Researching

First of all, if you don’t need to write a historical novel to fulfill your dream, don’t. They are a lot more work and you won’t be able to write as many books because of it. How accurate do you need to be? It is a novel after all. Only you can answer this. For myself, I like to be as accurate as possible. It is almost always necessary to invent a few characters so that it is a novel and not a non-fiction work. It needs to be a story with a plot, which means a character that wants something and tries to get it. In mine, I will even use the character’s own words if they are known. If not, then of course I make it up.

Settings and details such as clothing and streets in the town can usually be found with the help of Google. Not as much was known about the town of Alton, where my story takes place. It was a frontier town at the time and sadly lacking in maps. I found a map as close as I could to the time period and bought it. I also bought as many books as I could on the subject and on Lincoln himself throughout his life. I subscribed to newspapers and genealogy sites so I could look up details I needed. It’s not only more difficult to write; it’s more expensive.

Another thing to worry about is how much history to put in. You don’t want the story to be dry or boring to those who are not into history as much as you are. Currently I am working on the first draft and nearing the end. In the second draft I will incorporate comments from my friends and try to look for the pacing. Is it moving forward in every scene? Does the reader and the protagonist have something at stake? Is it a page-turner? Where do I want to compromise?

You may have guessed that I am researching details for the last 3 chapters. How long this will take is yet to be determined. Today marks the beginning of another work week for me.