tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43488941057827902692024-03-12T20:49:20.258-07:00Readin', 'Ritin' and ResearchMMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16519201688352108685noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348894105782790269.post-5844985024025243522017-02-06T12:25:00.000-08:002017-02-06T12:25:31.093-08:00Whose Identity Is It, Anyway?For as long as I can remember, I have read for a while before going to sleep. No doubt my mom took the book from my hands, took off my glasses, and turned off the bedside lamp more times than she would have liked. These days I aim my wee little reader's light directly at the book so as not to annoy Patient Husband. I'm currently reading a modern French translation of a work by the woman who will be my next main character, and I'm enjoying it immensely because, although I've read dozens of her poems, this work in particular has given me special insight into her mind. I was starting to wonder if she would come to life for me--and through this work, she has--but it wasn't until I turned off the light that I realized something else.<br />
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As a writer, I naturally create characters, the world they inhabit, and the problems they face. Even picking real people and situations from history, I have to ensure my characters are fully, believably human. This became less of a worry when I realized that my characters represent facets of myself in one way or another. To me that's a big part of the fun, but what I realized last night is I must identify with my main character. She can't come to life in my mind unless we become friends, as it were. I need to know what motivates her, what her fears are, what keeps her up at night--and at least some of those things we need to share. Last night as I lay thinking about what I had read, I was stunned to realize how similar she and I really are, even at a remove of some 600 years. Even my fictional depiction of my grandfather from <u>For Two Cents, I'll Go With You</u> resembled me as much as I resemble him--although I didn't realize it before I wrote the book. It didn't matter that the character was male. As I read his letters home from the war and learned about what he did in France I came to understand that we share DNA both in real life and in the fictional world I created, and it's awesome.<br />
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Of course, human nature hasn't changed over the millennia; that's why we can read the epic of Gilgamesh, Greek theatre, or <u>The Art of War</u> and the works will still speak to us. As Stephen King said, "All the arts depend on telepathy to some degree, but I believe that writing offers the purest distillation." Because human beings figured out how to put little bugs on paper--to borrow Edgar Rice Burroughs' phrase--in ways that mean something, we can pick up something as simple and as cheap as a book and instantly enter someone else's mind. Now I know that someone is both the author and his/her creation. No wonder I miss them when I finish writing.MMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16519201688352108685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348894105782790269.post-80790811465707585932016-12-22T11:21:00.002-08:002016-12-22T11:21:56.648-08:00Forging AheadWell, the Facebook page merge finally happened. I'm not sure why they called it a merge, since everything from the second page disappeared, but at least now I only have one page to maintain. I need to rename the page now so it's associated with me as an author instead of with just my first novel, especially since I have two books and the audiobook should appear any day now.<br />
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I'm also continuing to research my next work, and it's going very well. I found three volumes of late-medieval poetry that have helped me enormously. They date from 1886, and the Luddite in me rejoices that an old technology still works. It was a real thrill finding them for sale online, thanks to alibris.com. Most of the texts I need are available online, but I find it hard to read a screen for any length of time. They're not the oldest books I own (that dates from 1865, and belonged to my great-grandfather) but they're in excellent shape, having been on the shelves of the Butler University library from 1925 according to the bookplate. I also bought a translation of another of my main character's works in prose and another book about her life during the Hundred Years' War. It examines her from a different perspective that I've found very interesting. All of these books I found in reading the notes of another book, which is a large part of the fun I have researching. My students simply plug something into Google; they never had to flip through a card catalog or dig through an editor's notes in search of ancillary texts. I also find it very cool to read the work of people who put their words and thoughts onto paper centuries ago. To my mind it's the ultimate form of immortality, and one I hope to establish for myself one day.<br />
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Happy Holidays, and Happy Reading!MMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16519201688352108685noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348894105782790269.post-75144604547340952312016-11-12T10:22:00.004-08:002016-11-12T10:22:40.027-08:00<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_58275c5d03a0b1c19526050">
I know it's been a long time since I posted something, so here goes. In case you've been wondering, I've been elbow-deep in editing TRQ's audiobook, which I finally finished yesterday. Woohoo! It's now back in the hands of the producer to make final corrections before hopefully going live in a few weeks--just in time for the holiday season.<br />
