The "Big" Story

Well, after several unexpected short stories I am finally beginning the "big" story I originally set out to write. This is not a problem, in fact it was an unexpected pleasure. These are local stories that I didn't know existed and they helped pave the way to this big story, some of them becoming big stories of their own.

It isn't easy starting to put words to paper, or in this case typing into the computer. I am sitting here with literally hundreds of printed pages of information and stories that I need to read and sort through to find the kernels of a good story. I take all this information, make sure it is as accurate as possible, and make sure it isn't someones original research, then type it out loosely. I then go through each piece of information I have, finding the links and connections between characters and what makes them unique, their motivations etc. and tie that together with what I know about history and how one thing can lead to another. My job is to take the information and make it into an interesting story, not just a report of facts. This is the hard part, for me it is also the most fun. Dredging through all the info is not fun but when the story finds its voice, what can I say but "Yay!"

So for this story, I just started typing, using another person's report of facts as the skeleton. I have that all written out, in my own words of course, and will now go through other sources to match and verify facts and flesh out other interesting bits. For example, if the report of information mentions a new character, I can't just introduce that person without some background, so I need to go research that person and find out why the two are connected. That may become a story of its own, or just a paragraph, or it may just give me some insight into my main character's motivations. Keeping in mind that these are historical stories that may be completely true or may have over time grown into legends. I also feel I need to let my reader know what is fact and what might be legend and I have to do that in story context. It is a very interesting process.

Back to work!