Say you are writing a story that takes place in a time long past. I, for one, am dealing with 17th/18th century Europe. How would you research/try to capture the feeling of a different time period and place? What subjects of the period would you focus on? Would you alter your writing style to fit the period? Any and all thoughts are greatly appreciated!
I believe you personally should start thinking like a 17/18th century person, that is what I do right now when writing my book. It works so far so good, some side affect may include mental disorder, dual personality and dismissal of democracy.
You have to be careful of certain anachronisms as they can easily slip into text without you knowing it. For example, in my own writing: "It was a perfect plan. The caravan would allow them the protection they needed to smuggle the Crown without broadcasting the operation to their potential rivals." My setting being Ancient Europe, of course, nobody is going to be 'broadcasting' anything! That doesn't mean at all that I should fill my novel with Latin sayings, or you need to write in the style of Shakespseare. Just write as you ordinarily would do, while avoiding expressions that do not correlate with your time period. Capture the setting with your description, the atmosphere that you create. Research by all means, but don't be too complicated as to make the reading inaccessible to the reader, as they wont be reading with the research you have.