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With that off my plate, I can dig back in to research for my current project, which is set in France during the Hundred Years' War. Lordy, what an endless series of disasters that was. Just like when I was researching my novella on World War I, I had a lot to learn, but for me that's half the fun! I just finished Juliet B<span class="text_exposed_show">arker's book on Agincourt--very well-researched and well-written. I need to go back and review the research I've already done to get the synapses firing again, then see what else I need to read. It really helps to be able to read French--modern and medieval--which also gives me the gift of a different perspective.</span><br />
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This week's mini-project has been merging my two book pages on Facebook, which is a lot more complicated than it should be, I think, but then again I'm not the most tech-savvy person on the planet. I had to retitle both pages, then set the merge in motion. So far nothing seems to have happened. I guess these things take time.<br />
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It's a windy, rainy, grey day here. Perfect for reading and reflection. Peace.</div>
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MMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16519201688352108685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348894105782790269.post-29478630583258023222016-06-09T11:01:00.002-07:002016-06-09T11:04:38.641-07:00What Have I Been Doing??Holy moley, it's been a year since I posted anything here. What have I been doing, you ask? Well, in the spring of this year I finished corrections and published the French translation of my WWI novella, <u>For Two Cents, I'll Go With You</u>. I decided to "go wide", meaning that it would be available on as many outlets as I could find. Direct2Digital is great for this, offering seven different e-publishers, including Kobo, iTunes, and B&N. I did this because they also publish for the European firm Tolino. Since the book is in French and Tolino is a strong competitor for Kindle in Europe, I thought it would be a good idea to try and tap into that market. Unfortunately, the book has not gotten much traction anywhere, in English or in French. I believe this is because war stories are just not very popular. Top-selling genres are as follows (from strongest to weakest): suspense/thrillers, general fiction, classics, mystery, action/adventure, sci fi, romance, fantasy, religion, horror, graphic novels, and Westerns. I did class it under action/adventure in choosing my key words, but since women are far and away the largest book-buying audience, it's been a hard sell.<br />
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I had already started working on a third novel on an early aviation pioneer, but having learned my lesson with <u>Two Cents</u> I changed direction and am currently reading and researching for a novel with a strong female lead set in the late medieval period. It's been fun, digging into my grad school notes and texts and refreshing my knowledge of Old French. As Stephen King advised in his memoir <u>On Writing</u>, write what you know.<br />
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I've also delved into audiobook production this spring, offering <u>The Rogue Queen</u> on ACX. The book is currently being produced, and will hopefully be offered for sale within a month or six weeks. I made the decision to try the audiobook market because, frankly, I ended up giving a lot of my e-book royalties from last year to the IRS. I did plan appropriately for taxes on my royalties; I did not know I would have to shell out several grand to cover interest on savings bonds used to pay for our daughter's college tuition. Once upon a time said interest was deductible if used for education, but no more. We should have cashed in a few each year instead of waiting until her senior year, but live and learn. Luckily I had the money available. Hoping to tap into another revenue stream, I headed over to ACX (another Amazon company), where they make it easy to find producers willing to narrate in a clear step-by-step process. As soon as school is out I'll be reviewing the recording as well as working on research, so it looks to be a busy summer. I'll let y'all know how it goes. MMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16519201688352108685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348894105782790269.post-72966501702019018242015-06-14T07:58:00.001-07:002015-06-14T08:01:28.374-07:00On Translation, Chapitre DeuxExciting things have been happening in my writing world this spring. Thanks to some hometown networking by my mom I now have a booth rented and book signing scheduled at the Dairy Festival July 9-11 in Elsie, MI, which is one town over from where I grew up and where my dad and grandparents are still remembered. I'm planning on offering paperback copies of <u>The Rogue Queen</u> for sale as well as giving away postcards with information on the e-book and the upcoming release of novel #2, titled <u>For Two Cents I'll Go With You</u>. I was able to easily reformat <u>TRQ</u>'s blurb to put on the back of a copy of the book cover, and I delivered the props for <u>Two Cents</u>' cover art to Jordan, who has again graciously agreed to help me by creating the cover. I bought a WWI hat, a Red Cross armband, and a two cent coin on eBay to use on the cover. The coin is going to be hard to incorporate due to its size but I have complete faith in Jordan's abilities. She did such an awesome job with my first cover; I can't wait to see how the second one turns out! And it'll be exciting doing some marketing for my books.<br />
