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In response to yesterday’s post (Historical Research Q&A), someone asked me the following:Q: "I’m wondering how to best organize and keep track of my research. I could do it by putting everything in computer folders, say one for each location. Then, I’ll need a plot and subplot folder, one for laws of the period, a character folder…it goes on. How do you keep it all organized and accessible? Of course I am documenting my sources so I can find them again. So I guess my question is more about how to manage what I find. I want the information at my fingertips, but don’t want to write an elaborate index."
For any who are interested, I've posted a detailed response in my blog: http://www.micheletorrey.com/historic...
Cheers,
Michele
Remember, these are only my opinions. Have your grain of salt handy.
Q: My main question is what do you do when reliable sources disagree?
A: First of all, make certain that they ARE reliable sources. Are they experts in their field? Is it current scholarship? (Scholarship is much more objective than it used to be, with even more resources available to draw upon.) Is it a primary source? If two or more reliable sources disagree, and if you can’t find any kind of agreement out there as to who is right, then you can feel free to make your own decision as it suits your novel. If it’s a super-important part of the novel, then you might want to explain your reasoning in the author’s note in the back. For example, in a novel about Marie Antoinette, Sena Jeter Naslund explained in her author’s note that Marie never said “Let them eat cake.” To back up her claim, she quoted Antonia Fraser, a highly respected scholar. I am sure, however, that Ms. Naslund found many nonfiction books that attributed Marie with the “Let them eat cake” statement. — This is why it’s critical to be sure they are reliable sources.
Q: I’m digging around in the 16th century, and nobody agrees about anything. The date of my heroine’s birth and the name of the first man she married are both debatable and that’s just for starters. I’ve been choosing the facts I like best for my purposes. Is that okay in historical fiction? Seems like that’s what other people do. Is it okay to use a fact that is less than likely in the eyes of most historians if it is at least plausible in some way and helps the story?
A: Much of this is about using your good sense. If it’s something critical to the era, for example — horses didn’t exist on the continent back then, then for goodness’ sake, don’t have a horse on the continent, otherwise it’s a gross error. But if it’s about whether there was a bakery or not on Main Street in Boston in 1712, then by all means, put a bakery on Main Street if that’s what you want. Don’t get too hemmed in by historical precision, and yet at the same time, you must make certain that your story is accurate. Does that make sense? It really is a line you have to walk.
I often find it handy to make up fictional towns, schools, and so on, yet set them in a “real” setting. For instance, one of my novels originally took place in St. Francisville, Louisiana (a real town). I meticulously researched the town and its environs. However, I kept running up against the old, “We never did it that way.” So I erased St. Francisville and created St. Marysville. Everything is exactly the same; same parish, same neighboring towns– all historically accurate– but the town itself is fictional. I got the monkey off my back that way. (The historian in St. Francisville was convinced they never celebrated July 4th until the mid 1980s, whereas I found a published diary dating back into the 1840s in which the author wrote entries that included picnics and speeches on July 4th, with everyone in town coming together to celebrate! I believe the historian was projecting the town’s more recent anti-Union attitude back into history. Since all this was giving me a headache, I erased St. Francisville off the map. In my author’s note, St. Marysville will be BASED on St. Francisville, but only that. It makes life so much easier! It’s also a common fiction technique; Faulkner did the same thing by creating a fictional parish in Louisiana.)
As far as birth dates, it would depend on who you are talking about. If you’re writing a novel about a famous person who really lived, Jesse James for instance, then his birthdate needs to be accurate, or you need to explain in the author’s note why you changed it . . . But if it’s a novel about a not-so-famous person, don’t sweat the small stuff. Pick what you like, have her marry whom you want, and move on. Author’s notes are great for explaining all of your indulgences on the side of fiction.
As far as something being less than likely in the eyes of most historians, again this is very subjective. It depends on WHAT is less likely. I prefer to err on the side of historical accuracy. For instance, I would not have had St. Marysville celebrate July 4th in 1843, UNLESS I had that diary telling me that that’s exactly what they did. I would have instead created some other reason for the town to get together to orate and celebrate.
Also, In my acknowledgements page in the front of my historical nautical novels, I start by thanking everyone who helped me with the novel, and conclude with: “If there are any remaining errors, whether nautical or otherwise, they remain my responsibility alone, as to write a story of this nature it is often necessary to perform a balancing act between ‘fact’ and ‘fiction.’” Then in the author’s note I go into greater detail about what is fact, and what is fiction in the novel, to help my readers understand.
Q: Do you use other online libraries besides www.questia.com & google books?
A: NONE — Not that they’re not out there, but that’s all I’ve needed, plus my regular libraries. I belong to the King County Library System, Pierce County LS, Timberland LS, Tacoma LS, and the University of Washington Libraries as an alumni. (Almost all universities open their libraries to the general public — although you will pay about $50 per year for the privilege. University libraries are invaluable for their scholarly resources.) Also, I am able to request interlibrary loans through any of these library systems. Such loans have included transcripts of pirate trials, logs of whaling ship captains, and other hard to find primary source material.
Q: Do you think it is best to do almost all your research before you start writing? I have drafted 1/3rd of book and now seem to need a whole new layer of understanding and facts. I am trying to keep writing and yet continue to research as I go.
A: No, I don’t. I do quite a bit of research, though, before starting to write. From my research I get ideas for plot — what could or couldn’t plausibly happen. I keep my plot ideas all together and slowly as I continue to research, a story starts to take shape. I continue to refine, and when I have my plot together, and my first few chapters completely researched, I start writing. I’ll then keep researching throughout the writing process, trying to keep a little ahead of myself. For instance, if I know my characters are going to the theater in New Orleans in three chapters, then I’d better start accumulating all of my materials prior to actually needing them, as it takes time for all the materials to arrive.
Also, I find it pretty impossible to research and remember all the details for an entire novel before I start writing. For instance, the Civil War takes place in one of my adult books, about 3/4 of the way through. Rather than research soldiers’ uniforms, firearms, drills, etc., I’ll do overall research first. This way I know where my characters will be, where the battles are, and what part they will play as it all unfolds. Then I put away the Civil War stuff, write the rest of the novel, and only come back to do Civil War research when the war is imminent.
Q: Do you use much internet info–is it as reliable as regularly published scholarship? Some of it seems to be.
A: Again, it depends. I’ll use scholarly material on the Internet, if it is available. I’ll read journal articles, and so on. For my ground work research, I want scholarship and primary sources to inform me. However, there are times when other types of Internet information is really helpful. For example, rather than reading about sea shanties, I can go to a website where they sing them. Rather than reading about dances in the 1800s, I can watch people dance a Virginia reel. Today I researched domestic violence in Washington State, and learned through lawyers’ forums that there are four levels of assault: 1st through 4th degree, and their definitions. I learned about prior convictions and sentencing, jail versus prison, early release for good behavior, and so on. All from the Internet. This would have tough stuff to find in a regular library. Again, just use your common sense. . . . Don’t accept anyone’s word for it that Marie Antoinette never said “Let them eat cake!” unless they are a scholar or an expert in the field.