I often start staring at the waves, instead of my Saviour who is walking on them. I want to cultivate a heart that brims with the joy of the LORD. After all, the joy of the LORD is my strength (if I let it). 

Due to disappointment and pain, I've noticed a lot of negativity and harshness seeping into my words. I know that much of that will change as I cultivate the joy of the LORD in my heart. However, I want to also make sure that my words are building others up.

With a lot of downtime, I feel like this is the perfect time to seriously tackle my To-Read pile. I'm really excited and nervous about this goal. It's big, but I want to push myself.

I haven't read straight through in a while. I got a bit of a jump start, I'm hoping that will help me keep on track. 

 I might not be able to write at the moment, but I have a lot of books out there. I want to diligently work on promoting them.