Fiction Equals Truth?

As Kaye mentioned yesterday, it's not often easy to take yourself out of a mindset you've had your entire life. That's a necessity as an author. I'm sure you've read books where your perspective was broadened by a character or viewpoint the author included through thorough research in the story. On the flip side, you've no doubt read something where the viewpoints were limited and obviously centrally-focused from the author's perspective.

Sure, it's easy to take your own viewpoints and carry them into your writing, but it's much more of a challenge to put yourself in the shoes of someone else. Get into their head, their skin, and see how it fits for a little while. Lay aside everything that's formed your own sphere of influence and "live" life as that other person. This applies to writing as much as it does in relationships with other folks. But that's a topic for another blog. :)

I've discovered the challenge this presents researching for my Colonial era series. Not only do I have loyal patriots to the American cause for independence, but because of the setting, I also have Dutch, Swedish and British characters. Each one comes from a different background, with a different set of beliefs and motivations for their actions. When I wrote the first draft of book 1 and sent it off to be critiqued/edited, notes came back that several characters fell "flat" with stereotypical characterizations and shallow motivations.

So, back to the research resources I went. When I was able to dig deeper into the character backgrounds, I was able to present the motivations from a perspective that was true to that character. Who they are and why they reacted the way they did directly correlated with each other. It started making sense and provided a richer more complex character.

I'm in the middle of book 2 at the moment, and a large portion of story focuses on the French & Indian War where the patriots/Americans are fighting on the side of the French and against the British. However, the hero of the book is British and the heroine is from a family that is leaning more and more toward the American way of thinking every day.

The emotions during this time were quite volatile. Britain was causing unrest amongst the American colonists due to what colonists termed "unfair taxes"; many colonists began seeking a better way of life separate from British rule; Britain tried maintaining a hold on their colonies while fighting against the French for greater control of this "new world" land; the natives in America couldn't decide on which side they wanted to fight and who they wanted to support because both sides were considered an "invasion" to them. While all of this was taking place, the governmental associations within each colony were beginning to come together and would soon lead to the forming of the 1st Continental Congress.

That's a lot of perspectives and a lot of internal motivations that lead to physical motivations and misunderstandings. It would be easy to focus on just one viewpoint and make that the guiding factor in the books. But, to accurately portray the realities of the times, so much more is required.

So, now it's your turn. Share some books where you feel the author successfully accomplished this and/or why the book compelled you to keep reading. On the flip side, share some books where you didn't get into the story and why. Tomorrow, Kaye will be back to share some of her research strategies and resources, and I'll return on Saturday to close out the week with some of mine.

See you again soon!