The Word Cloud

Hello there,
I would like to research the life of a 13th century European figure, but am worried that it will be a great limitation to me if I am in South Africa. I would like to know whether you think in this day of the internet will it be a problem for me to be so far away, or are most sources accessible online now.
One other thing I am curious about, is how most people tend to write their manuscripts - longhand or type.
Thank you in advance for your opinions.
Binty

The easiest way to find out, Binty, is to Google your European figure and see. As to manuscripts, that's entirely up to you. It will have to be typed eventually before you can submit it, of course. For that reason many, like myself, write using the keyboard. But others prefer the freedom of longhand.

Hi Binty,
'The past is a different country, they do things differently there.' [First line approx of 'The Go Between']
In one sense, you've got the same problem twice over - a historical piece set in a country that (I assume) you don't know.
I imagine there's a certain freedom in writing about history, since nobody knows for definite - OTOH, lots of people are historians. Add that to a country you're not familiar with, and hmmm.
In theory, it's perfectly possible - wasn't there that book written a couple of years ago set in Canada, and the author had never been? She argued (with much justification) that she'd read guide books and was an armchair tourist and it was all imagined anyway, so what was the problem? Fair enough.
I feel it all depends on the type of story you're going to tell. Historic or geographic accuracies may not matter so much. If, on the other hand, you're writing a biography of Lucretia Borgia, then you probably need a lot of accurate detail as plenty of people will know plenty about her already.
The internet is marvellous for researching things and there's no reason you shouldn't have a go.
A while ago, a couple of sections of a novel of mine were set in countries I'd never been to, and while the internet gave me enough to fudge over areas I wasn't familiar with, I was very twitchy about writing them as I feared someone with personal knowledge of those countries would spot the holes immediately.
However, as I say - it may not matter in the slightest; it depends on the kind of book you have in mind.
As for the historical aspect, well nobody alive today lived in the 13th century, so provided you do your research, there's nobody to gainsay you.
Give it a whirl.
Oh, and I write straight onto the computer. Personal preference. Can't bear reams of paper lying around getting dusty.

It's astonishing what you can find online. I've only gone back to 1464, but I use Google earth for landscapes and Google Image for old maps, pictures etc. (which can often lead you to a site too, of course), and there are vast amounts of documents online. The problem with 13th century is that unless your Middle French or Latin is pretty nippy, you'll need translations. But Project Gutenberg should be able to help there.

Google Scholar is good if you want to make sure that what you're reading is scholarly and genuine, but Wikipedia (though to be used with caution) can be very useful, but the more egregious mistakes have usually been pounced on by someone, and it can certainly give you an overview and then steer you towards more reliable sources. The online archive of the Times Literary Supplement is a goldmine, because their reviews are usually by specialists in the field (e.g. Mary Beard is their editor for Classics & Ancient History) so often present a pretty good survey of the subject of the book they're reviewing, as well as saying whether the book's any good. The History Today archive is another goldmine - specialists writing for a general, interested audience - and you can buy individual articles. There used to be a wonderful site called Deb's Historical Research Page, stuffed with links to individual sites about clothes and food and currency and so on, but sadly it seems to have vanished.

The other thing to do is to make best friends with your local library or better still a university library. That's not just to borrow actual books, and journals (it's journal articles which, at a guess, will be your biggest source) but also because it should be a portal to the academic online collections of journals - JSTOR, HUMBUL, and so on, which you should then be able to access. And there's nothing to stop you emailing an academic who works in your area - they, too, are often thrilled to be approached, although be prepared for them to be extremely twitchy about any which you might want to - yanno - invent...

The other thing is to look for online forums of people who are interested in your period and people - it's amazing how the Net can bring obsessives together, and their nerdy hearts are thrilled when someone comes bobbing in asking a question. The Historical Writers Association, which is relatively new, has a forum which is open to all

http://www.thehwa.co.uk/forum/

and you might find others who are also researching in your area and could point you to good sources. Though you just might not want to be too specific about who you're writing about: really juicy historical figures are in short supply...

I write first drafts longhand, and type up as part of the process of revising that - I then work on hard copy at various stages too. But everyone's different.

Oh, and don't forget to start saving for a research trip to Europe some time. Which is tax-deductible, of course...

Wow, you are all so helpful !
That has given me a lot of assistance, thank you all. I am originally from Europe and did study European history for a few years, and so am ahead in the respect that I have 'immersed' myself in the area and am a dab hand at Latin !
I am also hoping to be in Italy in the summer, and just debating a diversion to France, which is where I would need to start. Although the tax-deductible idea is awesome...
Am leaning toward longhand first draft, then mandatory self-editing as I move to type.
Thank you all for your time, it is reassuring to know that there is a community out there that not only knows what it is debating, but is happy to be of assistance.