How To Write A Novel Set In Another Time

Whatever time period you chose for your next best seller, it has to be set somewhere and if the book isn’t a contemporary one, then you and you alone have to make it feel real. Gather up any information you can, whether it’s on the web or in a library or from your own books, and jot down notes or copy everything you can get your hands on. For instance, if your book is to be set in Ancient Egypt, then study hieroglyphics, monuments and pyramids, and even all you wanted to ever know about mummy making (as an example).
Some writers love to “method write”. This is just about the same way that method actors get into their roles. Be an Ancient Egyptian for a day, if your novel is set in Thebes. This may seem a bit obvious but you have to really get a handle on it and be correct about what was used, spoken about, eaten, etc. in that particular era. What food did the people eat back then? The Ancient Egyptians used to think that our brains were useless and that the heart was the center of everything. Think about what the common people of the day used to smell, and how they used to feel. Use both your brain and your heart.
Write a good outline first to see if your timeline will work and add interesting facts that you can use as you go along. Key your characters’ names and title your book from some important things you find out about your novel’s setting and time period. For instance, for a novel about Ancient Egypt you can use real Egyptian cities like Thebes, along with its former name of Wasset, which lends authenticity to your descriptions. If you are writing Sci-Fi then using a newly created name from New York, such as Neo York.
Names are extremely important and they can help develop personalities Research names used for men and women in the period you are writing about. When you know the meaning of the name you can give your character a few of those traits and this helps build a genuine person in the reader’s eyes. If they have empathy towards your character, then you’ve hooked them. If your thriller set in Ancient Egypt has a good name drawn from authentic writing of the period, such as Going Forth By Day is from the Egyptian Book of the Dead, or an intrigung one like The Mummy Maker’s Daughter, then that keys into a serial killer being the villain.
Also important is the fact that even though you have good and evil people in your book, never make them one dimensional. If you are writing about a serial killer called Thoth in ancient Egypt then give him a few good traits such as being in love with the heroine, Meryneith. If you have a Nubian police chief called Kemsa in love with Meryneith as well, break up the relationship by introducing a stumbling block or two — such as an evil slave owner called Quasshie and a corrupt police major by the name of Aapep (whose name means moon snake in Ancient Egyptian). See how it works?