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| Liz Tolsma |
Research can sometimes feel daunting, but it’s an important
part of what writers do in order to make their stories more believable. Today
on Seriously Write, author Liz Tolsma
shares her experiences and offers helpful advice on this topic.
~ Dawn
Check
Your Facts
It happened. What I had dreaded from the time I began to
write a story set in a real place at a real time. The book that I had crafted
so carefully, giving full attention to every detail, had a mistake.
A glaring one. The red maple leaf on a white background that
is today’s Canadian flag, wasn’t adopted until well after WWII. The Canadian
troops I mention wouldn’t have been flying it in April 1945.
What a sinking feeling.
On Antiques Roadshow once, they featured a rug made by a
Muslim weavers. The appraisers mentioned that the artists sew a flaw into every
piece they produce because no one is perfect. A good thought to bear in mind.
No matter how diligently you check and double check every fact, there will be
mistakes. No book is perfect. The goal is to keep the flaws to a minimum.
Whether you’re
writing historical or contemporary fiction, there are facts that need to be
verified. Perhaps if it would have been possible for your hero and heroine to
meet at a certain place and time. Perhaps if hydrangeas and lilacs can bloom at
the same time. This can be tedious and time consuming but worth it in the end
when you produce writing that is as accurate as possible.
Rule of
3
You’ll want to have three sources. Wikipedia isn’t one you
want to come back to your editor with when they question you. Pick reliable
websites, books, or documents. Diaries or first person accounts written as
close to the time of the events as possible tend to be the most reliable.
What if
your sources don’t agree?
That happens. As I’m writing my book set in WWII
Philippines, sources disagree about the date of a large typhoon that struck in
November of 1943. With further digging, I discovered that since it made
landfall at night, some referenced the day before and some the following day.
When I found three sources that agreed on the date, that is the one I went
with. Keep digging. You’ll solve the mystery.
Tweaking
history
Sometimes, you have to do it. The actual event that inspired
Snow on the Tulips took place five days before the end of WWII. Not nearly
enough time for the hero and heroine to fall in love. I moved the event to
three months earlier. In my current book, I describe an escape attempt from a
Japanese internment camp in October 1943. In reality, the only attempts
happened in early 1942. At the end of the book, I beg the reader’s indulgence
on this. It’s tricky to know what you can and cannot tweak. Obviously, you
can’t move the terrorist attacks on 9/11 to a different day or city. Think of
yourself as the reader. Is that a well-known enough fact that if you change it,
that will jar them? Or can you twist it and fictionalize it enough to make it
work?
Always put yourself in the shoes of the reader. Your goal is
to transport them to another place and time. Too many mistakes will have them
throwing the book across the room instead of recommending it to their
friends.
Tweetables:
Use the rule of
3 when conducting research for your writing projects. Click to tweet.
When writing
novels, sometimes you have to tweak the historical facts. Click to tweet.
Always put
yourself in the shoes of the reader. Click to tweet.
A
stranger’s life hangs in the balance. But to save him is to risk everything.
The war
is drawing to a close, but the Nazis still occupy part of the Netherlands.
After the losses she’s endured, war widow Cornelia is only a shadow of the
woman she once was. She fights now to protect her younger brother, Johan, who
lives in hiding.
When
Johan brings Gerrit Laninga, a wounded Dutch Resistance member, to Cornelia’s
doorstep, their lives are forever altered. Although scared of the consequences
of harboring a wanted man, Cornelia’s faith won’t let her turn him out.
As she
nurses Gerrit back to health, she is drawn to his fierce passion and ideals,
and notices a shift within herself. Gerrit’s intensity challenges her, making
her want to live fully, despite the fear that constrains her. When the
opportunity to join him in the Resistance presents itself, Cornelia must summon
every ounce of courage imaginable.
She is as terrified of loving Gerrit as she is of losing
him. But as the winter landscape thaws, so too does her heart. Will she get a
second chance at true love and learn to depend on the Perfect Love that drives
out all fear? Or will her new love be snatched away before it has a chance to
bloom?
Liz Tolsma has lived
in Wisconsin most of her life, and she now resides next to a farm field with
her husband, their son, and their two daughters. All of their children have
been adopted internationally and one has special needs. Her novella, Under His Wings, appeared in the New
York Times bestselling collection, A Log
Cabin Christmas. Her debut novel, Snow
on the Tulips, released in August of 2013. When not busy putting words to
paper, she enjoys reading, walking, working in her large perennial garden,
kayaking, and camping with her family. Please visit her blog at www.liztolsma.blogspot.com and follow her on Facebook and Twitter (@LizTolsma). She is also a
regular contributor to the Barn Door
blog.
