Marginalia (10), or, The Swamp and the Meta-Swamp

[netpositive]

It takes a great deal of history to produce
a little literature.
-Henry James

Seanan McGuire has an interesting essay on
Know Your Territory: that one needs to be
somewhat familiar with the genre one is writing in.

Sadly, this applies hard to me: I am creatively stranded
in unfamiliar territory. I read a wide variety of stuff --
not just "speculative fiction" -- BUT I am not familiar
at all with the subgenre of alternative history. My soul
is firmly rooted in heroic fantasy, dammit! Nonetheless,
somehow I got this idea that wouldn't go away....

I agree with her in principle and I am trying to do this,
but it has some problems. The most irritating thing about
working on this alternate history idea has been not doing
the historical research (or even doing the writing itself,
though it's early yet) -- it's been doing just this kind
of "market research" on other books "in the genre".

It's been like adding 50% again on top of all the other
work one is doing to unearth and ground one's writing
PLUS having to suffer through stuff that isn't good, or
isn't right, or simply isn't "what I want to do with it".

[Or rarely, it's so good one despairs, at least for a few
minutes. Then one grits and grinds and gnashes one's
competitive teeth together and gets on with it again.]

Specifically in my situation, where does one draw the line?
What is "alternative history"? _Guns of the South_, sure,
but how about _Gone With The Wind_? Gingrich-Forstchen's
_Gettysburg_ series looks to be popular, but it's almost a
polar opposite of the kind of fiction I want to write. If
that's what people really want, maybe I'm doomed. [Or is it
just a matter of getting a vaguely-related celebrity name
on the book cover? *rolls eyes* If it was a choice of "by
Sarah Palin and..." or not being published, WWTDCD? :P ]

So I agree with her -- and yet.... :) Maybe I need help.

I turn to you, dear reader, for you are reading this and
I blithely assume you may read other things as well.

Have you ever read anything that you consider either:

(a) a *good* work about the Civil War era? Emphasis here
is on fictional works, but if you have a favorite auto/bio
or nonfiction item, go ahead and rave about it. I may read
those too -- someday. Major bonus points for anything that
conveyed the flavor of the time without being ponderous, and
the characters didn't seem too anachronistic (or saintly!).

(b) a well-done alternative history piece? Doesn't have to be
U.S. Civil War, but it would help if its backing history is not
*too* obscure. 14th century Ojibwa culture may be Fascinating
enough for Mr. Spock, but I lack time to immerse myself in it.

I am aware of David Weber and Eric Flint, and Patrick O'Brien.
Go ahead and explain what appeals to you in them! Bonus points
if you can convince me to read them.

Thanks in advance just for reading this. Also if you respond.

If you want writing time in your day, you have to
take it—no one will give it to you. Often, you can
only take it from your own alternate activities;
writers' lives tend to get rather stripped-down
for that reason.
-Lois McMaster Bujold