Wiki Worship

With Rosy Hours due out with Ghostwoods later this year, I'm poking about with ideas for my next one. I've decided to depart from heavy literary fiction for the time being and pursue something 'fun'.

Whereas it's not going to be Historical Fiction per se, it is set in a time of privateers and parliamentarians. I started out playing with pirate ships, then realised:

1. I have no idea how to sail a ship
2. I didn't even realise Oliver Cromwell ran the Navy (but didn't have any Admirals)

It just hadn't occurred to me that the conquest of the Caribbean overlapped with the English Civil War(s).

See, even 'fun' can be taxing.

I'm only about 7,000 words into the story, so I haven't passed my golden number for 'does it have potential,' yet alone the one for 'it's going to be a novel.' In order to add to the word count I need to do a bit of reading to find out:

• Does the subject matter interest me enough (do I want to know about sailing terminology and the English Civil War?)
• Can I make it interesting for someone else?
• Are there any interesting characters or events I could weave into my plot?

So far it's looking good, but I have a major problem with Wiki.

Every time I go there to read about something like the English Civil War, I find something else of interest. Before I know it, one open browser tab miraculously becomes twenty.

Sometimes my eyes get tired and I try to find a summary on YouTube.

To be honest, despite coming from a village right next door to Naseby, the English Civil War has never been a period in history that has particularly interested me. Yet, all of that has changed. Thank you, Horrible Histories, for explaining things to me in a language that I understand.