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I've also been working somewhat erratically on <u>Two Cents'</u> translation, erratically because it's the end of the school year and life is correspondingly busy. There's also been a learning curve. I normally don't have too much difficulty expressing myself in French, but translation is a particular skill. In the end the Larousse website and Linguee.com have become my go-to sites. Still, it's a slow process. I'm glad I didn't wait until June to start, as it's taking about an hour a page. I hope to improve on that now that I can work on it every day. I've also handed over the pages I've already finished to a French-speaking friend for her input. That, too, will help me learn what I need to do because I'm sure I'm making mistakes on every page. Still, writing is a process. You have to get words on the page. So, back to the desk!<br />
<br />MMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16519201688352108685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348894105782790269.post-40921104363364929302015-04-04T15:57:00.002-07:002015-04-04T15:58:00.930-07:00On TranslationWith one novel published and another waiting in the wings, what's an author to do? Why, learn to translate, of course! Although it might seem a whimsical choice, I did spend quite a bit of time mulling it over before deciding to tackle it. In the first place, my second novel is set against the backdrop of World War I and takes place mostly in France. As a French teacher with years of language study under my belt I thought it could be a good way to learn something about the language while exploring a new revenue stream. After all, French is the most widely spoken language around the world. I did consider translating <u>The Rogue Queen</u> since it's my first novel but not knowing how to handle various dialects and levels of language gave me pause, as did the novel's length (140,000 words vs. 37,400 for the second). <br />
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With that, I did what every good researcher does--I went looking for books that would help. I bought two. <u>Stylistique comparée du français et de l'anglais</u> by Vinay & Darbelnet arrived first, and I've been slogging through it. A lot of it is stuff I already know, expressed in heavy-duty academe-speak. I did learn the official distinction between <em>futur simple</em> and <em>futur proche</em>, which is good to know, and I picked up a few other pointers, but I'm waiting on <u>Le Guide anglais-français de la traduction</u> to arrive from Amazon.fr before putting pen to paper. I don't know how or indeed if this is going to work. Having received my fair share of negative reviews in English, I can only imagine what might happen if I try publishing in something other than my native tongue. The French have been known to verbally flay those who have the temerity to make grammatical gaffes when speaking. It does give me pause, although I plan to ask one or several francophone friends to read it through before publishing. Hopefully they'll catch the mistakes I'm bound to make.<br />
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I'm going to publish novel #2 in November, in time for Veterans Day. With any luck I'll have both the English and the French versions ready to go. And in between time I'll be researching for novel #3! Allons-y!MMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16519201688352108685noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348894105782790269.post-28322031545810576222015-02-14T14:37:00.000-08:002015-02-14T14:37:28.488-08:00On ReviewsAs of today, <u>The Rogue Queen</u> has been live on Amazon for just over a month, selling over 200 copies. I've gotten five reader reviews there and five on GoodReads (also owned by Amazon). Most of my reviews have been positive, but I've gotten three negative reviews. As a newcomer to the publishing business, I've been trying to come to grips with that, especially when the reviews seem unfair.<br />
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The first negative review claimed I hadn't done my research. That made me laugh, as I spent quite literally hundreds of hours digging up details on clothing, fabrics, colors, food, pastimes, human armor, horse armor, hairstyles, theology, songs, maps of London and Paris, not to mention the history behind Isabelle's story in both primary and secondary sources. I was very careful to avoid anachronism not only in the story but also in my characters' speech. Full disclosure: I did use the word "explode" twice in a 140,000-word novel even though it would not have been in their vernacular. I tried but I couldn't find a way around it. Likewise, I made carefully reasoned choices about the characters as I told the story. For example, I moved one character's birth up a season and another character was childless because it worked better. This was upsetting to at least one reviewer but I don't think I need to make excuses for those kinds of decisions. <u>TRQ</u> is, after all, fiction.<br />
