Tips for Historical Writers

By Sue Coletta

Historical true crime requires the writer to don a detective’s hat to unearth real details about the case(s), and the research can seem daunting at times. Historical fiction also demands that the writer get his/her facts straight. Today, I offer tips to help you find reliable source material, from which to build a factual narrative.

To write a realistic narrative for historical true crime, research includes:

• Facts of the Case
• Life of Historical Figures (killer, victim(s), family life, etc.)
• Forensics (Fun Fact: Some of the toxicology tests are still used today!)
• Occupations
• Food and Dress
• Wealthy v. Poor (differences in daily life)
• Modes of Transportation
• Investigators (Think: How did the police catch criminals back then?)
• Court System (jurors, sentencing, lawyers, judges, witness testimony, expert witnesses, prosecution’s theory, defense, etc.)
• Prison Life and/or Mental Hospitals
• Burials

Where to Start the Search?

If the crime occurred in the 17^th or 18^th century, the task becomes more difficult. Not impossible. We just need to think like an investigator.

Let’s say we only have a name, place, and approximate year for our victim or killer. The first logical step is to conduct a Google search to see what’s available online. Someone must have written about the case, right? Well, not necessarily. Sometimes we’ll get lucky and find an article or two, other times *crickets* Which I prefer. Fewer articles mean the industry isn’t saturated with books on the same topic. It’s also harder to find what we need.

Pro Tip: If we do find an online article about the crime, don’t solely rely on that information. Instead, within said article search for the author’s sources. Most true crime and historical writers link to outside sources or cite where they’d gathered facts, and those are the gold nuggets we want.

Primary v. Secondary Sources

A primary source is a firsthand account. A secondary source is a secondhand account. Seems simple enough, right? Not exactly.

Think of research as a bullseye, with the killer and victim(s) at the center. The first ring around the bullseye includes eyewitness accounts, investigative reports, trial transcript, court testimony, the killer’s journal, a confession, deposition, prosecution and defense notes, an expert’s log (i.e. notes from the chemist, pathologist, etc.) — all primary source material.

Moving outward, the next ring contains secondary sources, such as a newspaper article written by a journalist who interviewed someone involved with the case (killer, detective, victim, family of victim and/or killer, juror, DA, etc.).

Third ring includes newspaper articles written by someone with no firsthand or secondhand knowledge. To write the article in a timely fashion the reporter regurgitated “facts” from other newspapers, and that’s where we’ll find the most mistakes. This ring also contains bloggers, some credible, some not.

If we were to write historical true crime based on only third ring sources, the book and its author would lose all credibility among fans of the genre. I can’t tell you how many snarky reviews I’ve read about true crime writers who played fast and loose with the facts. Historical fiction writers have more leeway, but wouldn’t you rather be factually correct?

Pro Tip: Research as though the whole world is watching. It’ll keep you honest. ????

Three-Source Rule

If we can’t verify a fact with two other sources, historical fiction writers could still use it in a story. Historical true crime writers should not. This is my personal rule, not an industry requirement. Some publishers ask the writer to verify each major fact with at least one other source. Even if they never request the citation, their legal department might. House lawyers rest easier knowing we verified with more than one source.

Pro Tip: Keep a log of where you find both primary and secondary source materials. It’ll save you from having to flip through mountains of research papers later.

Exception to Three-Source Rule

Suppose we find a newspaper article that we’re able to authenticate with a trial transcript, deposition, or other court document. Since we have the primary source (court document) which states the same fact, the newspaper gains credibility. Say, we can’t find primary sources to substantiate the reporter’s claim. If the primary source doesn’t contradict those facts, then verify with two secondary sources.

Example: During my initial research for Pretty Evil New England, I found a plethora of online content about one of my five female serial killers, who shocked the nation with her cold-bloodedness, which is what attracted me to her in the first place. ???? But all these articles muddied the research. To separate fact from fiction I waded through opinions, theories, innuendoes, and rumors.

See what I’m sayin’?

True crime readers expect the truth, not our fictional interpretation. Part of our job is to question a reporter’s research. To sell newspapers “facts” are often embellished or sensationalized. By doing so they created eye-popping headlines.

Pro Tip: Embellishments can destroy a factual narrative. Dig deeper to find the truth.

Where to Find Source Material

A fantastic place to gather reliable primary source material is the National Archives. Formally called the Archival Research Catalog (ARC), retired in 2013 and replaced by the Online Public Access (OPA) prototype. The National Archives Catalog searches all web pages on Archives.gov and lists articles, PDFs, books, and periodicals on a search result page. The current catalog provides access to over two million electronic records in the Electronic Records Archives (ERA) section. Many of these digital records aren’t available elsewhere.

