One of my novel series is set in the Old West. I have become a pretty good authority on the time period from about 1860 through 1890. I have two or three shelves of books in my office all relating to this time period in some way. I scour the web and state parks for old maps. I will drop everything if someone says, "Found this new source about 1878 that you might not have heard of." (BTW, yes, I know the Old West period is considered to officially start at the end of the Civil War; but in order to know what affected what and why, I also have to know about the Civil War. History buffs, do not attack
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This, btw, started out as a HOBBY. The writing, not the collecting of books about the Old West.
My biggest challenge after that was to write in settings OTHER than the Old West. My first speculative fiction was still set in the Old West because, boy, I KNEW it.
I've expanded past then, thankfully. But, all the research has brought me to the point where I can't watch certain movies or certain parts of movies because their depiction of the period or a known person in it is so WRONG that I spend all my time going, "He was TWENTY-THREE in the year this is set and they are depicting him as a GEEZER!" I'm a joy to watch a Western with now.
Research: social life ruination or fun-filled small-talk provider? Discuss...