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| Pamela S. Meyers |
Hey, everyone! Annette here. Wave at me if you write historicals. Like so many writers I've spoken with, including our guest today, the amount of research required for accuracy intimidates some writers so much they avoid penning historical novels. But sometimes God has other plans. Pam Meyers is here to share this month on finding those elusive details. Read on!
Using Local Newspapers to Make
Your Historical Setting Come
Alive
By Pamela S. Meyers
Ever since I began writing fiction, I shied away from
writing historicals because you also have to make sure you have all the details
right down to what type of shoes they wore, food they ate, even whether or not
their words were part of the vernacular at the time. Otherwise the historical
junkies will be sure to spot your mistakes.
I stuck to writing contemporaries until I told the editor
from Summerside Press that I was raised in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Intrigued
that I was from the very popular Midwestern resort area, she wanted to know
more because they were interested in resort settings. I instantly began plotting
a contemporary in my head. Then the bubble burst when she said, “Why don’t you
work up a historical proposal for me?” Of course I agreed and quickly decided
on 1933 when the iconic lake shore building known as the Riviera was opened.
Growing up in the town did give me somewhat of an advantage but
I still needed to know what the town was like in 1933, not when I was a child.
I owned several coffee-table type books about Lake Geneva that featured
pictures from the past, but I needed a more up-close-and-personal snapshot of
the town. I decided what better place to find that than copies of the weekly
newspaper from that time.
Fortunately I live about an hour away from Lake Geneva and was
able to make frequent trips to the public library where I discovered a treasure
trove of information hidden in the microfilms of the Lake Geneva News Tribune.
Not only did I find needed information regarding the
building of the Riviera, but I also found the heartbeat of the town as I read
about how everyone came behind the plan to make the lakefront a tourist magnet.
Tourists meant money spent on lodging, using the beach and dancing up a storm
in the Riviera’s new ballroom. After all, this was the time of the Great
Depression.
I’d grown up seeing the Riviera daily, but as I read, I
began to feel the same passion for the structure as the townspeople of 1933.
And when I later began writing the story, I brought that same passion and
excitement to my heroine and the other characters.
Not everyone can travel to their story setting to take
advantage of the local library’s microfilm library, but there are a lot of
newspapers from the past available on line. By typing “newspaper archives” in
the Google search bar, I received dozens of hits to sites—some free and others
by subscription—that just might have newspapers from your story’s setting. Some
go back to the 19th Century! So start exploring!
Next time I’ll discuss another way the newspapers helped me
bring the setting alive for my readers.
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| LFY in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin by Pamela S. Meyers |
A native of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, Pamela S. Meyers lives
in suburban Chicago. She served on the ACFW Operating Board for five years and
has also served her local ACFW chapter in leadership roles. Her historical romance,
which is set in her hometown, Love Finds
You in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, released in April 2013. You can find more information on Pam at www.pamelasmeyers.com or on Facebook
at https://www.facebook.com/pamela.meyers.
