Remind me why we do this...

Richard Hargreaves · Post by **Richard Hargreaves** » Sun May 13, 2007 5:58 am

because I've just spent ten months writing a chapter.

Ten months. Ten bl**dy months charting events in Germany from June-August 31 1939. Ten months trying to weave complex political events, personal narratives, war plans, morale reports, commando operations, propaganda and much more into 21,000 words (another 10,000 ended on the cutting room floor...) to explain how Poland and Germany came to blows.

I've written about Sedan, the Halt Order, the battle of the Bzura, the Falaise pocket, but I have to say nothing has been quite as challenging mentally and physically as researching and writing about the summer of 1939.

Still, on the plus side, it does read quite well.

Right, that's the Poland book two-thirds finished now. Memo to self: Never, never, never, never write about the invasion of Poland again. Normandy was a doddle by comparison...

Rolf Steiner · Post by **Rolf Steiner** » Sun May 13, 2007 7:32 am

Well I hope your publisher is stumping up a good amount of expense-account lunches and a worthwhile advance into the bargain!

Richard Hargreaves · Post by **Richard Hargreaves** » Sun May 13, 2007 7:53 am

Er no. The advances they take out of your royalties, so you lose out so oder so!

Doktor Krollspell · Post by **Doktor Krollspell** » Sun May 13, 2007 9:12 am

Remind me why we do this...

So that the rest of us military history buffs and avid book collectors can read and own your book

I'm as always in awe of you and your colleuges that actually write books. And this particular book on the Polish campaign seem very interesting so please notify us here on Feldgrau when it's published. I'm definitely going to buy it!

With respect and all,

Krollspell

phylo_roadking · Post by **phylo_roadking** » Sun May 13, 2007 9:33 am

Halder, I once met a research student who had spent twenty years tracking down and writing up the history of Spring and Summer 1914, specifically the long exchanges of telegrams between all the capitals and governments of Europe...and was nowhere near ready to commit it to paper yet!

He regarded it as a life sentence - if he'd had bloody Herpes it would have been less niggling AND he'd have had the fun of getting it!

Admit it - secretly...at night...with all the curtains pulled...abd the phone off the hook...and the keyhole in the door taped over...you enjoy it

Reb · Post by **Reb** » Sun May 13, 2007 10:21 am

Halder

Because, as we say down south, "it's too wet to plow and I can't dance!"

Think of it as a Japanese thinks of his rock garden. Endlessly arranging and seeking perfection in detail. The journey, rather than the destination, is the reward.

cheers
Reb

Richard Hargreaves · Post by **Richard Hargreaves** » Sun May 13, 2007 11:55 am

I must enjoy it because otherwise I wouldn't do it.

Funny, but it's the little things that really make a difference, like ploughing through a load of papers and suddenly seeing Kluge's or Rommel's signature and thinking sixty years ago they signed that document.

And when I've written a particularly interesting few paragraphs I rather smugly analyse it and think to myself: this is bloody good, this is.

I think what's been eye-opening about researching Poland is that it's proved far harder than Normandy. The sources are more dispersed (and most are in Fraktur

) and the front is much, much broader. Even though the battle lasted five-six weeks and Normandy lasted nearly three months, Normandy was much more compact and limited to what I would call "set pieces" such as Caen or Cobra.

Fingers crossed, it should be finished by the year's end so expect a late 2008 publication date... and then it's on to the fall of France (a much easier subject)...

phylo_roadking · Post by **phylo_roadking** » Sun May 13, 2007 12:02 pm

Easier???

Well, I suppose so - governments can't generate as much paperwork when they're hightailing it for the coast!

Njorl · Post by **Njorl** » Sun May 13, 2007 1:05 pm

Why? Because there always is something new to find out. And definitely we like it

Good luck halder.

Regards,

MJU

John W. Howard · Post by **John W. Howard** » Mon May 14, 2007 12:45 pm

Hey Guys:
Rich you do it for your fans!! We are very demanding and are capable of going to extreme measures to keep our favorite authors writing; have you ever seen the movie "Misery" or read Stephen King's book by the same title??? You should if you have not; you could be in real danger!!!
Phylo's comment reminds me of something William Faulkner used to do while writing: his brother was killed in a plane crash and Willi took his nieces and nephews into his home. They were young and noisey and repeatedly burst into his study while he was writing. Faulkner's solution was to remove the outside door-knobs from his study door while writing!!! A classic solution!!!
Stiff upper lip Rich; your fans are impatient for the next one!! Good luck.

Richard Hargreaves · Post by **Richard Hargreaves** » Wed May 16, 2007 9:09 am

Thanks for the support. If I could turn the moral support into cash... I'd still be broke (but not quite as much!)

Here I am sat in a hotel room in Denmark where it's colder than the South Pole in winter proofing several chapters having spent the day watching the Royal Marines blow things up. And actually Book 2 really is rather good. I'm sure it's flawed and there will be mistakes, but I think it's light years ahead of the Normandy book in terms of the writing and also the planning; I've put much more effort into stringing a coherent narrative together and re-drafted the completed chapters much more than with Book 1. Still got the maps to sort out though... And about five chapters to write, fingers-crossed by the year's end.

phylo_roadking · Post by **phylo_roadking** » Wed May 16, 2007 9:14 am

Umm, why are the Royal Marines blowing things up in Denmark???

Did we invade them? Invasions of Denmark do have a history of passing almost unremarked upon for a time......

Richard Hargreaves · Post by **Richard Hargreaves** » Wed May 16, 2007 9:35 am

Big Nato exercise. Spent two hours stood on top of an old Atlantic Wall fortification near Esbjerg while Royal bombed the c**p out of a hilltop. That lasted an hour, then waited another hour for the air force to turn up late to prat about a bit.

Prit · Post by **Prit** » Thu May 17, 2007 1:20 pm

Cheer up, Halder, it could be worse.

I left a memory stick on the train today. Everything in it was copied onto my laptop...

...apart from a map of the Inster valley in January 1945 that I had spent most of my spare time for the LAST MONTH drawing.

Jason Pipes · Post by **Jason Pipes** » Thu May 17, 2007 2:14 pm

I feel your pain Halder, and what's worse is when you hit writers block (researchers block) and you flat line for weeks and months at a time. I just finished my first major book and it's now in stores which is pretty neat. That effort has encouraged me to jump back into Feldgrau with both feet and finish the massive holes here that I've been meaning to complete for a long, long time. It's not that I stopped or anything, but I certainly hit my own personal wall and it can be hard to overcome. You nailed the issue on the head when you mentioned being mentally, physically and emotionally drained by the work to complete your 21,000 word piece. I often find myself going over the same piece of research 10-15 times to get it "just right" and before I know it I've spent 3-4 days on *one* unit history capsule! When I step back and consider how many unit histories I have to complete it becomes overwhelming and suddenly all effort stops. It's tough!

So congrats on your sticking to it and finishing your excellent research. Once it's done you have much, much to be thankfully for and proud of!

Feldgrau.net

Remind me why we do this...

Remind me why we do this...

For Your Fans!!!!