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I'm having more trouble with reviewers criticizing the way my characters speak, saying it isn't "authentic to the period". Again, I made a conscious choice to have my characters speak in a natural way. I didn't want to write <u>Ivanhoe</u>, nor did I want to create a weird mashup the bloggers call "speaking forsoothly". I wanted my characters to sound like real people. James B. Shannon opined about an excerpt from Bernard Cornwell's <u>The Last Kingdom</u>: "It derives its authenticity from its context. It contains names, activities, and values authentic to the period. The language seems less important. Cornwell’s world-building has already put us in the period and he is simply using the dialogue to reinforce what we already imagine. This type of writing puts more pressure on the author to do his or her research so that the world they are building is as authentic as possible. This then frees the author to use the dialogue simply to build character and to drive the plot forward. When considered in this light, the choice of speech and dialect seem less important." And this is precisely what I tried to do. Apparently, however, some reviewers felt I dropped the ball. I could've written it in Anglo-Norman French, which was the language spoken in 14th century England--but what would be the point? This kind of criticism recalls people nitpicking "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" because the actors didn't assume British accents.<br />
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I know that I shouldn't give a toss. I told the story I wanted to tell in the way I wanted to tell it. I'm proud of the characters I created. Rationally, I know that you can't please everyone. But when someone says your dialogue is worse than <u>Fifty Shades of Grey</u>, well, ouch.MMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16519201688352108685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348894105782790269.post-69449608521631647562015-02-02T14:22:00.000-08:002015-02-02T14:22:54.545-08:00On PublishingI officially published <u>The Rogue Queen</u> on Amazon nearly a month ago, first as a Kindle book, then through CreateSpace print-on-demand. Checking online today I was surprised to see that I've sold seventy-five copies! It may not sound like a lot, but since I'm starting from scratch as an unknown author I'm well pleased. One of the benefits of publishing digitally is there's no backlist. In brick and mortar bookstores, if a book doesn't sell well it gets cycled back off the prime shelf spots and eventually disappears. However anytime someone searches for historical fiction with <u>TRQ</u>'s parameters on Amazon my book will pop up--forever, or until I take it down. So time is on my side.<br />
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Something I've had to work on since the book went live is marketing. In my last post I mentioned searching for reviewers. I've had two reviews on Amazon, and I'm waiting on a blogger and the Historical Novel Society to complete their reviews. The more positive reviews I get the more often Amazon will suggest the book to people searching, so they're worth going after. I've also looked into doing readings, one at a local independent bookstore and another at our town library. If all of this sounds like a lot of work it really isn't, especially when you consider that I'm earning 70% royalties. Most of it required only some searching online and a couple of emails. If I'd gone the traditional route the publisher would've taken over the marketing while pocketing most of the royalties. Since nobody wanted to publish the book the point is moot. I took on the risk, so I make the money. <br />
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I was told before I published the book that it would essentially be a loss leader, an investment that would hopefully help me to build a following while not necessarily making a lot of money. So far, thanks to the talents of my husband and a couple of generous friends, my only expense has been time. In that regard it's been worth every moment. I've also learned a lot, which will pay off even more when I publish my next novel, and the next. In the meantime, <u>The Rogue Queen</u> is making her way into the hands of readers who seem to be enjoying her, and that is most definitely worth it.MMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16519201688352108685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348894105782790269.post-28828737272369199922015-01-18T08:14:00.000-08:002015-01-18T08:14:37.841-08:00Going PublicWell, I did it! I published my first novel on Amazon. Although it wasn't a simple process, I do believe anyone who uses a word processor could do it. Amazon makes publishing for the Kindle pretty straightforward, even providing a free e-book with step-by-step instructions titled <u>Building Your Book for Kindle</u>. I began by spending about three weeks doing a final edit, which the book really did need. I've learned quite a bit since I finished <u>The Rogue Queen</u>, thanks in large part to a pair of friends who also write. They very kindly read Novel #2, offering salient editing advice, which I then applied to Novel #1. Meanwhile, Patient Husband photographed Duchess Angharad Banadaspus Drakenhefd for the cover, and I think she did a great job! A friend from work offered to turn the photo into a cover. The blue of the duchess's dress simply leaps off the page. That part I doubt I could've done by myself, although there are workarounds for that as well. You can use Amazon's cover creator, or you can find someone to do it for you via Fiverr or other sites. I'm glad I had talented, helpful people around me to help me create a one-of-a-kind cover.<br />
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Formatting for the Kindle was also pretty easy. The worst part was having to go through a 400-page manuscript, changing the indents one by one. Not difficult, just tedious. I also had to add a table of contents, but since Word can do that for you it was just a few mouse clicks. The most important step is saving the Word doc as a Web Page, then uploading the right format. I had a brief moment of panic when I accidentally uploaded the Word doc, but it was a quick fix. I carefully checked the book using Amazon's online previewer, added the cover, and went on to the next step: pricing and distribution.<br />