Pro Tip: Along with catalog records, researchers often add notes to cite additional sources. While searching the National Archives, be mindful of the research notes.

What if the case you’re looking for hasn’t been digitalized?

Then Google “National Archives of [insert state capitol of where crime occurred].” Note the email address and send a formal record request. Try to include as much information as possible. Record requests take about ten business days to complete.

If the crime wasn’t heard in federal court, drop down to the state level. Google: “[state where crime took place] State Archives.” Example: Massachusetts State Archives. This may sound like the same place as above, but it’s not. State Archives house court records on the district court level.

Then there’s the Supreme Judicial Archives. In Boston, it’s a separate building with a separate email address. Every state works differently. Use the example as a guide rather than a rule.

Pro Tip: Start at the district level and work up through the court system. Prior to early 1900s, most homicides and other violent crimes weren’t heard in Supreme or Federal Courts.

Law Libraries & Historical Societies

Prepare to spend time on the phone. The folks who work in law libraries go above and beyond to help writers. Law library personnel have access to university databases state-wide. The public does not. To find one, Google “[county where crime occurred] law library.”

Historical Societies are a writer’s best friend. We need to visit in person, though. Many don’t have the personnel to copy records. Plus, you never know what you might find tucked in a box. I found diaries that spanned fifty years, with daily logs written during the string of murders I was investigating. The gentleman who wrote these diaries knew the victims and the killer. Scoring a detailed account of the days leading up to and including a centuries old murder case rarely happens, nor does finding a floor in the victims’ house untouched by time, but I uncovered both thanks to the historical society.

Pro Tip: Keep a running log of who you speak to whether that person finds information or not. They still tried to assist you. Ask for permission to include the contact’s name in the acknowledgments.

Medical & Law Universities

Places like Harvard are steeped in history, with medical and law libraries scattered across numerous buildings. All house archival documentation. Writers may not have access to their databases, but we can visit the campus as a researcher. If the expert in our case worked there as a post-grad, they’ll have a file on him. I found an entire scrapbook about one my female killers. When you call (mentioned above) ask where and how to make an appointment.

Pro Tip: Even if the crime occurred in a different state, still check for the case. Archival material follows the expert, not the cases he worked.

Police Departments

Police departments don’t house archives from the 17^th, 18^th, or early 19^th century. It’s still worth sending a quick email, though. If I didn’t contact one local department, I would’ve never known the town where one of my killers operated housed their own independent archives. Those records were a lot more detailed, too, and I gained two more primary sources.

Newspapers

As you may have guessed, libraries house old newspapers. Libraries without digital archives usually store the local papers on microfiche. Always make an appointment and be sure to bring the month and date for the librarian. Old newspapers often posted large chunks of the trail, testimony, or in some cases, a confession.

Pro Tip: Before traveling to the library, first check the Library of Congress. The online database lists 15,273,703 digitized newspaper pages from 1789-1963.

I better stop there before this post morphs into a book. Remember, as you research, search for primary source material to verify your secondary or thrice-removed accounts. Readers will thank you for the added effort.

It’s time-consuming to research historical facts, but it’s also fun to piece the puzzle together. Just don’t get discouraged. For every three or four dead ends, you’ll stumble across something new and exciting that’ll set your writer brain ablaze.

What about you Scriveners? How much research do you do? Do any of these tips apply to you even though you write a different genre? Do these tips inspire you to add more research to your books?

For four centuries, New England has been a cradle of crime and murder—from the Salem witch trials to the modern-day mafia. Nineteenth century New England was the hunting ground of five female serial killers: Jane Toppan, Lydia Sherman, Nellie Webb, Harriet E. Nason, and Sarah Jane Robinson.

Female killers are often portrayed as caricatures: Black Widows, Angels of Death, or Femme Fatales. But the real stories of these women are much more complex. In Pretty Evil New England, true crime author Sue Coletta tells the story of these five women, from broken childhoods, to first brushes with death, and she examines the overwhelming urges that propelled these women to take the lives of a combined total of more than one-hundred innocent victims. The murders, investigations, trials, and ultimate verdicts will stun and surprise readers as they live vicariously through the killers and the would-be victims that lived to tell their stories.

Sue Coletta is an award-winning crime writer and an active member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers. Feedspot and Expertido.org named her Murder Blog as one of the “Best 100 Crime Blogs on the Net” (Murder Blog sits at #5). Sue also blogs at the Kill Zone and writes two serial killer thriller series (Tirgearr Publishing) and true (Globe Pequot, trade division of Rowman & Littlefield Group).