Tuesday, April 12, 2005

Writing the Historical

I'm working on a historical that takes place in 1808. Sigh...the research is almost constant. My heroine uses hacks to get around London. You know how hard it is not to say the word "cab?" But the word didn't exist. I also wanted my hero to be on the cutting edge of weapons. So I had to learn about percussion pistols. They were invented in 1807, so not too many people would have been familiar with them. Using appropriate language adds to the exertion of brain power. Have to find new ways to say certain things: "You suck" becomes "I find your character disagreeable." I do a lot of translating in my head. But I'm on page 248, so I'm moving right along. I hope to be done with this particular book by the end of the month. Then I want to go back to contemporary.

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