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I spent some time thinking about how to price the book. Some people advise giving it away for free, but I decided against that. I worked too hard for too long to simply give it away. In the end I priced it at $3.49; inexpensive, but at a point where I can make 70% royalties. I also chose to participate in Amazon's KDP Select program, where readers can borrow the book through the Kindle Owners' Lending Library or buy it if they read more than 10% of the text through Kindle Unlimited. Either way, I still make money. There are a couple marketing tools I can use through the program, like running a promotion, and although I can't sell the book on any other digital platform I can still sell it as a paper book or an audiobook. And I can choose not to continue with the program after 90 days.<br />
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Which brings us to the print-on-demand part of the story. I'm a die-hard real book user, I admit it, so I knew I had to create a paper book for others who also prefer the format. This was more complicated than the Kindle formatting. I struggled for at least two days getting the pagination and page breaks right. This, oddly, is one place where Amazon doesn't make it easy. There are some idiosyncrasies about real books, such as page one beginning on a left-hand page and having all text right-justified. The latter was simple; the former not so much. Separating the front matter, which is not paginated, from the text, which is, proved difficult but with some help from Microsoft Office eventually I prevailed. My front cover needs resizing and the back cover requires a headshot (!), which Patient Husband will take care of for me. After that I think all will go smoothly.<br />
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Getting the book into the hands of readers who will enjoy it is the next step. If I wanted to spend money it would be easy to get reviews, but with less than $100 in royalties earned so far I didn't want to go that route. I eventually thought to Google folks who blog about historical fiction. Some won't review books published independently, which I can understand, but it doesn't make my task any easier. So far I've contacted half a dozen bloggers who might agree to read and review <u>TRQ</u>. Once the paper copy is ready to roll I'm going to re-join the Historical Novel Society; they also review for free. Amazon (surprise, surprise) has master reviewers who will read and review. It's not a speedy process, but since it took more than a decade to get this far I'm willing to wait a little bit longer for the book to take off. One of the benefits of e-publishing is that the book never goes away. There's time!<br />
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MMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16519201688352108685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348894105782790269.post-10602471005066302142014-12-03T20:07:00.000-08:002014-12-08T07:38:28.584-08:00Paradigm ShiftI've been at loose ends for quite a while, since I finished the revisions on <u>For Two Cents</u> in late October and sent it off to my agent. I haven't heard anything from her, so I sent an excerpt from it to <u>Narrative</u> magazine's fall contest. When that was done I had nothing else to focus on. I fooled around with turning <u>For Two Cents</u> into a screenplay (and I still may) but I really found myself at an impasse. As a result I spent most of Thanksgiving break brooding about my writing. <u>Isabelle</u> never found a publisher. I had high hopes for novel #2 but as it stands today I don't even know if my agent is willing to shop it around. Hence the brooding. I thought about entering <u>Isabelle</u> in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel contest until I found out it's 17,000 words over the limit. It might be worth revising (cutting 50-odd pages...dunno) but without a specific historical fiction division I don't think much of my chances. So back to square one.<br />
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After looking around at local agents and publishing houses, I drifted over to Amazon's e-publishing page. Hm. They have a particularly persuasive little video that got me to thinking. Well, why the hell not? <u>Isabelle</u>'s not doing anybody any good gathering digital dust in my computer--what's the worst that could happen? And then it came to me: I want to grab a little glory for myself. I want people to read my stories and enjoy my characters as much as I did creating them. So much of what I do in my day job is ephemeral. I may never see the fruits of my labors there. I sure would like to get something from my writing, even if it's just a few kinds words from an enthusiastic fan or two.<br />
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So today I'm exploring e-publishing. Patient husband has agreed to help create artwork for the cover. There's a lot to learn (Amazon's legalese runs twenty-one single-spaced pages. Good Lord.) but I hope to have <u>Isabelle</u> read through again for a final buff-and-polish and ready to start formatting by the time winter break rolls around in a few weeks. For my next post I hope to announce publication. Wish me luck!MMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16519201688352108685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348894105782790269.post-68312097832834878872014-08-13T13:34:00.000-07:002014-08-13T13:34:11.358-07:00Working the NetworkI'm pleased to announce that I've completed novel #2! Titled <u>For Two Cents I'll Go With You</u>, it's based on the true story of my grandfather's experiences in France as a WWI Army medic. Right now it's around 31,000 words, which makes it far shorter than my first novel. Part of that is timeframe: Granddad was in the Army for about twenty months, whereas my first novel covers approximately twenty years. I'm hoping that will translate into greater desirability for a publisher. I have a few writing contests lined up for later in the year, but for now I'm working to locate someone famous to read my story and write a blurb because my agent said it would smooth the path to acceptance. I've written emails and delved back into the Twitterverse, because experience has shown that if you want to get something done you have to work the network. I thank my friends and colleagues in advance for their kind indulgence.<br />
