Researching Australian Vaudeville

Researching Australian vaudeville for my historical fiction novel, When the Glitter Fades continues. I’m so grateful for librarians. They have unfathomable knowledge on how to find just about anything in the bottomless pit of books, information, resources, links, interlibrary loans, and nooks and crannies of cyberspace library heaven. Thank you, Kate, from Helensvale library for being so wonderful! Kate helped me find so many sources that I would not have found on my own. Librarians are truly worth their weight in gold. Trove is another excellent resource I’ve discovered!

I am now knee-deep in more books and DVDs, and loving it. Life without books would be tragic! I need to create characters from an era I know nothing about. I need to visually put myself back in that era, smell the smells, feel the elements, taste the (preservative-free?) food, hear the sounds, and get a spiritual feel for the atmosphere. I need a time machine. I need a vivid imagination that can travel in time. How do I do this? I’m a very visual person so for me I like to watch films, documentaries, look at photos, and the very best option is to talk to people. The library is the most fantastic source of information. Yes, Google is also wonderful but nothing beats a library and that includes librarians.

I did get to interview my leading lady again, and her brother. It was wonderful to hear their stories of growing up performing in a vaudeville troupe, and see their faces light up when they retold them. It certainly gave me a sense of what life was like for them and helped me get a better picture of their parents. I still have quite a bit of work to do to recreate what they can’t remember because they were too young at the time. Actually, the more I learn from these colourful characters, the more I realise that their story will stand alone. I like to encourage everyone to write their memoir. It’s so important to preserve our history, whether it be for the Australian public or just to pass on to your family.

I realise that the hardest part will be to get chapter one done because this is the chapter that I need to recreate with limited information. My library resources are going to be a very valuable so there’ll be lots more note-taking in the next few weeks. I’ve already changed the first paragraph to Chapter One numerous times. It really is the most imperative part of a book. I need to convince the reader that my book is worth reading to the end. No matter how great my story sounds verbally if I don’t hook the reader in the first few paragraphs, or pages for some generous readers, then I’m a ‘goner.’ And if it doesn’t sound authentic to the era then ‘Ciao, baby’ is all I’m going to get, so I need to get it right!

Mmmm, quite a challenge. But, I’m certainly up for it. I’m so excited. I’m like a kid in a lolly shop, except the lollies are books! Don’t screw your nose up, books have no calories and are much better for you!

So, it’s back to work. Cheerio!

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