I have had two novel ideas for historical fiction, but have always set them aside because I know that once I get started researching I'll never stop and I actually did want to eventually finish a book.

However, I am capable of working on more than one book at a time, and the second project often spurs along the first.

Where would I begin with researching? Are there any good suggestions or tips? What good will it do in comparison to simply moving it to sci-fi or fantasy?

And what are your favourite things of Historical fiction versus the other genres?

I more so get novel ideas from research, actually. It usually has to be something I know a bit about before I can go and write a story in that era.

I don't think I've had any historical fiction stories yet though. They usually fall just slightly into the realm of fantasy.

Self-control. It's hard sometimes, but maybe if you schedule a certain amount of time per day for research and then another amount for writing that will help.

What I usually do is figure out what I need to research first. For instance, I'm writing a mystery novel set in the Wild West with a Pinkerton detective. Before I started writing, I knew I needed to do some research about the Pinkertons, so I got a bunch of books about them to find out how they operated and a little history behind how they started. Once I had that finished, I started writing the book. As I wrote, I had to do some research on how fast it took to get places on both horses and trains.

My suggestion would be to do the research you need to do to start writing and then research everything else as you write it.

The thing I like most about Historical Fiction is that it is true and it can teach others about what happened during that time in a way they may remember better than if they had to memorize facts in school.

Well, I do know a little about the era - but not enough to consider it nearly correct to begin writing it.

That makes sense - setting aside time to write....

You'll find more along the way, for better or worse. I realized that I need to rewrite rather a lot of a short story because the culture among the servants of the palace was all wrong.

I think that's a good suggestion. You need to write a bit of the story to help you figure out what it's about. That will guide you toward the research you need to do.

And when I say "what it's about" I don't mean the plot arc. I mean the essence of what you're trying to convey. Are you trying to be 100% true to the period or are you going for a bit of punk? Is the history just a backdrop to a romance, adventure, etc. or are you trying to send a message?

It is somewhat message-sending, but I don't know how related to the period that is. It's more so a fairy tale (with fantasy elements) that I want to be true to a period.

I'll also need to do heaps of Renaissance research for The Queen's Knave.