The start of this round has gone well for me and I think I am slowly getting my head back into this writing game. Thank goodness!
On Monday I sat down and realised that I know very little about the time period I have selected - 1936. This was a bit of a random selection but it was inspired by my Uncle's 75th birthday as he got lots of cards with info about the year 1936 and it just made sense to me. Can't really explain it! I knew bits and pieces like the Berin Olympics etc but I couldn't tell you exact fashions and I also wanted to find out if household staff were a big part of everyday life as this is integral to the loose plot I have in my head. So you guessed it, I googled. Actually, I tried to go to the library but due to government cuts the hours of opening of my town library have been cut so instead of being open till 7 it shut at 5 and I got there at 6 so that was a no go.
On Tuesday I was online again following up bits of information and found that the 3 episodes of Upstairs, Downstairs that the BBC aired last year were set in 1936. Guess what I was busy buying on Amazon last night! Love that watching them can be filed under research!
Tonight I have focused on language and common phrases used in 1936 and also at common names for the 5 decades before 1936 to get a feel for names. Think it is going to be fun to play with these characters.
So a positive start even though it is hard to get out of the word count mode I was in before but as I said October is all about the planning!
Hope everyone else is having a great first week!
Sounds like fun. Research can be great sometimes :) The more you enjoy it means the more it will show in your writing. Good work!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you are enjoying yourself, and that's great. Enjoyed my visit here. Added you to my Feedly page.
ReplyDeleteThe 1930's & 1940's are such an interesting period in American and European history. Are you looking to set your story in the U.S. or in Europe? (or even somewhere else???) I'm just guessing on the two big entities of that time period and the fact that you mentioned the Berlin Olympics. So far, your idea sounds great...are you going to offer more details?
ReplyDeleteOne of my grandfathers fought in the European Theatre of WWII, and I actually have a German Officer's sword from the war. Neat stuff.
See you Sunday....keep writing. I'm going to try to finish up the last three to five pages in Her Dark Baron today....Oy. Ha. ~ Nadja
Wendy - I am hoping the fun of research lingers when it comes to writing in November!
ReplyDeleteLiz - Thank you! Such a compliment!
Nadja - My plan is to set in in England in the County of Devon where I grew up and still live. I think it is going to be set in a Country House Hotel and I want the master/servant relationship to be explored a bit. That is all I know so far really! Although I think I know who gets killed, why and by whom but have no wider plot to set it in. LOTS TO DO! Hope you got your pages done!
Thank you all for stopping by!
Fun to hear how the research is going. Even though it's for a roleplaying game and not a publishable story, I've been having fun looking up stuff about the early 90's since the game takes place on Earth in 1996, where several alternate worlds started invading Earth all around the same time. Since my character is from Earth, I've been figuring out which cultural and technological references she would have had (or not had yet) at that point.
ReplyDeleteThat's great you're planning during October. Gives you the space to really dig in and have fun with your research. And get the freezer stocked for NaNo. :)
ReplyDeleteEm ~ Love what you have so far. Keep me posted! ~ Nadja
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