Does it NEED to be factually correct??

I'm not sure what you mean by "old family names", but I can offer a general opinion.

If it's not important to the story, don't bother for November - put a placeholder there, like [X], and go back to it later. If it's something you can look up quickly and without getting sidetracked, go for it. If it affects major plot points, you might want to stop and research.

After November is a whole different deal. ;-)

What comes after NaNo? National Novel Publishing Year! http://www.nanopubye.org

I can see no reason whatsoever to make the first draft factually correct. Put a place filler if you don't know the facts and make your story go the way you want it to go. Later, find the facts that would have made it go that way. This is the opposite of the scientific method, but we're not doing science here :-)

For your final draft, just how factually correct it has to be really depends on your audience. If you're writing for the hard-core sci fi fan, you better have every fact chacked every which way before you publish it. If you are writing casual fantasy, you don't have to adhere nearly that strictly.

For now, though, don't worry about it at all. Two of my major plot points are called xxx and yyy. Whenever the story refers to them, it refers to xxx and yyy. When I figure out what tose two things are once December hits, I'll do a search and replace. For now, it doesn't matter.

When in doubt, pretend you meant to do that. ;)

What am I doing still awake?

...Oh wait.

Thanks [=

And the family names in question would be the names of EVERY Russian Czar.
I think I will go back and look for that later [:

Words in a day: 3380
Number of homework assignments put off: 4
All nighters: 1
Amount of characters re-named: 0

In that case I'd say yes - eventually! If you don't get them right someone out there will know and will chuck your book at the wall. But don't worry about it now. Make a note to research it later and get on with writing.

Oh yes, because they're actually so easy to find, there're tons of Internet sites that list them. Just call them A,B,C, X,Y,Z and write the story!

Need information about Russian period names, money, calendars, clothes, food, culture and other things?

Check this book: The 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Russia

I needed this same information for my story. ;) Here's what I've been using. Hope it helps!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Russian_rulers

Angie

Every writer has two halves: the writer and the editor. NaNoWriMo is the time to let the writer run free, without regard for minor details. Once the first draft is written -- AFTER NaNoWriMo -- that's the time to let the editor out to fix all the "mistakes" that happen during the creative ferment. But mixing the two roles at the same time is, IMO, a recipe for disaster.

So unless the "facts" you're worried about are central to the story--such as, "Does gravity really work?"--I'd say write what's in your head, get the words on the paper (or electronic storage format) and don't worry about "facts".

Never let the facts get in the way of a good story.

Forget writing what you know. Write what you imagine.

First off, while there could have other family that ruled before, if you must need a name right now, the last Czar (whose family was in power for a while) had the surname Romanov. (check spelling)

Second, for the most part anything you write is going to be factually correct because it's your story. The author makes it up, kind of what fiction means. That being said, in certain kinds of fiction, like historical fiction, you do need to check some facts before publishing. But all of that can be left until later. For now just make a note to yourself to double check a certain fact when the time comes.

-Kathryn

~2008: Growing Up Maddox- winner~
~2009: The Life of Ivy~

"There are moments when I want nothing more than to never write again. It’s stressful and painful and drives me to the very edges of madness." -Ivy (Me)

Thanks everyone [=

Words in a day: 3380
Number of homework assignments put off: 4
All nighters: 1
Amount of characters re-named: 0