Personally, I wouldn't mention the sources in the narrative unless they're part of the story. So when he joins the army just give a footnote reference to the source, then at the proper place describe how he came to be examined about his settlement, and what the consequences were, if any.
Can you group the references together at the end of each paragraph to avoid breaking up the text with too many numbers? Have the footnotes just give a brief description of the source - 'Baptism Register of St Mary's Little Puddleton' - and the record office reference - which is enough to show that what you're saying is based on sound research - then have a separate chapter where you talk about how you went about the research and the sources in more detail? Just please avoid the ghastly Harvard system of referencing, whereby instead of a number in the text you put (Bloggs 1978, 150; Smith 1992, 200)!
I don't think it's necessary to include transcripts of documents (as opposed to quoting relevant extracts in the narrative). If it's to reassure your readers that you've done the research, that's what footnote references are for. If it's to enable people to pursue their own research, unless there are aspects that you haven't fully covered in what you've written, there won't be much more useful information to be squeezed out.
But of course if it's to be web-published and you've already done the transcripts, you might as well include them!
And with my writer's hat: I think part of the point of NaNoWriMo is to be totally random, to some extent. That is, to just write, dammit, and not get hung up on whether the plot makes sense or spend time obsessively editing to the point that you never get beyond Chapter Three. But I've never done it because I just don't have the time in November.
no subject
Personally, I wouldn't mention the sources in the narrative unless they're part of the story. So when he joins the army just give a footnote reference to the source, then at the proper place describe how he came to be examined about his settlement, and what the consequences were, if any.
Can you group the references together at the end of each paragraph to avoid breaking up the text with too many numbers? Have the footnotes just give a brief description of the source - 'Baptism Register of St Mary's Little Puddleton' - and the record office reference - which is enough to show that what you're saying is based on sound research - then have a separate chapter where you talk about how you went about the research and the sources in more detail? Just please avoid the ghastly Harvard system of referencing, whereby instead of a number in the text you put (Bloggs 1978, 150; Smith 1992, 200)!
I don't think it's necessary to include transcripts of documents (as opposed to quoting relevant extracts in the narrative). If it's to reassure your readers that you've done the research, that's what footnote references are for. If it's to enable people to pursue their own research, unless there are aspects that you haven't fully covered in what you've written, there won't be much more useful information to be squeezed out.
But of course if it's to be web-published and you've already done the transcripts, you might as well include them!
And with my writer's hat:
I think part of the point of NaNoWriMo is to be totally random, to some extent. That is, to just write, dammit, and not get hung up on whether the plot makes sense or spend time obsessively editing to the point that you never get beyond Chapter Three. But I've never done it because I just don't have the time in November.