Perhaps I should say, "hiding a character's fictional existance." Or, in other words, how do we eliminate that huge red letter "FICTIONAL" stamp from across the foreheads of those we create in our writing, that we and our readers know never existed.
The last time I dwelled on this at any length, I mentioned that perhaps that is why so many writers of Naval Adventure place their primary characters in the British Navy. I suggested that it is easier to hide an imaginary naval hero amongst the many hundreds that really existed, as opposed to trying to hide him amongst the relatively few that were actually in the U. S. Navy at that time.
There are a few other things that one can do to lesson the "un real" impact of such an individual. First and foremost, he can serve aboard ships and with individuals that actually existed at that time. C. S. Forester does this with Hornblower in Mr. Midshipman Hornblower. For a good portion of that book, Hornblower is a midshipman aboard HMS Indefatigable, an actual British Navy razee that existed at that time. In the story, her captain, as in real life was Sir Edward Pellew...later Lord Exmouth. Honestly, I'm not sure if the events and exploits that take place aboard as described by Forester actually occurred or not. But by placing Hornblower aboard an actual ship, commanded by her actual captain, Forester makes Hornblower seem a little more real. One could probably research Admiralty records and find out exactly who the midshipmen assigned during that period were. The main thing is that without research, we don't know. With a little use of our imagination, a Horatio Hornblower very well could have served aboard.
It's quite easy to do this with the more junior individuals aboard ship. Without a lot of digging, almost nobody knows who the less senior lieutenants, the warrant officers, or midshipmen were. As a writer, it is quite easy to substitute one or more of our characters into those positions. Depending upon the author's personal choices (and that's what we are really talking about, here) that fictional character can be made to fulfill a more important role, even assume command of an actual historical vessel during an historical event or era. In Post Captain, Patrick O'Brian has Jack Aubrey temporarily in command of HMS Lively during the time she was actually under the command of a Captain Hammond. (As the story goes, Hammond was also a member of Parliment and had taken leave in order to attend there and Aubrey fills in for min.) So it would seem that it is easier to place a fictional individual into a real crew aboard a real ship if he is less senior. Without a great deal of digging, no one is going to notice. But if one places his created character in a more senior position, where perhaps the actual individuals are known to a good many people, the substitution will be that much more noticeable.
Certainly, whether a writer does insert his character into a high profile slot or not depends on the writer and his or her personal rules regarding such substitutions. My personal preference is to let the higher visibility positions remain as they actually were. I mention a time or two that Pierce served as fifth lieutenant in HMS Orion under Sir James Saumarez at the Battle of the Nile. I don't think the identity of the actual fifth lieutenant is common knowledge. I would not have him as captain or first lieutenant of the ship, as the identities of those individuals are too well known or are rather easily determined. In another way of saying it, my goal is to leave what is recorded in history as it was. I believe my characters and their actions should compliment and supplement what really took place. They should not replace or change what actually occurred.
Other writers are not as restrictive in this matter as I apparently am, and I can illustrate this with two different writers' approaches to an actual event.
The event is this: In the late summer of 1804, England is at war with France once again. Spain is neutral but appears ready to enter the conflict as a French ally. At the same time, the annual Spanish treasure fleet is enroute to Spain from the New World. England suspects that these monies will go to finance the French war machine, regardless of Spain's participation in the war. She would rather fight both an impoverished France and Spain as opposed to a well supplied and well equipped France. A small squadron of British frigates patrols the approaches to Cadiz, intercepts the Treasure Fleet, sinks one, captures the remaining three and diverts the treasure to London.
In O'Brian's telling of this event, Jack Aubrey has command of HMS Lively as noted above. Quite naturally, it's the actions of Lucky Jack that carry the day and make the operation the success that it was.
C. S. Forester also relates the incident in Hornblower and the Hotspur. Master and Commander Horatio Hornblower, commanding His Majesty's Sloop-of-War Hotspur is assigned as a fifth vessel to the intercepting squadron. En route to join the group, he is ordered into Cadiz, at that time a neutral port to gain the latest intelligence information. While there, he notices that a large and powerful French frigate, the Felicite is also in port. When Hotspur sails, the laws of neutrality require the French to wait twenty-four hours before sailing themselves. Hornblower joins the four ships already on patrol. When the Spanish treasure ships are spotted at the opposite end of the line from the Hotspur, Hornblower starts to reinforce the seizure attempt, but notices the French frigate approaching. It had evidently came to warn or aid the Spanish Treasure Fleet. Instead of hastening to the scene of the primary and historically real battle, Hotspur takes on Felicite, fighting at great odds and allows the actual operation to succeed just as history recorded it.
Can you guess what version I prefer? And for any Patrick O'Brian fans, do not think that I am not one myself. In the incident mentioned above, I just happen to prefer Forester's approach to including his fictional character in it.
That should about be it for this time. I'll leave you with a few more entries of what I have read over the past few years.
A Connecticut Yankee in King Author's Court
by Mark Twain
Desolation Island
by Patrick O'Brian
Sea of Grey
by Dewey Lambdin
The Fortune of War
by Patrick O'Brian
People of the Raven
by Lathleen O'Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear
The Surgeon's Mate
by Patrick O'Brian
Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen
The Ionian Mission
by Patrick O'Brian
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
by Thomas Hardy
Hey, if you agree or disagree with anything that I write in this Live Journal, do feel free to leave a comment!
Dave
A very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all! If you do not celebrate Christmas, please accept my wishes for peace, joy, love, and goodwill.
