Hello everyone! I have had the idea for my novel in my head since literally grade 5. We were asked to write a short story and whoops I wrote 7 typed pages.... Not exactly short for a grade 5 student. The story then was about a girl stealing old bandages and supplies from a hospital during World War 2 to help an injured allied airman hiding in a cave near her house. Yes, both my teacher and parents were a little surprised on the subject matter as well. The story has grown and evolved into a full novel now. I have finished the outline for the most part, but am getting stuck on research. This should be my area of expertise as I have a BA in military history however finding information on the daily life of Belgians under the German occupation is difficult as most of it is in French. There is a lot of information on the resistance, politics, the military, and what happened to the Jewish people in Belgium but day to day mundane information is hard to come by. What did they call their clothing? Did schools still operate in the same way? How were homes lit? What books were popular at the time or sports? It is all the little things that are getting me stuck while trying to turn some of the outline into written scenes. Any tips? In the meantime I have taken to working on my writing by using writing prompts everyday to work from. I also have been looking more into how to improve my writing and developing it through my daily writing sessions. Does anyone else do these kinds of exercises?
Have you tried looking at documentaries or other films set in Belgium in that time period? If you can't find written material, maybe a visual representation could give you some ideas to work with. In any case, the story sounds interesting. Good luck with your research; the story sounds like it'd make for a good read.
Make your story about English Belgians. There must have been some. (Sorry - I'm being silly.) Or skip the part about Belgians. It would make the research easier and shorten the book a lot. (Sorry - I'm being lazy and silly.)
That's not entirely silly. I know OP said that the story is mostly done, but could the heroine and her family be English, perhaps Dad's a businessman or something, who got trapped in Belgium by the war? The girl might not speak French very well, which could be used to excuse word choice errors. Just a thought, and welcome aboard!
If only it could be that simple! It will be all in English, it is just the best book I found on daily life under the German occupation is written in French. The heroine's family is pro-nazi as they did not prosper under the pre-war politics and so want a "New Flemish Order" which the Germans promise they will help bring about. She is pro-nazi as well, until she meets the airman and a few other things happen where she has to grow as a character and make her own decisions. (insert Jewish friend being mistreated and then rounded up by the Nazi's never to be seen again, and a German soldier taking her ration ticket and mildly accosting her). Meek to begin with she needs to grow a back bone to get the airman out without being caught, especially not by her brother who is part of the Belgian version of Hitler Youth and suspicious of her. Also throw in there her brother's best friend who also likes her and is a part of the youth group, but secretly is a resistance member. That doesn't really do the plot justice, but gives a bit more of an idea without giving it all away.
