I've put the story-writing part of my book aside for a moment to concentrate on character backstories and setting descriptions. (I'm not NaNo writing, so I can take 40 years to do this if I want.) It's an interesting exercise and helps me focus on the trees instead of the forest, which is what I need to do right now.Whether the character studies are drawn from Walter's descriptions or wholly created by me, I have more control over my characters (though sometimes their actions have a life of their own!) than I do the descriptions of the places. For the people in the story, I can determine hair color, habits, professions, anxieties, fears, strengths, etc., as I see fit. But the places where the action (or inaction) takes place need some research.
For example, an in-depth description of Ivy Cottage, the workhouse children's home where Walter and his brother Bert lived, requires my knowing what sort of flooring and beds and bath facilities were available in this sort of institution in 1904. Did they have linoleum? Were they still using gaslight or was the house (built in 1888) wired for electricity by the time Walter arrived? What were the kitchen facilities like? I'm assuming the fireplaces burned coal not wood - but I need to double-check. The place housed 20 boys (hardly a cottage in my mind, but there you are), what were the sleeping arrangements? How many boys, how many rooms? And so on. Every facility (house, tea shop, school, police station, military barracks, et. al.) needs research if I'm to feel comfortable having my characters show up there.
The larger settings - Sheffield, Aldershot, Liverpool, Mortlake, Valparaiso, Le Havre, Mons, Dinapore, Basra, Khartoum (Walter got around, thanks to the English army) - need research as well. What were these places like in 1895? 1905? 1911? 1914? 1930? What would the characters have seen and experienced in the locations, aside from the action?
I'm enjoying the exercise and believe both the character backstories and setting descriptions are adding to both the foundation and the feel of the story.
How do the other writers out there get a handle on locations and settings? Any tricks of the trade you want to share?
2 comments:
Method #1: I make stuff up. Suppose that isn't very helpful.
Method #2: If the place must be real, I try to go there. Suppose that isn't very helpful either, excepting if you have a time machine.
Method #3: If the place must be both real and in another time, I try to get pictures, or read other people's descriptions, or histories. Failing that, I go back to method #1.
Yes, I'm working hard on #3. I did spend three days in Sheffield when I went to England in May, so I got to see some of the old "stomping grounds," if not always the original buildings. Obviously, Khartoum, Basra, and Dinapore/Lucknow are outta the question. But I've been lucky in tracking down historical photos of the areas. The little details (linoleum flooring, etc.) require more research.
Yeah, I don't want to be too anal about it, but if this ever reaches the public, I don't want someone ignoring the story because I mistakenly have someone flip on an electric light switch if gas lamps were still the rule of the day. (Bad example, but you know what I mean.)
Otherwise, I'm with you. Just make it up.
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