How much would you put up with in books or movies? I’ll tolerate a bit, but there are times so much is wrong and all they care about is having a good story, and that rather ruins it for me. For instance, a WWII movie where some of the uniforms used wouldn’t have been worn for another 15 years, where they have people in the OSS before it was even formed, where they have songs that weren’t even released yet being sung, etc. Or a Civil War movie where people aren’t acting appropriately for the time period, historical facts are all messed up, etc. When a movie is just full of things that were wrong/didn’t happen at the time, I get fed up and find it too hard to enjoy the movie.

With something like Pirates of the Caribbean, I can overlook it more. That was meant to have fantasy elements, so it’s not as bad, I don’t think. But when something is trying to be passed off as “a WWII movie” or something set during the Civil War or whatever, I think people should do what they can to make it as accurate as possible. Also with writing. I’ve seen people on a writing forum who basically don’t care if they get historical facts right. “So what if they didn’t wear crinolines for 20 more years? I want my characters wearing them and want it set in this era.”

So I thought I’d come ask all you about it and get y’all’s opinion on historical accuracy in fiction, though this post is quite a bit longer than I intended. Do you care if a film or book is historically accurate? Does it really matter all that much? Why or why not?

As the month of October rolls around, aspiring writers from around the world scurry to come up with plots, characters, settings, research, time, and everything else required for a good story. The frenzy grows as November creeps nearer, with excitement, dread, and anticipation going in waves over each participant. What is the ensuing panic for, you wonder? NaNoWriMo! NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, takes place every November. The objective is to write a novel in one month, starting no sooner than November 1, and ending before the stroke of midnight that signals the end of the month. The novel must be at least 50,000 words in length, and may be longer. Anyone who completes a novel of the appropriate length is considered a winner.

I attempted to write a novel last November, but didn’t get very far. I’ve thought about it since and come up with a few reasons(besides my procrastination and indecision). I never came up with enough story beforehand and characters I cared enough about, so I didn’t have enough to write about and didn’t stay motivated enough. I think I need to do a lot more planning beforehand this time if I’m going to make it through this. I don’t have much of a story worked up yet, but I’m currently considering a WWII-era story set on the American homefront. It would be about the life of a family while the father is off a war. I don’t have much more than that yet though, so I need to get to planning! I’m determined to write more than I did last year, and I want very much to finish. I’ll post updates on my progress here, both while planning and doing the actual writing. Hopefully that will help me keep motivated!