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RE: Researching a story...
I get what you mean and I agree with it for the most part, but I also think that if something has happened, it has to stay happened otherwise you're writing alternate universe stories and that's complex LOL
Yeah, you're right, twisting everything does branch out an alternate reality, but what I'm saying is that the little details don't really have to be perfectly captured. Fiction authors have a certain amount of liberty with tweaking details, and we shouldn't be chastised for missing them. As long as the big picture stays, I guess that's alright :D
I'm enjoying this debate, can you tell?
:)
I have to differ to your opinion here. I wrote a book that used Jack The Ripper as a 'base' for the story. Some was fiction because no one knows who he was so his early life is unknown. I had great fun with that part.
The rest of the book had to be absolutely faithful to historical fact because there are a great number of 'Ripperologists' who know all the facts and if I got one wrong (even deliberately) I would have suffered with bad reviews slating the book for errors.
I even had to research the phases of the moon at the times of the murders - my book revolved around werewolf legend and therefore, the full moon had a big part to play.
I had to research the weather, living conditions etc and there was even a massive warehouse blaze in the area I was writing about and it would have been viewed unfavourably if I had missed that out.
Sometimes, history can be ignored or tweaked, but not always, not if you want your book unmolested by bad reviews. :)
Ahh yes, I see where you're coming from, and I concede to your argument. That's some meticulous research! The last time I did that was for an academic assignment. My latest story did involve research, but not as much as you did :) Maybe one of these days I would embark on a historical-heavy journey and I shall go down the rabbit hole as well.
I also agree with your side of the argument - being fiction, the tale doesn't have to rely on actual hard facts.