Researching History for Fantasy Writers: How to Use Historical Detail to Make Your Fantasy Worlds Rich and Compelling

By Dayle A. Dermatis

Narnia. Pern. Fillory. Oz. Earthsea. Middle Earth. Fionvar.

 

Fantasy fans read to escape to another world. Your job as a writer is to make that world so compelling, they never want to leave.

 

Here's a book to get you thinking about the historical details to use and the concepts to ponder in order to create rich, chewy, and believable fantasy worlds.

Filled with trivia, tidbits, and a slew of resources, and written in a light, engaging style, Researching History for Fantasy Writers is a must-read for any author of high fantasy.

 

Bestselling author and historical re-creationist Dayle A. Dermatis has lived in the UK and traveled extensively in Europe, plus she has a lot of knowledgeable friends. She wants more amazing, fully realized fantasy worlds to fall into.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Soul's Road Press
• Release date: Oct 18, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393022619

Dayle A. Dermatis

Dayle A. Dermatis is the author or coauthor of many novels (including snarky urban fantasies Ghosted and the forthcoming Shaded and Spectered) and more than a hundred short stories in multiple genres, appearing in such venues as Fiction River, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, and DAW Books.Called the mastermind behind the Uncollected Anthology project, she also guest edits anthologies for Fiction River, and her own short fiction has been lauded in many year's best anthologies in erotica, mystery, and horror.She lives in a book- and cat-filled historic English-style cottage in the wild greenscapes of the Pacific Northwest. In her spare time she follows Styx around the country and travels the world, which inspires her writing.To find out where she’s wandered off to (and to get free fiction!), check out DayleDermatis.com and sign up for her newsletter or support her on Patreon.* * *I value honest feedback, and would love to hear your opinion in a review, if you’re so inclined, on your favorite book retailer’s site.* * *For more information:www.dayledermatis.com

Book preview

Researching History for Fantasy Writers

Researching History for Fantasy Writers

How to Use Historical Detail to Make Your Fantasy Worlds Rich and Compelling

Dayle A. Dermatis

Soul’s Road Press

Contents

About This Book

Introduction

The Actual How To, and the Dangers and Perils Therein

Clothing, Fabric, and Shoes, Oh My

Fighting, Armor, Weapons, and a Bit of Politics

Everyday Life

Travel

Entertainment

General Resources

Author’s Note

About the Author

Also by Dayle A. Dermatis

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About This Book

Narnia. Pern. Fillory. Oz. Earthsea. Middle Earth. Fionvar.

Fantasy fans read to escape to another world. Your job as a writer is to make that world so compelling, they never want to leave.

Here's a book to get you thinking about the historical details to use and the concepts to ponder in order to create rich, chewy, and believable fantasy worlds. Filled with trivia, tidbits, and a slew of resources, and written in a light, engaging style, Recreating History for Fantasy Writers is a must-read for any author of high fantasy.

Bestselling author and historical re-creationist Dayle A. Dermatis has lived in the UK and traveled extensively in Europe, plus she has a lot of knowledgeable friends. She wants more amazing, fully realized fantasy worlds to fall into.

Introduction

I couldn’t put it down.

I didn’t want it to end.

I didn’t want to say goodbye to the characters.

These are all things a writer craves to hear. Awards, schmawards. I can’t think of a better compliment than the reader sinking down into one of my books, living the story rather than skimming the surface of it and being aware they’re reading (or, worse, stopping altogether).

As writers, we invite readers into the stories we write. We communicate with them through our words. We communicate with someone we’ve never met, perhaps someone on the other side of the world. I want to give readers an escape; I want to make them laugh or cry or gasp; I want to make them feel.

If It’s Fantasy, Why Do I Need to Use Historical Details?

Readers pick up high fantasy because they want to be transported to another world. Think about how we refer to many of our favorite series:

Narnia. Pern. Fillory. Oz. Earthsea. Middle Earth. Fionavar.

We refer them by their worlds, their lands. The places we want to find a door to.

(Yes, another main way series are referred to is by their main character, such as Harry Potter or The Dresden Files. Those tend to be contemporary or urban fantasy, but I’m mentioning this to acknowledge it’s the other main way we mentally categorize our favorite fantasy books.)

So our goal as high fantasy writers is to give readers a world they will love and remember.

Readers who love fantasy fiction (and science fiction as well) especially want to be immersed in worlds not our own. They’re reading to escape the modern, mundane world. (Urban fantasy being something of an exception, as it’s generally an escape to a similar modern world with paranormal twists.) To immerse those readers, we need to give them not only compelling characters and plots, but strange and wonderful and complex worlds to explore.

We want to make them believe, if only for the duration of the book, that this other magical world is real.

So how do we create these real, believable worlds?

Much high fantasy (or whatever you want to call fantasy not set in the present or near past) is set in some time/place relating to world history. The most common time period is the Middle Ages/medieval era, but more and more authors are exploring alternate Renaissance Europe, various Asian time periods, the Victorian era with steampunk/gaslamp fantasy (often set in England), and so forth. But if you rely on clichés or assume the reader knows what you mean by, say, a blue gown, you’re not immersing them in your world.

Here’s an example:

She wore a blue gown.

Assuming this is a pseudo-medieval setting, we all might have a vague idea of what that gown looks like. Right?

No…not really.

It’s the same as if I wrote She wore a blue shirt.

What kind of shirt? T-shirt, button-down, Henley, sweater?

Short-sleeved, long-sleeved, cap-sleeved, three-quarter sleeved? Form-fitting or loose? Stretchy, clingy?

What shade of blue? Navy, aqua, sky…?

What kind of fabric, and how does that fabric make her feel? Wool, silk, cotton, polyester? Hot, cold, scratchy,