History: Making Characters Interesting Without Their Own Words

Taylor Harbin

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I'm busy gathering research material for my project, but having just finished In Cold Blood, I'm struck with a dilemma: How can you, writing non-fiction, make historical characters interesting when they didn't leave many of (or none of) their own words behind, when the bulk of your information comes from newspapers? I have background info, physical descriptions, and some research requests in the works.

I realize that my work and Capote’s are vastly different. Nevertheless I’d like your opinions.
 

Siri Kirpal

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Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

You tell it like a narrator telling a story about someone else. Which is what you're doing anyway.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal
 

Taylor Harbin

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Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

You tell it like a narrator telling a story about someone else. Which is what you're doing anyway.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

Then I shall! Thanks for the reply.
 

WeaselFire

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This story is based on...

You see it in every true crime novel out there.

Jeff
 

frimble3

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If you don't have their words, use their deeds. A guy who picks up a gun and shots up half the town when he's drunk is different from a guy who coldly, deliberately and slowly plans to murder his business partner. Or the guy who just happens to shoot a random person because the guy's cunning plan to rob a bank went wrong.
 

Staccata

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You may have already done this, but genealogy sites can be really helpful in fleshing out background with birth dates, locations, censuses, and so on. There was one person I researched a while back; even with nothing at all from her own words, it was kind of astonishing how just working out her family tree humanized her to me and made her life seem that much more immediate. I'd agree with others to just focus on what you do know.