I snagged a first edition copy of "The Last Fully Measure" today, and I suddenly thought: If I ever write historical fiction, I'll have to pick a topic that hasn't been done to death.
For all intents and purposes, I think the American Civil War has been done to death in fiction. Many will disagree, but let's go on that assumption for the sake of argument.
How do you pick an era/topic to write about?
I'm all over the board in my love of history. Ancient. Modern. Doesn't matter. But some things have been written about so extensively that I ask "What's the point of writing another novel about [insert topic/event]?"
One of history's modern battles that has fascinated me is the Bay of Pigs invasion. I have a book in my collection called "Destiny," but it only uses the invasion as a plot point in a larger family saga (can't find it online, sorry for lack of link). The other novel is called "Blood of Cuba," but it's only 188 pages long.
I'm thinking to myself, "How can you possibly hope to tell the full story of the Bay of Pigs invasion in less than 200 pages?"
Do you have similar thoughts if you think an era/person/story hasn't received the attention it should?
For all intents and purposes, I think the American Civil War has been done to death in fiction. Many will disagree, but let's go on that assumption for the sake of argument.
How do you pick an era/topic to write about?
I'm all over the board in my love of history. Ancient. Modern. Doesn't matter. But some things have been written about so extensively that I ask "What's the point of writing another novel about [insert topic/event]?"
One of history's modern battles that has fascinated me is the Bay of Pigs invasion. I have a book in my collection called "Destiny," but it only uses the invasion as a plot point in a larger family saga (can't find it online, sorry for lack of link). The other novel is called "Blood of Cuba," but it's only 188 pages long.
I'm thinking to myself, "How can you possibly hope to tell the full story of the Bay of Pigs invasion in less than 200 pages?"
Do you have similar thoughts if you think an era/person/story hasn't received the attention it should?