Noticing Newbies

Welcome back, Ed! I'm also trying to get back into writing after stopping for a while. It's not an easy thing to do.

Historical pieces do require a lot of background research to make them believable and at least semi-accurate. The where and when can really shape everything from how a character can get around, their belief system about the world, what they do for a living and even how they talk. I'd start by choosing the "when" of the story since I feel like that has the most impact on the characters and the plot. You can look at Wikipedia or a similar site for a historical timeline of the British Isles and pick an era that seems most interesting to you. The story doesn't have to focus on any major historical event in particular, this will just give you some context for what is happening in the country at the time. And once you have an era in mind, you can do more research about what the era was like.

Then I would think about what kind of story you want to tell. Who are the characters? Economic class is often an important factor in a character, but especially so in a historical piece. Are they rich? Poor? How do they make a living? That should start narrowing things down even more, and then you can pick a more specific location and think about where / how these characters live.

At least, that's how I would approach it. Although, to be honest I haven't written much historical fiction before.