The heroine in my story-in-progress has lived most of her life on the run, but in 1862 her home was a mining camp in…
Here’s where it gets complicated. What do I call British Columbia in 1876 (my heroine’s present day) when she’s thinking about an event from 1862?
It’s complicated because of a name change in 1871.
- 1871: British Columbia became a province of Canada.
- 1858: The Colony of British Columbia was established by the British (because of a gold rush).
So if in 1876 my heroine was remembering an event that happened in 1862, would she call it the Colony of British Columbia?
But if she was wondering was happening there during her present day (1876), would she call it the province of British Columbia? Depends I guess if she heard the news from 1871.
And this is why sometimes I just like to call British Columbia (and Canada in general) the Far North. So much simpler. But if we are singing Canada’s national anthem it’s the True North. So it’s never simple. Now there’s a truth.
And here’s where some people are saying, why doesn’t your heroine just say British Columbia? I should’ve come to that conclusion sooner.
And now I think it’s time to distract you with a cute picture 😊 🐤
NOV. 2017: updated to say…
My story-progress (that has a backstory in British Columbia) now has a name! Hope you enjoy THE CALLING BIRDS.
Wishing you many days full of happy reading ❤
So many questions when writing historical stories – you have done some great research and I’m sure if your Heroine says British Columbia it will be okay. Looking forward to reading the full store.
Love the cute pic as well 😉
A cute picture can be worth a thousand (or more) words 😊
I think that your readers (who are reading for relaxation) don’t worry as much about the technicalities or historical accuracy as much as the author does.
I suspect that they would just keep reading and they would not stop to ponder the details of what you’ve outlined.
Just my opinion.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting, Jodie! True, people read for all sort of reasons. But I get a lot of comments from historical fiction fans that they really want/like the historical accuracy and details. I want them as well 😊