Since I write primarily historical fiction, I glean inspiration for stories, scenes, settings, plot points, characters, etc., mostly from history itself. "I can use this" is a constant mental refrain as I scour historical sources, looking for fodder for fiction.
For example, my Silver Rush mystery series is set in the 1880s, with the first five books in Colorado, primarily Leadville, and the three most recent in San Francisco, California. Why did I pick Leadville as the starting point? Well, that also springs from history, in this case, my family's history. When I was in my mid-forties, I learned that my paternal grandmother had been raised in Leadville. I knew nothing about the place, so at the urging of my uncle, I began to dig around into Leadville's beginnings as a silver-mining boomtown, with an eye to setting a novel there. I found many parallels between those heady days of the late 1870s/early 1880s, when folks rushed to this remote Rocky Mountain location, all afire to "get rich quick," to present-day boom-and-bust philosophies and mentalities of California, where I live. Heck yeah, I thought, I can use this!
More inspiration arrived in a set of letters penned by George Elder, a young lawyer who arrived in Leadville in 1879. His grandson still had those letters and kindly shared them with me.
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| Old letters are an "I can use this!" treasure trove. Image by Margarita Kochneva from Pixabay |
Some years ago, I wrote several blog posts about the inspiration I gleaned from those letters. I'll offer one example here, not mentioned in those posts. Elder's letter dated July 20, 1979, notes the following:
"The AT & St Fe RR [Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad] would have reached Leadville by the Middle of September if it had not been for the interference of the D & R G RR [Denver & Rio Grande Railroad], the latter road has been playing the part of the 'Dog in the Manger'. There is a strong feeling growing against the D & R G RR and its whole course has been a matter of condemnation for months back."
When I first read this passage I had no idea that this kerfuffle referred to the Colorado Railroad War, in which the two railroad companies fought on the ground and in the courts over which would get to lay tracks through the narrow Royal Gorge. Whichever railway won this right of way would be the first to reach Leadville and profit from its rich silver mines and booming economy. As it turns out, the D&RG came out on top, although not all in Leadville were happy with that outcome. When this situation became clear to me, I can use this! instantly sprang to mind.
Newspapers of the day also yielded the nugget that Civil War general and past president Ulysses S. Grant would be on the first D&RG train to Leadville on July 22, 1880. This also was apparently not an entirely welcome turn of events, as evidenced by a plea in one of town's papers that asked Leadvillites to "set aside politics and welcome our guest"—another I can use this! moment.
These bits from an old letter and a newspaper article provided the initial inspiration for IRON TIES, the second book in my series.
Researching for that book gave me a greater appreciation of the Civil War and the long-term effects it had on those who fought and lived through it. My research and its I can use this! moments turned out to be the "gift that keeps on giving." IRON TIES won the Colorado Book Award, the theme of the Civil War and its repercussions continues to wind its way through my series, and, just now, I realized that the phrase "dog in the manger" is a perfect topic for a Slang-o-rama post.
So, I'm curious: Has family history (your own, or others) or historical newspapers provided any "I can use this!" inspirations for your stories? Do tell!
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| Ann Parker authors the award-winning Silver Rush historical mystery series published by Poisoned Pen Press, an imprint of Sourcebooks. During the day, she wrangles words for a living as a science editor/writer and marketing communications specialist (which is basically a fancy term for "editor/writer"). Her midnight hours are devoted to scribbling fiction. Visit AnnParker.net for more information. |
Such a good series it turned into! I wish you'd have your heroine writing some letters to her old friends in Leadville. Sort of the modern version of texting that shows up so much in contemporary novels.
ReplyDeleteGreat suggestion, Dani!
DeleteI wish my family had more recorded history to it. My parents and grandparents were not writers at all, so no letters or diaries to mine even for information, let alone inspiration. It's very sad. I know next-to-nothing about my ancestors and have no way of finding out.
ReplyDeleteAh, Elle, you are not alone with this. And I do wonder what will be left of us, a century hence. Who knows if the digital information we generate now will be readable/available then?
DeleteMy remaining family had very little knowledge of my mother's side until a man appeared out of nowhere and contacted my cousin wanting to know about everyone. He turned out to be the husband of my grandmother's sister's granddaughter. He had traveled the world to track down her family though he lived in Israel. It was a great experience to know all the things he had documented, which would make a great book if someone wrote it. That's not my bailiwick, however.
ReplyDeletePrevious comment is from me. Grr. So used to the other Blogger.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what the problem is that you're having with blogger, Polly, but sorry it's so aggravating. The story of your great-aunt and her daughter's husband would be a great one to tell. What a wonderful person he must have been to seek so long and hard for family.
DeleteLove this post, Ann. I have a cousin who has gathered information on our family on my father's side, going back to the founding of Pennsylvania. She has a few handwritten letters. One from my great grandfather who was fighting in the Civil war to his wife who was to give birth. One sentence read, "If it is a boy, you must name him Sheridan, as I have come to admire the general greatly. Sheridan is a fine, strong name for a fine, strong boy." The name has continued in the family. It was my father's middle name. One of my sons has it for a middle name. A brother also has it as a middle name, and he named his son Sheridan. I just love the way a name connects the family through generations like that.
ReplyDeleteSo far, family history has indirectly crept into a couple stories, and most likely it will again. A great, great, (etc) grandfather, a French Huguenot, left France to avoid persecution and likely execution because he had espoused the Protestant faith, which was highly unpopular with the Church and the government at that time. He settled beside a river on a parcel of land in the Provence of Maryland in 1659 and soon became one of the largest planters on the river and a highly successful merchant. Another great great (etc.) grandfather served as the second city marshall of Indianapolis during the Civil War and foiled a number of attempts by Confederate sympathsizers to compromise Union activities in Indianapolis. The high school I graduated from was originally an arsenal during that war. I'm still working on ways to incorporate some of this history into an upcoming novel.
ReplyDeleteOne more comment: As a former Colorado resident who lived for 10 years near the Royal Gorge and visited it a number of times, I am intrigued by your story. "Iron Ties" now tops my list of "must reads".
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