Only a historical novelist would think about these things on a day-to-day basis:
- My character wants to hug another character. I can’t say hug. Do I use the word embrace?
- How hard is it to tie a stay or a corset in the back by yourself? How would a poor widow with no female companions or maids do it?
- Will readers doubt me when my poor characters eat oysters? They were for the poor back then.
- On second thought, maybe that hug shouldn’t be there at all. What were the social mores regarding physical contact?
- How many research books can an NYC apartment hold?