I've wondered about that very thing. (Today I have ploughed through 1500 words with HUGE gaping holes that will require additional research).
I am most influenced by historical fiction and I would be lying through my teeth if I said I didn't want to be the next Caleb Carr. :) When I read The Alienist (or Findley's Pilgrim or Grecian's The Yard) what I loved most was the historical accuracy. I think that is just from my training as an historian.
I originally started the story as fanfiction -- I was going to have a vampire coming out of the horrors of Ellis Island in 1911 discover the work of Jung and Freud and become a professor at Clark University. The asylum was chosen simply because of its proximity to Clark.
And then I saw the building.
Is it possible to fall in love with an inanimate object? :D I took one look at the building and was smitten. Then I fell in with a group of urban explorers who had been breaking into the buildings for decades. They had worked on Shutter Island (as experts as well as extras -- they KNEW the layout and how to get the cameramen where they needed to be for shots) and a whole new adventure began. I amassed a large collection of photos and videos from when the structure still stood and was put in touch with a number of psychiatrists who actually worked there.
So, I think it is my love for the physical structure that comes across in my character. I've put the awe and passion in him -- albeit supressed by years of being part of the establishment. The story is him recovering that sense of wonder -- the years of childhood when Worcester was a world unto itself. Witnessing its demolition unleashes those feelings.
Does that make any sense??????
PS I cried when they the wrecking ball hit the clocktower. :(((
no subject
I am most influenced by historical fiction and I would be lying through my teeth if I said I didn't want to be the next Caleb Carr. :) When I read The Alienist (or Findley's Pilgrim or Grecian's The Yard) what I loved most was the historical accuracy. I think that is just from my training as an historian.
I originally started the story as fanfiction -- I was going to have a vampire coming out of the horrors of Ellis Island in 1911 discover the work of Jung and Freud and become a professor at Clark University. The asylum was chosen simply because of its proximity to Clark.
And then I saw the building.
Is it possible to fall in love with an inanimate object? :D I took one look at the building and was smitten. Then I fell in with a group of urban explorers who had been breaking into the buildings for decades. They had worked on Shutter Island (as experts as well as extras -- they KNEW the layout and how to get the cameramen where they needed to be for shots) and a whole new adventure began. I amassed a large collection of photos and videos from when the structure still stood and was put in touch with a number of psychiatrists who actually worked there.
So, I think it is my love for the physical structure that comes across in my character. I've put the awe and passion in him -- albeit supressed by years of being part of the establishment. The story is him recovering that sense of wonder -- the years of childhood when Worcester was a world unto itself. Witnessing its demolition unleashes those feelings.
Does that make any sense??????
PS I cried when they the wrecking ball hit the clocktower. :(((