Writing history : examining the relationship between research and historical fiction.

Historical fiction requires more work than traditional, literary fiction. Historical accuracy must be the main focus, after telling a good story. To be sure of a piece's accuracy, significant research needs to be done before any of a story can be written. The relationship between research and historical fiction is significant to a better understanding of the creative process. To this end, I research immigration in the Gilded Age, and use that research to write a fictional short story.