Writing contemporary and local stories takes imagination, however there is little need for research for the everyday settings and speech. Change the time period and or venue and a little bit of research will go a long way towards making the tale realistic and believable. Writers will do well to minimize descriptions, facts and language and just to touch on enough to sound authentic.
Another consideration if you are setting a novel in a past time period is to know your history. You should not attempt to replicate a textbook with specific facts, but make sure that you are not incorporating discoveries that, in reality, were made years later. For instance, the first gasoline-powered automobile was invented in the late 1800s with an experimental internal combustion engine automobile fueled by hydrogen in the early 1800s. While it might be possible to fudge the use of a car by an unknown inventor in the mid 1800s, putting an automobile into a scene in 1790 would be unrealistic. Writing a story taking place in Paris, France in 1940 to 1942 would have to reflect the Nazi occupation that took place at the time even in a fictional story featuring fictional characters.
Researching different time periods, locations and historical accuracies can be done with encyclopedias, the internet (carefully), and other novels representing the same time or location. Be careful that while the speech should be consistent with the time and social setting, your writing should speak to the contemporary reader. Bear in mind that even a contemporary novel written in 2016 will bear resemblance to a historical novel by the year 2066 – but it will not be a true historical even if it is still popularly read.
Things you should pay attention to when researching would include: names, architecture, clothing, medicine, furniture, class structure, politics, money, inventions and more. In many cases you can access popular baby names from a time period to help name your characters; keep in mind that the popular name in the year your story takes place might not be suitable for a 30-year old character. Also remember that speech patterns and clothing may vary between the social classes or education.
Put in enough detail to set the tone but not so much that you make an error in authenticity.
Writing Exercise: If you have been treated to stories by your elders about their childhood games, write about the games played in those past years; compare those games to similar ones you may have played with in your childhood.
Writing Prompt: List ten convenient items (microwaves, cell phones, etc) that you use regularly. Do a bit of research and find out how early those conveniences were available.
Writing Challenge: Write a simple one to three page story that takes place in your home town in the current year. Select a time period at least 50 years earlier in another city (anywhere in the world) and rewrite the same story as closely as possible to fit in that time period and location. Substitute any items that did not exist back then with the closest equivalency.
