|
Become a lifetime member and get all of
our e-books - just £59.90!
(Total value if purchased individually: £168 - you
save over £108!)
Sample idea: Developing your town
Here's an idea for using your own town as a basis for historical
fiction. Imagine that the town doesn't yet exist. It's just a
barren patch of land. Now imagine that someone decides to construct
a building there. Why? It could be because there's a bridge there,
or one has recently been built, or needs to be built - it might
be a convenient crossing point in the river. It could be a point
where several roads or tracks meet. It could be a convenient
stopping-off point on the way to somewhere else. Perhaps it's
a place where traders come together to market their goods. Or
maybe it just feels like a nice place.
Now imagine the town slowly developing as settlers move in and
construct buildings: homes, market stalls, farms, inns, churches,
manufacturing and service industries, mills, bakeries, a school,
a post office ... and what else? Is there (or was there)
something unique in your town?
Think about the problems they would have faced back then - the
daily hardships, disease and deaths, and so on. Think too about
the communication and relationship with nearby towns and villages,
and with other parts of the country and the rest of the world.
If it's a really ancient settlement, you could imagine the townspeople
trying to prevent the Romans from invading it. Or how about looking
at how the town coped during the Civil War? What about during
other periods of history, especially during wartime? What celebrations
have taken place in the town through the ages, and what happened
(or might have happened) during them?
What about the people themselves? Who was the first policeman,
the first person in the town to own a motorcar, telephone, TV,
and so on.
Did the original town planners have a vision for the place,
or was there never any real plan for it? How would they feel
about the way the town is today? Proud? Or horrified?
Your local town presents an almost unlimited supply of ideas
for fascinating historical fiction. Much of the research will
be right on your own doorstep, or not too far away in the county
records archive. And don't forget to talk to the local people
too, as they might know all sorts of fascinating tales from the
town's past.
|
