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If you are writing a historical fiction it is necessary to do sufficient research to give the story a basis in reality. This isn’t fantasy fiction, and it needs some truth behind it. If you are setting your plot in Medieval France, then read about that country and the period. It helps if you associate parts of the story with real historical events. You can even have fun putting in real historical figures into the plot. Try to get the characters talking and behaving as they would have done, and, more importantly, not talking or acting as they could not have done. Only put in jokes about , say, mobile phones, if you wish to have such an anachronism appear. And please be aware that people with an academic interest in History will be hypercritical if you get basic details wrong.
OK, I admit it, I am one of those anoraks who look for historical howlers in films and books. But I try to temper this with the thought that some details are worth getting wrong, if only for the sake of the language and the imagery. As an example, there is a song by Michael Martin called, ‘Geronimo’s Cadillac’. This came about because the aforementioned Apache Chief was photographed sitting in a large and impressive American motor car. The anorak would point out that the car could not have been a Cadillac, as they were not produced under that name in that particular year. However, ‘Geronimo’s Oldsmobile’ doesn’t quite roll off the tongue, and ‘Cadillac’ implies a big, impressive American car much better. Alright, so that is in a song, and you have a certain amount of licence, but the same thing applies to historical fiction. Try to get it right, but don’t be too afraid of mixing things up a little for the benefit of the plot.