Diaries can be the most important resource tool of the historical fiction writer. These personal accounts of the period you are writing about will make the era come alive to you. I urge you to seek them out as diligently as possible. They may turn up in the most unexpected places. I found one among a collection of accounts of frontier women’s experiences. I was browsing the books available on my general subject: New Mexico. These were for sale at my local book store and the collection was first printed in 1990, again in 1998. I didn’t find it until 2001. Its relevance to my book was crucial. It gave me my opening pages, the connection of my main character to his primary mentor, and several of his earliest experiences in New Mexico. That resource didn’t appear on the web until 2005.
When searching for personal accounts such as diaries and personal letters, you may try county records, local bookshops, yard sales, and auctions. Also, ask for such accounts through your state’s archives. Many families make such mementos available to university libraries and archives. Another extremely valuable account of my main character’s business partner came to me through NMSU’s archives. Evidence of my character’s annual retainer fee from a mining operation was confirmed in these papers.
Also, remember that if your character ever held office, especially one monitored by the federal government, there is a record of his/her papers you can trace and copy. This may be on microfilm, but it’s where I found the letters of my character to the Attorney General of the U. S. My character had been District Attorney for the 1st District of NM in the territorial period. I was unable to find almost any personal letter of my character, but at least I had his business letters over a three year period.
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