Why Genealogy Has Anything to do With Writing Historical Fiction

Okay, so I tend to geek out on family history – and not just my own. But why talk about it on a blog geared to writing historical fiction? What does one have to do with the other?

While researching genealogy, I’ve discovered some wonderful nuggets of history which seeded good ideas for fiction. Go back a bit into anyone’s family, and you’ll be amazed at the stories you find. And sometimes the best nuggets for fiction ideas stem from something you stumble upon while researching. Old newspaper archives are great for this, but so to are court documents. Many small towns had biographies written, especially late 19th or early in the 20th century, on their important families, and these can be goldmines – both for your own family’s history and ideas for fiction.

Photographs are landmines for an explosive story idea: troll through the time frames you wish to write about on Pinterest and see what all you come up with, even if your favored setting was way before the advent of photography. This brings up odd trends in history, such as the fashion during the regency era of carrying a miniature painting of just the eyes of a secret lover or the more gruesome trend in the Victorian era of photographing children placed with their deceased mother, covered by fabric and positioned as a chair. Bizarre? Yes. True? Also yes. Hard to use in romance but a great thing to know if you write historical horror or suspense.

If you are stuck on what to write about simply search the timeframe of interest to you. It can suck a lot of time but, in terms of finding unexpected ideas can be oh so beneficial in the end.