The Forest for the Trees
I’ve always been a detail-oriented guy. I focus on the trees and not so much on the forest. The overall picture of most things is something I don’t see. Being trained as a learning disabilities specialist—in another career—I knew my learning style by heart. I couldn’t generalize for beans. I had to work my way up to the big picture by adding up the details.
Here’s a good example of what I mean:
When I started to write Bomber’s Moon
, the first novella in my Lovers and Liars
series, I knew I wanted to focus the story on a gay character who recently lost his partner in a tragic automobile accident. The setting would be 1940 London and the historical event was the Blitz. I also had a puzzle or mystery in mind so I threw that into the mix. That’s really all I knew at the outset. Well, maybe a little more, but I didn’t have that big picture yet.
In Bomber’s Moon, I set my characters down in an interesting historical setting (WWII) and then tried to be as true to the period as I could. I used the setting mostly for atmosphere and then went on from there, following my characters every step of the way.
And the genre I was writing in? I didn’t have a clue; was it gay, fiction, historical, romance, romantic suspense, or mystery? After I sent the manuscript off to my publisher, JMS Books, we decided Bomber’s Moon was a gay historical romance. Hmm. Okay. Without J.M. Snyder’s help, I wouldn’t have gotten there on my own. Never.
Let me ask you a few questions because so much depends on a reader’s expectations when they pick up a book and choose to read it.
1. When you hear the words, historical fiction or historical romance, what books immediately spring to mind?
2. What’s more important to you in reading and enjoying a book set in the past: the atmosphere and mood, or 100% accuracy of the details? Or both?
There’ll be more next Tuesday on writing a series and the problems I sometimes have keeping things straight—as in remembering what happened to my characters in the last book. I promise I’ll keep it short.
For now, I’m still finding my way through the trees.
The best is yet to come,
Paul
Here’s a good example of what I mean:
When I started to write Bomber’s Moon
, the first novella in my Lovers and Liars
series, I knew I wanted to focus the story on a gay character who recently lost his partner in a tragic automobile accident. The setting would be 1940 London and the historical event was the Blitz. I also had a puzzle or mystery in mind so I threw that into the mix. That’s really all I knew at the outset. Well, maybe a little more, but I didn’t have that big picture yet. In Bomber’s Moon, I set my characters down in an interesting historical setting (WWII) and then tried to be as true to the period as I could. I used the setting mostly for atmosphere and then went on from there, following my characters every step of the way.
And the genre I was writing in? I didn’t have a clue; was it gay, fiction, historical, romance, romantic suspense, or mystery? After I sent the manuscript off to my publisher, JMS Books, we decided Bomber’s Moon was a gay historical romance. Hmm. Okay. Without J.M. Snyder’s help, I wouldn’t have gotten there on my own. Never.
Let me ask you a few questions because so much depends on a reader’s expectations when they pick up a book and choose to read it.
1. When you hear the words, historical fiction or historical romance, what books immediately spring to mind?
2. What’s more important to you in reading and enjoying a book set in the past: the atmosphere and mood, or 100% accuracy of the details? Or both?
There’ll be more next Tuesday on writing a series and the problems I sometimes have keeping things straight—as in remembering what happened to my characters in the last book. I promise I’ll keep it short.
For now, I’m still finding my way through the trees.
The best is yet to come,
Paul
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And a great answer, Nancy. I love your book choices too. I try to be as accurate as I can. I use a Timelines of History and do a lot of research before I even start writing. That said, I do let my characters wander here and there and do some things that may or may not be usual by the Historical Romance rule book. I try to incorporate ideas that resonate with today's readers like gender equality, marriage equality, smoking during pregnancy, PTSD, and other current issues but of course not using these modern terms. We can't assume people didn't talk about these issues back then and I love to set my characters free to muse and discuss them. Am I right in exploring this? Am I wrong? I don't know. But it's an awful lot of fun. Thanks so much for your thoughtful comments. For me, It's a balancing act and I try to not throw the reader out of the story by having her stumble upon totally inaccurate facts. I'm hoping my readers will let me know if I do this.
