Total Nerd Mode

Longtime readers know I'm a history nerd. I'll say it for the millionth time, books about history are my go-to, and I literally have to force myself to read other genres. And back when the History Channel ran stuff about history? Let me at it! So is there a way I can capitalize on my love?

Conveniently, there just might be! There's a great style of book called "historical fiction," in which a fictional story is woven into real-life events. For example, one could write a story about a kid trying to track down Jack the Ripper in old London. You have all the settings of London, the facts of the story, and a totally made-up kid and his adventures. Historical fiction.

A couple of months ago, I picked up a fabulous book, "The Rose Code" by Kate Quinn. It's about three young women code-breakers in England during WWII (the history part) and their hunt for someone trying to commit treason around the codes (the fiction). 

Then I was watching a PBS show called "Held in Minnesota" about WWII German POW camps in Minnesota and Iowa. Years ago I visited one of the camps during a project and kinda forgot about it. For those not familiar, POWs would be shipped by train to a big central camp in Algona, Iowa, and then onto smaller branch camps around the region. Minnesota had 15 camps that housed about 3,000 POWS, mostly German and a few Italian. They worked mostly in farm production, canning, and lumber camps up north to make up for the labor shortage caused by the war.

See where this is going yet? As I sat there, I started thinking the words where all fiction begins, "what if..." I started dreaming up a murder-mystery based around a POW camp in Minnesota. 

I have done a bunch of research and get more excited by the day. Then, July 3 came. I had the day off, so I hopped in my car and drove 88 miles south to the great little town of Algona... where they have a POW museum! For $5, I got to watch videos, read stories, take pictures, and gain a much better understanding. I bought a couple of books and generally nerded out. Then I had the drive home, during which I had to stop four times to write down ideas. With the exception of celebrating the holiday, I spent the weekend working on my story. 

But wait, it gets better! I found that I had all kinds of questions without answers, so I wrote to the museum to ask. What was their first day like? Did they change camps often? What did they do in their spare time? And so many more. 

A day later, a tremendously kind (and smart) man named Brian Connick wrote back to answer what he could. I recognized him from the video, so it was even nerdier. He even offered to visit with me if I come back down. I'm gonna go with "Yes" on that one. If you're looking for a neat look at history you probably don't know much about, start at www.pwcampalgona.org and go from there.

I've outlined the story and even started with the first draft. How long it will take from here I have no idea, but it's been a fun one to write. And that I can watch history videos in the name of research is just a bonus. Total. Nerd. Mode.