SPOILER WARNING: THE BELOW TEXT MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Chapter 2 is the shortest chapter in the book. I thought about adding some more to it to fill it out a bit, but after a while I kind of realized that I'd done what I felt like I needed to do with the chapter and that it was okay to leave it a bit shorter than the rest. One thing I focus on in writing is not wasting the reader's time. Taking a tangent, going down a side road with your writing can be okay if it is done in service of the overall narrative, but you should never write "filler." In service of the narrative can be as simple as fleshing out a character, adding background to help the reader understand something, creating a mood, etc., but there should always be a purpose. This is most of why I included the interactions between Flynn and Edward, to further establish their friendship and close bond so that when he was killed the reader would feel how devastating it was for Flynn.
In the writing notes for the last chapter I talked a little about my background as a journalist and an editor for news publications, and I think this is where that instinct comes from. You never, ever waste the reader's time in news copy, you're always looking to cut out unnecessary words or phrases or sections. I dunno, fiction is a different ball game but I still read stuff in that way. I think that might make for a narrative that moves too fast in some places, which is kind of how I felt about this chapter, but I couldn't think of any way to stretch it out in an organic way.
I spent some time at the beginning talking about the history and effects of the Minie ball because it plays a role early in the story. Actually, I guess it plays a role through the entire book, since Flynn's gunshot wound isn't something that just goes away or heals quickly. But I thought it was important enough to the story that the reader should have a little background on it.
The churchyard that Flynn and Edward spend the night sleeping on is intended to be the same church that Calvin had his awkward experience with J.R. years prior. I didn't explicitly state that, but it's in the same town and I mentioned that the officers requisitioned the Lutheran church rectory, so I was hoping that was enough.
The letter that Edward gave Flynn... it makes an appearance in the next chapter but after that you won't see it for a while, but trust that I didn't forget about it. Same goes for the passage in the first portion where I mentioned Edward's fiance again and added a little background for her.
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The Skirmish of Sporting Hill was a real encounter that took place on June 30, 1863:
I tried to keep the experience of Flynn and Edward fairly close to the real events of the skirmish. Specifically, the scene where they went to the barn for cover but the barn was immediately destroyed by the first artillery shot was how the real skirmish happened. 16 Confederate soldiers were killed, while no Union soldiers were. It was also the furthest north the Army of Northen Virginia ever got, and while I was writing it I realized that this could have made Edward the northernmost Confederate casualty of the entire Civil War, but I decided not to include that.
In real life the foundation of that barn (the Eberly barn) is still there. Now the site where this skirmish took place is an apartment complex called "The Brambles." It's a stone's throw from a Denny's, a TGI Friday's and a Dunkin' Donuts. Here's where I'm talking about:
I dunno, maybe it's just a me thing, but I find stuff like that really interesting. There was a real skirmish there, people really died, lives really shattered -- now you can get greasy food, a Dunkicino and free wifi across the street. It's a feeling I get when I think about stuff like that. Time keeps on moving, people forget, but everywhere you go, even seemingly the most mundane places have stories, events and dramas that happened there that no one remembers. It's all there, just buried. I think about that stuff all the time.
Anyway, I thought having the inciting incident occur during a forgotten skirmish rather than during the actual Battle of Gettysburg might be a little unexpected for the reader since I had built up the battle, and I expected the reader to already be familiar with it in some way, even if only the name. I wanted the start of it to be as surprising an unexpected as possible, which is why I made it start during friendly banter between Edward and Flynn. I also wanted Edward's death to be as sudden, brutal and unexpected as possible to kind of drive home some of the themes I'm going for in the novel as a whole.
The scene after Flynn is shot and lying on the ground kind of highlights some of the personality traits he has that he struggles to overcome throughout the book. He was following Edward until Edward was killed and imagines his voice telling him to do something when he is wounded. He remembered what his father told him (even though he hates him) about the tourniquet, which saves his life, but ultimately also remembers what his father told him to do in shooting the wolf, which almost kills him. Flynn is always looking for someone stronger than himself, someone to tell him what to do, someone to protect him and watch over him. His personality is rather passive, and through the book he struggles to take more control when he has too. *When he has to*, note. There's nothing intrinsicly wrong about that kind of personality, I don't mean to say that, but there are times when everyone has to make a tough decision and act on their own. That's what I mean. Just like, if someone is too *aggressive* or *assertive* that can be a big personality fault too; there are times when you have to step back, give up control, let someone else take the reins. I just meant that Flynn has issues taking charge when he really, really needs to, and is quick to latch onto those he sees as strong, competent, etc., and you see that here.
The actual encounter between Flynn and Calvin, I'll probably go into that more in the next section of writing notes, since the above is pretty much what I wanted to say about the encounter from Flynn's perspective.