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I learned a lot writing my first novel, so the composition of <u>For Two Cents</u> went much faster: it only took about a year and a half, not including some preliminary research with my dad. I spent much of one visit back home talking to him and recording his memories of Granddad's experiences, which I then incorporated into my novel. I also edited Granddad's many letters home to his mother. Because of wartime censorship restrictions he wasn't able to say much, which was where the novel took off. This time I found the Internet to be a great resource. The Army has a website <a href="http://history.amedd.army.mil/books.html">http://history.amedd.army.mil/books.html</a> with a digital copy of the entire history of the Medical Department in WWI that was extraordinarily helpful, as was Google Books. Interlibrary loan was also useful, as was the judicious purchase of a few texts online. Finally, my parents have carefully preserved a photo album that one of Granddad's buddies put together documenting their adventures from Fort Oglethorpe, GA to Coblenz, Germany that I used to guide my imagination along the way.<br />
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I think I learned a lot about my grandfather in imagining his adventures. Granddad never talked to us kids about the war, nor to Grandma. He only ever told my dad what he did, most likely because my dad was also a veteran. As in my first novel, I thought about who he was and who he became as a result of what he went through in the war. Like most of our soldiers in the Great War, he was a country boy, having never left the state of Michigan before volunteering. He traveled thousands of miles and experienced many things before returning home to Elsie in 1919. It's been a fascinating journey for me, too, and one I hope others will want to travel with me.MMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16519201688352108685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348894105782790269.post-62904611097599417872014-01-18T10:39:00.001-08:002014-01-18T10:39:34.064-08:00On PatienceIt's been a very long time since I added to my blog. Back in late August I handed the revised version of <u>Isabelle</u> over to my agent, and the waiting began. When I hadn't heard anything by Thanksgiving, I dropped her a line. I heard back from her last week, and it looks like we're still in the game. She said "a few" editors were willing to look at the revised MS, so I'm remaining optimistic. These things do take time, however. It can take anywhere from two to five months or more for editors to make a decision, according to the wisdom of the Web. It took ten years to write the silly thing--surely I can wait a while long for it actually see the light of day. Fingers crossed!<br />
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In the meantime, I've been continuing work on my current project, which is a fictionalized retelling of my grandfather's experiences as a medic during WWI. It's been great fun, and I'm learning a lot. The researching skills I gained while writing <u>Isabelle</u> have come in handy, as well as the discovery of Google Books. I'm currently reading <u>War Bugs</u>, a first-person account of the Rainbow Division's experience in France at the same time. Thanks to the King County Library System, I was able to borrow it from (I think) somewhere in New Mexico. It's not directly applicable since Granddad wasn't in the trenches, but good background information overall. Prior to <u>War Bugs</u>, I was reading Dr. Harvey Cushing's journal. He was a doctor with the BEF from the early days of the war, and kept an incredibly detailed and fascinating multi-volume journal of his adventures. An edited version was published in the '30s, and I was able to find a copy of it online. It was very exciting to find four separate mentions of Granddad's unit in the journal. I was able to get a lot added to the story over midwinter break, and I hope the momentum will continue.<br />
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Since my goal is to write (and not write about my writing) I won't be here every day, but I do plan to check in now and again. After all, as Louis L'amour said: “Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.” MMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16519201688352108685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348894105782790269.post-19173889515692312052013-08-25T10:35:00.002-07:002013-08-25T10:35:48.124-07:00On Editing: A SummaryI think it's safe to say the editing process is complete, at least from my side of the keyboard. I came up with an idea for an epilogue a couple of days ago, and I wrote the first version of it this morning. So it's time for a (mostly) final accounting.<br />
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Over the past thirty-six days I've:<br />
<ul>
<li>cut 29,000 words and 111 pages (remember, 20 pages of that was endnotes)</li>