This year we veered from the normal path regarding our Christmas dinner. Rather than the more usual turkey, ham, or even goose, we had prime rib. There was enough of it, that I'll no doubt have prime rib sandwiches from now until the New Year!
A few days ago when I last posted, I mentioned that I was going to try and change the look of my journal. I did and I hope you like it. I also hope you like the picture that now accompanies it. The original was a small post card sized sketch of the schooner HMS Island Expedition. It figures prominently in both BEYOND THE OCEAN'S EDGE and ALWAYS SAILING DANGEROUS WATERS. From time to time I also try to work on a more detailed "plan" drawing of the craft. Doing so better helps me visualize it, and allows me to ensure that details I write about are as accurate as can be. If anyone happens to go to my profile and checks the other picture that is there, it was meant to be a little more symbolic of things in the stories. Basically it is the head sails of a vessel silhouetted against a night sky and a large four pointed star. Originally the sails were to have belonged to Island Expedition. I changed the name only to avoid confusion between the two pictures. (There is a vessel that appears in the second story called Evening Star, but this picture does not specifically depict it.)
When I ended the last discussion about the "rules," I said that there existed a condition or a problem for everyone who writes fiction. It is simply a question of how one goes about interweaving the fictional stories of their imagination with the facts and reality of the actual world. Whether a fiction writer realizes this situation or not, I believe he/she formulates a set of rules that he/she follows in dealing with it. Those rules may determine that a story take place in an unnamed generic city, or they might insist that the fictional events happen in a real place. There is also the question of bringing real people, real situations, and real events into one's fictional story. I think every writer responds differently to this challenge, some to the point of leaving reality behind and writing fantasy of science fiction.
While this problem certainly exists when writing a contemporary story, it also exists when dealing with historical, quasi-historical, or period pieces. Perhaps it is more of a problem in those types of works, because the eras and situations depicted have been with us for so long. To further explore this, let's look at a type or genre of story that I enjoy, both to read and to write. It's often referred to as Naval Adventure. I define Naval Adventure as those tales of maritime warfare and nautical adventure, especially occurring from the time of the American Revolution through the War of 1812. I'm talking about the days of wooden ships, iron men, and fighting sail. And certainly if you look thoroughly in the library or in your neighborhood bookstore, you can find a great many stories and series of stories that meet this rather broad definition.
To be a little more specific, here are some of the stories or series I refer to: The Horatio Hornblower series by C. S. Forester, The Jack Aubrey/Stephen Maturin (Master and Commander) series by Patrick O'Brian, The Lord Nicholas Ramage series by Dudley Pope, the Richard Bolitho series, by Alexander Kent, the Alan Lewrie series by Dewey Lambdin, (with a stretch into historical fantasy) the Temeraire series (with William Laurence) by Naomi Novik, (and if I may include it) the Stone Island Sea Stories (with Edward Pierce) by yours truly. There are of course, many more stories and series of stories, but I mention these as they will help me make a point.
If there is one thing in common for all the primary characters mentioned above, it is that they are all in (or start out in) the British Royal Navy. Have you ever wondered why so many of these tales concern the British Navy, even when the last three writers are American and many of the tales take place during an era when Great Britain and the United States were sometimes adversaries? Well I've concluded that it has to do with size and perhaps the writers' desires to more seamlessly blend fact and fiction.
In the early 1800's the British Navy consisted of several hundred ships and vessels. There were several hundred post captains on the captains list, and some thousands of lieutenants, midshipmen, and warrant officers. Crewmen surely numbered into the tens of thousands. Compare that, if you will with the infant United States Navy. Even at its peak, it amounted to a mere couple of dozen warships. That equates to two or three dozen captains, perhaps a hundred or more lieutenants, and a proportionately smaller number of warrants, midshipmen, and crewmen.
I cannot speak for any of the above mentioned writers, other than myself, but I don't think that any of them purposely set out to cause readers to believe their characters were real. At the same time, I don't think they wanted that character to stand out as being fictional or unreal. I believe it is much easier to hide a character such as Alan Lewrie amongst the several hundred Royal Navy captains that really did exist, than to insert him in a list of only a few American captains. While each of these writers certainly knows, and hopefully the average reader knows that these characters are fictional, the intent is to minimize the "fictionality" of the character. The idea is to erase or fade as much as possible that "I'm a fictional character" stamp that automatically appears on any imaginary person when a writer first creates him.
We can also apply the same logic to ships and vessels as well. Again it is easier to "hide" a fictional ship amongst the several hundred that really existed in the British fleet than it is to hide it amongst the few dozen of the early American Navy. A fictional ship stands out as fictional against a background of only a few real ones.
Another reason writers might have centered upon the British Navy is because of it's record of success. During the era of which we speak, the Royal Navy fought numerous engagements, ranging from ship versus ship duels to some of the most memorable fleet actions in history. Furthermore, the individual British ships and massed fleets were quite often, and always expected to be successful. Again this gives one a broad background against which to place (and hide) the exploits of a fictional character. (As an American and twenty-two year veteran of service in the United States Navy, I do not slight the accomplishments of that service during that time. There were certainly some noteworthy and inspiring actions, but they were few and far between when compared to the British. Again it is a matter of numbers and the ability to hide a fictional character and perhaps a fictional ship.)
You know, I think this has gone on long enough for today. The next time I resume upon this topic, I'll explore some of the ways a writer of this type of story can make his(her) character seem even more real.
Dave
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