Megan Chance: The most difficult aspect is the responsibility I feel for getting the historical aspect right --- I've had plenty of sleepless nights over my inability to find enough details about some small plot point. The most rewarding aspect is when you discover something in researching that is truly inspiring --- a great idea, a search for information that turns up something you never expected, a story that falls into place because of some detail you've unearthed…. I love research, and I love turning it into fiction.
Kevin Baker: The most difficult part, I think, is trying to discern where the age and the individual intersect. Sure, there are the usual mechanical difficulties --- making sure you know how the characters would get around town when they can't just jump into a car or a subway; knowing how they would light a room without an electrical switch, etc., --- but these can easily be overcome with a little research.
The hard part is trying to determine how much or how little they were like us. For instance, I used to like to say that the most important thing to remember is this: Customs change completely, but people stay the same. I still think that is important to remember. There are some basic things that motivate people --- money, love, sex, and the like --- and that is more or less the same no matter how long ago they lived. Forgetting this is why so many American historical dramas on TV are so lousy; they are always trying to create these bizarrely stiff, noble individuals that might have been peeled right off an old civics primer page.
On the other hand, I'm not sure anymore if the above adage is really true. Are people always the same? Or are they fundamentally changed by the customs and rituals of their cultures? If you're living in a society that doesn't blink at slavery, or the ritual sacrifice of human beings, or has no taboos against homosexuality, or is very used to flying thousands of feet above the ground at jet speeds --- is your psychology really universal? It's still something I'm trying to work out for myself.
Glen David Gold: The hardest part is probably --- I'm guessing here --- I've only written one novel, so as I'm going through this interview, I do have to admit to occasionally wondering how the heck I get off putting some of these answers in stone --- but, based on what I know so far, I'd say it's very hard to balance detail and narrative drive. I myself might be fascinated to know each and every exhibit in the Pan-Pacific Exposition of 1915, but it's hard to know how much of that will enliven a reader's experience. What goes along with that is the temptation to completely derail the narrative, to shoehorn in every exhibit, figuring that either a) you can maneuver the plot around until it really does fit or b) your enthusiasm for the details will be contagious.
The most rewarding part is having a kid read my book and then start reading other books to figure out what actually happened.
Margaret George: The most difficult part is the amount of knowledge I must master before I set a word down on paper. Sometimes it seems daunting. That is also the most rewarding part --- acquiring that knowledge, and the unexpected adventures and people I meet along the way. There's also the satisfaction in believing that my subjects, who have so often been the victims of sloppy research and ill-usage, would be pleased with my efforts, in which case all that work has been well worth it.
Tayari Jones: The most difficult aspect is deciding how much "truth" to include. There is always the fear that you will misrepresent something important. Although the work is clearly marked as fiction, I believe that all representations affect the way the reader views real events. I don't want to be a party to misrepresentation.
The most rewarding aspect is when someone comes up to me as says, "I never heard of that before. I want to know more."
Bernard Cornwell: All writers volunteer for the job, which suggests it's better than working. Most difficult? Nothing, really. I love it. Most rewarding? Doing what you've always wanted to do and getting paid for it.
Karen Essex: It's all difficult and it's all rewarding. I find this is true of every aspect of the writing process. The biggest challenge is to craft all the history into a novelistic sweep that works. History does not necessarily happen in a good, tight, dramatic structure. So one must be a devoted scholar, and then, throw off the mantle of scholarship and enter the vivid dream of storytelling. It's a fine balance.
Matthew Kneale: For me the most difficult part is explaining the past while avoiding writing a textbook. I rework a great deal to make sure characters come first and that any explanations only slot in naturally in the unfolding of their stories. I find the most rewarding aspect is to rediscover a lost time and reveal it for what it was, certainly strange, perhaps exotic, and often horrific.