<li>got rid of the whole "found manuscript" premise, the confession format, <u>and</u> everything to do with Marie-Agnès at the convent </li>
<li>went through and streamlined the narrative. What DID I have against contractions??</li>
<li>replaced the confessional letters with longer chapters</li>
<li>wrote a prologue and an epilogue</li>
<li>restructured the first chapter</li>
<li>minimized the role of certain minor characters</li>
<li>chopped an entire chapter because it didn't advance Isabelle's story (at least 20 pages in one fell swoop)</li>
<li>came up with a new title</li>
</ul>
all in an effort to bring Isabelle's story to the forefront. The epilogue still needs some work. It doesn't do exactly what I want it to do, but it's getting there. I'm going to let it cool off for a bit, then I'll look at it again.<br />
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I think I've done good work here. I want the story to be the best that it can, and it's very nearly there, which is good, because I'm back to work tomorrow. There are a few publishers who said they'd be willing to look at the manuscript again. Let's hope they like it!MMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16519201688352108685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348894105782790269.post-91779436961385876162013-07-20T16:57:00.000-07:002013-07-20T16:57:12.750-07:00The Incredible Shrinking ManuscriptSince Tuesday, I've been going through my manuscript, looking for dead wood to prune. So far I've made three passes and I've managed to lop about ten thousand words, not counting the TWENTY PAGES of endnotes I also cut. I'm confident that my readers will be smart enough to figure out what's going on without help from me (although sure was fun adding all that history and culture!) Right now I'm printing out a fresh hard copy because I find it much easier to edit on paper rather than onscreen. I still need to add chapters, smooth out a few rough spots, and add a prologue and epilogue.<br />
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At the suggestion of a friend who writes, I picked up one of Donald Maass's books on writing the breakout novel. I'm hoping it'll give me some ideas for the prologue/epilogue. I have some thoughts of my own, but I figured it couldn't hurt.<br />
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The hard part will be seeing if I can cut the novel down further. As Professor Strunk says, "Omit needless words." (Rule 17, <u>Elements of Style</u>) I did try to be as concise as possible the first time through, but that doesn't mean I can't trim more, especially given my penchant for rambling on about historical bits I find fascinating but which aren't central to the story. Sixty pages gone is nothing to sneeze at, however, and I do hope the finished project will be acceptable.MMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16519201688352108685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348894105782790269.post-12619345213500257072013-07-17T09:57:00.001-07:002013-07-17T09:57:12.438-07:00Picking up my red pen.After some time mulling over the feedback provided by several publishers via my agent the other day, I've realized that they're right. In creating a milieu for my story, I buried it in several layers of narrative that were unnecessary and distancing for the reader. <u>Isabelle's Confession</u> has a prologue and an epilogue, a letter/confessional format, <em>and</em> a convent setting, all of which are really extraneous to the story itself. As an inexperienced writer some ten years ago I felt I had to give the story a reason for existing, but in thinking about beginning my second book last fall I realized that was an unnecessary conceit. Although I thought the found manuscript idea that linked the story to my real-life doctoral dissertation very cool, I wasn't thinking of potential readers who would want to open the book or turn on the Kindle and dive right in to a different world, and so it all needed to go.<br />
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There was no way I could just abandon this book to a dusty drawer without trying to make it better, so yesterday afternoon I sat down with the hard copy of the manuscript and started cutting. In a couple of hours I got through 152 pages and have already eliminated at least 10. I had to resist the temptation to dig into the file on the computer, but for now I think it's better to stick with the hard copy because the story will need a new introduction. Once upon a time that would have been a very scary proposition, but no longer. I have a couple of ideas rolling around, and I'm sure the right thing will be excavated in due time. In eliminating the letters I also hope to make the story less episodic, with better narrative flow. I don't know if I'll have chapters or books or both, but that's not too worrying. I'll have to decide about the end notes. I think most readers would probably also find them intrusive, so they may also fall prey to the red pen. It bears remembering, as our English teachers have told us, that writing is a process and editing never killed anyone. In his early writing days Stephen King was advised by an anonymous editor that the final draft equals the first draft minus ten percent. I have a strong suspicion I'll be cutting a lot more than that. It'll be interesting to see how many words I have in the end. I'll let you know!<br />
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MMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16519201688352108685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348894105782790269.post-83620928779479735032013-07-15T13:28:00.004-07:002013-07-15T13:28:59.196-07:00Got Feedback...I just got off the phone with my agent, and now I have a conundrum. While publishers universally praised my research, saying it was rich and vibrant, they said the human story didn't shine as much as the history. The novel lacks narrative push, and is overlong and episodic. A few, however, are willing to look at the manuscript again if I rework it.<br />