I think cover art does a lot to let the reader know what to expect. Generally I read "historical fiction" but not "historical romance"--but I'm talking about the kind of historical romance that shows a shirtless man on the cover, generally having his way with a pirate wench or whatever. If it looks like historical erotic fantasy, it's not my cuppa. I think the trouble is that "romance" is such a huge umbrella these days. I wish they'd make it more clear when it's an accurate historical tale with romantic elements, like yours, or just an excuse for steamy scenes. I think I might have categorized Bomber's Moon as historical romantic suspense, just because the line between erotica and romance has been so blurred in the post 50-shades era. Yours is certainly NOT erotica. And there is suspense.
Paul,Having worked with you on committees, I found it interesting and believable when you said you're a detail person. I'm wondering if that is why you are so committed to outlining your novellas. It would seem that you recognize the importance of the big picture, but are most comfortable with your initial work in the area of details.
To answer your question about what is most important to me in an historical fiction/romance, I agree with the others who commented. I want to be entertained, but don't want to be thrown out of the story because of obvious historical goofs.
I'm not adverse to romance, but am not drawn to either the steamy sex scenes or even the idea of romance as a necessary element. If romance is done tastefully and worked into the more important plot, I can enjoy it. I do enjoy the romance and the history in Bomber"s Moon.
Looking forward to next week.
Hi Paul - Fun to see you here! It's been a looooong time since I had to recall which password I used for Goodreads. When I think of Historical Fiction/Romance, the classic answer is 'Gone With The Wind,' isn't it? Some might say that's too narrow a classification, but really, it fits.
For me, facts are always open to interpretation in literature. I believe we write our own perspective. Even some history-genre writers enliven their works with their own view on the facts (Sarah Vowell.) So, to answer your great question, I think it's always about the characterization. To use your forest analogy, the facts may be the roots of trees; the characters and what they do are the trunks, branches and leaves.
Always adrift in the forest - Susan
HI, Anne, and thank you for coming and commenting today. Yes, I agree my genre is gay historical romantic suspense since each book has an element of mystery/suspense, and I hope to keep it that way. My publisher doesn't have that genre category so we're calling Lovers and Liars gay historical romance. I get what you mean. The cover is a great way to get an idea of whether this is something of your taste or not. I'm not an erotic writer and couldn't be if my life depended on it so my covers are pretty tame though I love what JM does with the graphics, especially for Bomber's and the Lovers and Liars series. I think from the cover, blurb and excerpt that she provides on her site, you get a pretty good idea of what you're buying. Thanks again and all my best, Paul
Hey, Judy, good to see you here. Yep, I'm like you. I really don't go for the steamy scenes. In fact I do what I used to do reading educational research. I read around the statistics and went for the main ideas. Same for many LGBT books I read. Not that I'm a prude, I just get tired of the continual sex. Could be my age. Like I said to Anne, I just can't write those scenes. Subtlety for me works best. And I guess that's something important to tell my readers. Glad you brought the topic up. I'm definitely thinking of writing about sex in my books in a future topic. In the meantime, I'm making my way thru the trees to figure out how to make this little blog work for readers and writers. Here's hoping. Hugs and more later. Paul
Hi, Susan, thank you for dropping by. Good to hear from you, too. Funny you should mention GWTW. When I started drafting this post, the first book that came to mind was GWTW. It covers all the bases. And then some. Yes, thank you for saying this: "For me, facts are always open to interpretation in literature. I believe we write our own perspective." Everything we do, think, say, feel, and write, for me at least, is filtered through the sum total of our experiences, education, etc. our whole persona. Yikes, I'm reaching here, but think we're on the same page. It is about the characters and we go from there. Love your analogy of the roots, branches and leaves. As a writer, I may steal it someday. :) Okay, the forest is beginning to clear a bit here and the big picture is emerging. Thanks so much for helping to clarify it. My best, Paul
Paul, if I take your first question precisely as you have written it, I would think the most common answer would be GWTW. However if I think about the more specific category you mention earlier in your post i.e. "gay, historical fiction" my instant response is "The Persian Boy" by Mary Renault. I think these two books share exceptional attention to mood, atmosphere and historical detail. I would also believe that Mary Renault was not unlike you in terms of her planning. All her historical fiction books have extensive bibliographies. While I think much of Margaret Mitchel's understanding of her subject came from living in the South. For some who live there even today, the Civil War is not over. It is the subject of family oral history even now. Renault was an academic to the first degree. For many she not only wrote three very detailed, interesting and accurate fiction books about Alexander the Great, she also wrote what many consider to be the definitive history of Alexander's life. I am a big fan of both GWTW and The Persian Boy. They do share something else however, they have the ability to transport the reader to the period where the action is set.
