Casual blog readers, this Delightful Human left a truly wonderful comment on my huge Tallster multichapter and now seeing their username always makes me smile.
First of all, from this ask it sounds like you yourself are embarking on a historically accurate (ish) Tallster fic, to which I give you my most heartfelt encouragement and <i>sincere</i> condolences.
I really didn't know what I was getting into with Wind and Water. When I wrote Chapter 1, naive and with good intentions, the only historical understanding I had of the American Revolution was what was presented in the TV show. Not being American myself, it was never covered in school, nor had I ever been interested in it until I saw my two rogue boys swashbuckling across the screen playing at being spies.
So I know intimately the dilemma you present. Once I started delving, and oh boy, did I ever delve, I realized it was going to be impossible to present every aspect of the events I wanted to highlight in a way that captured properly and respectfully every point of view I wanted to include. To this day, I don't know about the major campaigns before and after Valley Forge, nor the greater political context of Washington's position and relation to Congress. (You know who does? @tallmadgeandtea)
To me, it was always more important to stay true to the emotional core of the story, and for that, I realized my ignorance wasn't as big a stumbling block as I thought. Nobody knows what's going on in a war, not <i>really</i>. Most of the events you're writing about were experienced through very very narrow perspectives. Ben is trying as hard as he can to figure it out, and even he gets it wildly wrong, endangering the people he loves most. On a personal level, on a soldier level, on a Caleb-and-Ben level, the things that were going to impact them were the things I prioritized learning about. And I leaned into the chaos. Centuries later, we still don't have clear answers and almost all the investigation comes from the Patriot side of the war. Getting it 'clean' and 'correct' was no longer the objective. Mess and confusion are central to any conflict.
So the setting became really important. The Frontier, the forests, the hills. The feel, the cold, the sensory bits. (I also played a stunning amount of Assassin's Creed III while I was writing, which may or may not have helped with some of the scenes.)
And honestly, I got a lot wrong. About two years into writing You've Caught Me Between Wind and Water, I submitted an early chapter of it to a writing critique group and was promptly informed just how much bigger and more industrial the Valley Forge encampment was than how I'd envisioned it. I pulled in elements of that knowledge into subsequent chapters, gently massaging the portrayal of the camp in my narrative. Wasn't until about Chapter 9 that I started reading Joseph Martin Plumb's account of the war, at which point it really sank in just how <i>miserable</i> and dire a soldier's experience was. So then that helped fuel Shepherd's characterization, and Reggie and Freddie and Stanley.
Keep the emotions front and centre. The rest is just very clever window dressing, really.
Read as many historical sources as you can and learn when to draw the line and make executive decisions (maybe Washington didn't give Ben an earful about the horses <i>this month</i>, but it did happen and so it could have happened). People haven't really changed in millennia, so make them human before you make them historical figures. Remember that it's your story and you can include anyone you want (and indeed, restore them to their rightful status and importance, cough cough, "Han Yerry", cough.)
Try not to pull your hair out, but remember it grows back. Talk to people who know better than you and read other stories that are historically accurate but don't centre the history. Personal favourite examples from my circle of friends (who I have to promote whenever I can because I think they're all amazing) would be Lucyemers' Bewitching Precision, CrepuscularPetrichor's May 1792, LadyTP (@ladytp)'s ....Lady, where did Seven Autumns go??? I can't find it on AO3! Also ASheepsLife's Who could resist Deliverance and of course, the most historically accurate one I know about, Cchambers' The Summer Soldier and the Sunshine Patriot.
And thank you for asking your question! Hope this helps.
