How well do we portray an era? Riffing off of Confessions of a Writer of Westerns: Know Your Weapons

Neil Warning, on one his blogs, has posted the following item:

Confessions of a Writer of Westerns: Know Your Weapons: Seems like I see lots of author advertising lately for services offering  expertise in areas that modern writers need. Two particular standout,  one a guide to firearms and then yesterday a guide to bow and arrows. I grew up shooting both and it seems to me that if one is not familiar  with a weapon they should, head out to a range and try it out, or leave  it out of the story.  Or in my case, drive out in the country and shoot  away at a target on BLM land.

I agree, and I'm going to expand this out to a slightly different thought, but let me start  off with that I'd expand the comment "I grew up shooting both and it seems to me that if one is not familiar  with a weapon they should, head out to a range and try it out, or leave  it out of the story." to state that if you aren't familiar with firearms you ought to head out to the range and try it out, and that's whether or not you are a writer.  I'll have an upcoming post related to my (surprisingly popular) Playing Games With Names post that I did recently that somewhat relates to this, but frankly as somebody familiar with firearms I'm pretty tired of the snotty attitude that some who are opposed to them take based on the ignorance inspired by not being familiar with them. That's an easy thing to do, and I probably exhibit that myself in regards to various sports I don't follow and don't care to, although I try not to do that.

Anyhow, the founding post of this blog stated the following:

Lex Anteinternet?

The Consolidated Royalty Building, where I work, back when it was new.

What the heck is this blog about?

The intent of this blog is to try to explore and learn a few things about the practice of law prior to the current era. That is, prior to the internet, prior to easy roads, and the like. How did it work, how regional was it, how did lawyers perceive their roles, and how were they perceived?

Part of the reason for this, quite frankly, has something to do with minor research for a very slow moving book I've been pondering. And part of it is just because I'm curious. Hopefully it'll generate enough minor interest so that anyone who stops by might find something of interest, once it begins to develop a bit.

While not evident from that post, what started this off more than even a curiousity about practicing law in an earlier era, in relation to writing a book, was simply the topic of how people lived in relation to their lives in earlier times.

Like Neil writes in his post on firearms, an incredible amount of knowledge on just daily living is absent for most of us.  And that started off this blog. In writing a book set in 1915, I wanted to have the details right.  I'm still working on that really.  But it's important, it seems to me, to a book set in history.  What did people eat, how did they heat their homes?  Did they own their own homes?  This and a zillion other details, it seems to me, are frequently done wrong in writing, some times very badly wrong.  

This blog has really strayed from focusing on that mission, to be sure. But the mission it remains.  I hope we all occasionally learn at least a little, myself very much included.