If the story focuses on real personages like Julius Caesar or Abraham
Lincoln the author should strive to be as faithful to the historical
record as possible. Lincoln should be tall, Caesar should have epilepsy,
and both should be skilled political operatives. The trick is how to
put words in their mouths. There are no recordings, but they left
writings. Witnesses wrote down what they said. Anything the author gives
them to say should be consistent with all that. And the details of
their time need to be accurate. Caesar rode a horse from Gaul to Rome
while Lincoln took the train from Springfield to Washington. But did
Caesar have stirrups on his saddle? Did Lincoln's train arrive at Union
Station? Readers will jump on errors. Bill O'Reilly wrote about the
Lincoln Assassination (non-fiction) and talked about the Oval Office.
Buzz. The Oval Office did not come into being until Theodore Roosevelt.
Lincoln conducted business on the second floor of the White House.
Research, research, research. Read, read, read. I gave Abraham Lincoln
the wrong color eyes until a colleague pointed out my error.
The
librarian with a web browser is your best friend. Make friends with
your librarian. Tell him or her what you are doing and he or she will
love to help. You will get calls weeks later with some idea or tidbit.
Even if you have access only to a tiny regional library, librarians are
part of a network called Interlibrary Loan. They can find just about any
book for you.
There is
accuracy—detailing events as they occurred, and
authenticity—getting
the time and situation right. Sometimes you might have to fudge
accuracy to make the story flow such as inventing a town or a person.
Authenticity relates to what wood smoke smells like and what it is like
marching through Pennsylvania in a wood uniform. If you can't be
accurate, be authentic.
David Wilma
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