the tangled web of research

O what a tangled web, indeed; this is the problem with writing historical fiction. It involves a hell of a lot of research. I've got the characters for my new story sketched out, and a plot framework, but I have so much flippin' research to do, it's ridiculous. I'm curling up with a couple of humongous tomes, which have most of the info, and just trying to take a bunch of notes. Right now there's too much information to really absorb it all, but once I've captured all the relevant info and condensed it all into one brief-ish spot, it'll be much easier to write the story with the right context.

It's still a pain in the ass, though.

I'm excited about my primary reference, though - it's a bullet-stopping book called "The Encyclopedia of Southern Culture", and it's just incredible. There's such a richly detailed picture to paint, though, that I find myself just paging through it from cover to cover, noting down everything from peanut farming to architectural styles. I thought instead of consciously trying to research certain aspects of the culture/time period, I want to keep an open mind and read anything that could help fill in gaps. Most of it's interesting, albeit a bit dry at times.