Forum: Story Recommendations

wanting to get it actually accurate would need both a lot of research and some beta readers

You got that right. One of the things I had to research was clothing in the 1880s Old West for my "The Breeder" novel. I spent a great deal of time on the underwear. Lo 'n behold, a reader told me the women didn't wear dresses. They look like dresses, but they are actually a skirt and top (2 pieces). She was a costume designer in Hollywood so that was her field.

Its a story based in England, so the relevant timeline item is that it's before The Beatles

Interesting, it would be at the very start of the Skiffle movement. Which is what a decade later would spawn The Beatles.

thank you for the suggestion. It's not quite what I was looking forbecause of the year. 1962 was after The Pill became available

Do not obsess on that. As it took almost a decade for that to really start to change things. Yes, in the US it was first available in 1960, but it was closer to 1967-1968 that it really started to change the culture.

By 1964, it was only legal in eight states. And many states regulated that it could only be distributed to married women. In fact, it was only mandated to be available in all states to married women in 1965. It was not until 1972 that the Supreme Court mandated that it was a right to all women, married or unmarried.

So in reality, the impact of "The Pill" would pretty much be the same in 1965 as it was in 1955, unless the woman was married.

Keep in mind that "legally available" and "practically available" are very rarely the same thing. I have not done any research into the availability of the pill in the early 1960s, but I'd be shocked if it had very high correlation to the official legal status.
I expect you'd have both people selling it illegally, and it being theoretically available but in practice not for various reasons.

Are you even aware of how they work or are used? It is not a simple "for all users" type of medication where you just take one out of a bottle and are protected. Those have always been prescribed, and the dosages are tailored for the individual based upon their medical history, age, and many other factors.

So I would be shocked if there was not a high correlation between use and prescriptions. And no, there would not be much of a "black market" for them, and there were a great many other methods available.

This would change matters, but the fact is that every time I know of that there was an attempt to limit counterceptives there immediately sprung a black market for them.

Contraception was still readily available.

The main methods at that time were condoms, IUDs, diaphragms, and rhythm method. After the rationing of WWII, they were literally everywhere in the US. Many gas stations, bars, and bowling alleys had them available in machines in the bathrooms. And the first contraceptive foams were also available by then.

And even more important in 1965 when Griswold V. Connecticut was decided by the Supreme Court, striking down laws denying contraceptives to consenting adults.

There really was contraception then, and it was hardly impossible to get. Just as the kids were able to get alcohol and drugs, they could also get contraception if they wanted to.

What you are talking about was decades earlier, as in the turn of the century. And the early condoms really sucked and were not very reliable. Especially prior to wide spread availability of vulcanized rubber condoms. In my collection of vintage stag films I even have one that was from 1924, and it was actually tied onto the penis.

They are still available and are just as effective in preventing pregnancy as synthetic condoms.

But also are not safe for use if STDs are a risk.

And an awful lot of the plot involves using the Hunt Brothers' silver manipulation attempt for the enrichment of the characters.

That would be my go-to way to make money in that era. It was a crazy time for sure.

and betting on team USA to win gold in 1980 Olympics (1000-1 odds)!

What was so remarkable about the USA winning a gold medal in 1980? Surely they won bucketloads?

AJ

What was so remarkable about the USA winning a gold medal in 1980?

The hockey gold. The "Miracle on Ice."

The hockey gold.

You should also specify ice hockey.

According to the Olympics website, India won the hockey gold.

Hockey is a global sport and played in more countries than ice hockey.

AJ

You should also specify ice hockey.

I did specify the "Miracle on Ice."

I did specify the "Miracle on Ice."

Sorry, I replied to the wrong post :-(

AJ

I did a lot of research first. Everything from fashion trends and modes of transportation to pop culture, slang used

Yeah, in my "The Nymphomaniac" novel I had to look up slang the beatniks used since one of the girl's teachers was a beatnik living in Greenwich Village. I also had to look up the clubs in the Village at the time and who performed in them. The clubs I went to in the Village in the late 1960s and early 1970s didn't exist in the 1950s. And they were folk, rather than jazz.

And don't forget about characters' names. I check for common names in the era the character was born. When the character was born, not at the time of the story. It was when their parents' named them.

And don't forget about characters' names. I check for common names in the era the character was born. When the character was born, not at the time of the story. It was when their parents' named them.

That is actually something I generally do for all my stories. I have written several "Period pieces", and always try to get the right names matched up with their ages.

One of the stereotypical name fads of my generation is the segment that were beatnicks and proto-hippies that started to name their kids in interesting ways. Which is why by the start of the 1980s, you had all these kids named things like Heather, Star, Moon, Light, Faun, Ivy, Aurora, Nova, Autumn, Meadow, Willow, and things like that.

And yes, just like in one of my stories I knew a girl who's legal birth name was "Bunny". She was smart and had skipped a grade, so she was in High School with us born right before with far more "normal" names" And she commonly joked if somebody teased her for her name they should be glad their parents were not early hippies.

And I have met many similar over the decades. In the early 1990s I worked with a guy, and one day I asked him if his mom was a big "Dark Shadows" fan and he admitted she loved the show. He was about 4 years younger than me, and named "Quentin". A rather unusual name, other than for fans of the show (And yes, I have met at least two of that age named Barnabas).

And I have a cousin with two kids. And you can for sure tell what her favorite soap opera was when they were born because she named them "Luke" and "Laura".

I asked him if his mom was a big "Dark Shadows" fan

That goes the other way too. My mother's name was Bella. Born in 1919. Not a common name in my lifetime until "Twilight" and then everyone was naming their daughter Bella.

Knew a girl in high school who's name was Mary Wey (pronounced Way), and yes, she heard all the jokes. Still makes you wonder what her parents were thinking.

makes you wonder what her parents were thinking.

The woman in the hospital maternity ward bed next to my wife gave birth to a girl. She named her Mary Chris. She knew exactly what she was doing. Her last name was Moss. Mary Chris Moss.