Wow, Roger, what a wonderful response. I have to admit I haven't read The Persian Boy but I do have The Charioteer on my Kindle and waiting to be read. I will definitely add The Persian Boy to the list. The differences you pointed out between Mitchell and Renault are important and I'd probably agree with you there. Love what you said here: "They have the ability to transport the reader to the period where the action is set." I think if we aim for that, we'll be on the right track. Thank you again. Great response as are all of these replies today. I think we're getting some where on this little slow blog. :) Paul
Paul, Firstly, what a great blog you have going here. But what would I be surprised! After all, it's you...'nuff said.
I can't think of any books off the top of my head, but I know who I think of when I think historical fiction. I enjoy this genre very much. Philippa Gregory, Margaret George, Diana Galbradon, Edward Rutherford, Colleen McCullough, Anya Seaton, Thomas Keneally and so the list could go on. Look up any book written by these authors and I love them.
I am not totally obsessed with 100 accuracy, but it helps it it's near the mark. I've learned a lot from reading history form historical fiction.
I love the ambiance created, the clothes, and all that goes to make the setting and characters believable and alive. So I guess I'm saying that I like both the accuracy and the mood and atmosphere. You achieve both in Bomber's Moon in my opinion.
Hi, Janice, and thank you for those nice words about Bomber's. Really do appreciate them. I'm really enjoying this blog and glad you are too. I agree with you. It helps to be as close as possible in the accuracy dept. in hist fiction, so the reader doesn't stop and say, "Hey that's not right." I know the feeling. I was reading a novel recently when someone had a song playing on the juke box that was a hit from another decade--a much later one. Accuracy, mood, and atmosphere. Yep, agree completely. Thanks so much for dropping by. Hope you'll become a regular follower. I promise soon to talk about writing sex scenes :) if that's an incentive. Cheers, Paul.
Ooooo sex scenes...Well, I'll be checking regularly. Do you have any plans for a discussion of wibley bits?Janice.
Thank you Paul, I'll be sure to do that.A wibbley from wobbly found pleasure,
In searching for pieces of treasure.
A penchant for pencils
And vintage like stencils,
He collected most Sundays for leisure.
Janice.
AH, ha, you excel at limericks. Never could do that. Hope to see you here next week.
I could never write as you do - we all blend to make a very nice soup.See you here.
J.
Hey Paul-- fun post. As for number one, I would start with Daphne DuMaurier (Frenchman's Creek) and end with Georgette Heyer's Regency novels. I guess DuMaurier was a romance writer too. Oh well. If it ain't got romance, I don't enjoy it nearly as much. And as for question 2. I like it all and want it all.
Bev, I've had so many comments on this week's post, I've forgotten what the questions were. :) Let me scroll up. Got it. Yes, I love Daphne duMaurier, from Jamaica Inn and Rebecca to some of her later works: House on the Strand and The Glassblowers. Hope I'm remembering titles correctly. Oh, The Scapegoat, too. Yes, love romance of any kind anywhere. We're on the same page. Thanks so much for visiting my blog and hope you'll return. I'm having fun here and hope everyone else is, too. Hugs, Paul.
Hi, I don't know how this slipped my mind. In my first LGBT novella, "The View from 16 Podwale Street," the main character, Elwira, distracts herself by reading Daphne du Maurier's "Rebecca," while Nazism rages on the Warsaw streets outside her home. The story covers the spring of 1939 and leads up to the German invasion of Poland.
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Here is my immediate response to your questions:
Historical fiction:
Historical romance:
When I am reading stories set in the past, I am aware they are fiction so 100% accuracy is not important. The details just need to feel authentic and believable. I like to get lost in a story (so atmosphere and mood is important) without having to stop and fact-check whenever I come across obvious anachronisms. If I am reading historical fiction or romance set in a period I have little knowledge about, I very much enjoy researching significant and interesting facts about that time.
Great question!