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Which brings me to the conundrum: how, exactly, should I rework it? Tudor England is supposed to be the hot topic in historical fiction right now, which I can't do anything about. How can I go about making my story the page-turner I know it can be? This will require some thought, and perhaps I'll have to actually read some historical fiction, which I'm willing to do if they're not thinly-veiled romance novels.<br />
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I admit that I'm an inexperienced writer. I'm kind of amazed that I actually got this far, but I also don't want to bail on the story just because I've come up against an obstacle. Writing is a process, after all, and I want readers to see Isabelle for the fascinating person I think she is. Now if I can figure out how to do that...I'll keep ya'll posted.MMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16519201688352108685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348894105782790269.post-42053176220777941482013-06-19T09:51:00.000-07:002013-06-19T09:51:18.858-07:00The Neglected 14th CenturyFirst, my apologies for having been away so long. I've been otherwise engaged in the annual academic spasm known as The End Of The School Year. Graduation was Monday night; yesterday and today my colleagues and I have been tidying up random bits and pieces. Tomorrow summer officially begins, and with it, writing season. I received a wonderful history of the Army Nurse Corps in the mail on Monday that I bought on Ebay for my current project, and I look forward to delving into more WWI research.<br />
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A few weeks ago The Historical Novel Society posted this article on Facebook: <a href="http://historicalnovelsociety.org/orphan-century-that-salutary-neglect-of-the-1300s-in-historical-fiction/">http://historicalnovelsociety.org/orphan-century-that-salutary-neglect-of-the-1300s-in-historical-fiction/</a>. I found it interesting, especially since <u>Isabelle's Confession</u> falls right into that period and the author never mentions her or any of the Edwards. Mr. Ostryzniuk attributes author neglect of the Middle Ages to "prevailing attitudes in the industry, poor awareness of the period and concomitant difficulties in research, absence of ‘household names’, and pedigree." As I mentioned in my last post, the amount of research involved in writing about the medieval period likely puts some people off, but it is for that very reason that I found Isabelle's story so compelling. It was foreign yet familiar, and I wanted readers to understand that we share more similarities than differences with 14th century Europeans. People are people, after all, and human nature hasn't changed--only the milieu has, and I find that fascinating. The fact that the history is less well-known just means there are more opportunities to find characters and stories to bring to readers.<br />
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In researching Isabelle's life I found a few books had already been written about her. <u>The She-Wolf of France</u> by Maurice Druon is likely the earliest example, but this blog post from 2010 <a href="http://www.susanhigginbotham.com/edfict.html">http://www.susanhigginbotham.com/edfict.html</a> lists nearly two dozen more that I've never seen. Based on their covers and summaries they seem to be more of the bodice-ripper type than my <u>Isabelle</u>, but I chose a different path that was more purely historical and certainly not of the romance novel genre. I suppose those who like romance will find <u>Isabelle's Confession</u> almost puritanical in its approach to her marriage and her relationship with Mortimer; as I was writing I found the character growing and evolving in a way that focused more on the rational and less on the emotional. In that regard I suppose she's more like myself, just as all characters are a reflection of their creators. I remember being very annoyed with Scarlett O'Hara when I re-read <u>Gone With The Wind</u> as a young adult. At the time I found her behavior irrational, verging on the hysterical. I was more sympathetic to her, however, when I read it again a few years ago. I attribute this to the depth of characterization Mitchell created as well as to my own changing perceptions and experiences. Isn't that what phenomenology is all about?MMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16519201688352108685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348894105782790269.post-82917634256992194902013-05-11T16:49:00.000-07:002013-05-11T16:49:56.414-07:00Reference BooksFor the historical novelist, reference books are usually a necessity. I was lucky enough to have studied the period I was writing about in graduate school, although I quickly learned that what I knew wasn't necessarily useful to me. I knew a lot about the basic history, major players, and literature, but I needed to know details about fourteenth century food, clothing, armor, weaponry, and so forth. I used my library extensively (thank you, King County Library System!) but I did buy a few books, especially if I had seen them at the library and knew they'd be useful.<br />
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For Edward & Isabelle's life, I relied heavily upon <u>The Three Edwards</u> by Thomas Costain, <u>Edward II</u> by Harold Hutchinson, and my unpublished thesis. As a general introduction to daily living in the medieval period I read <u>The Age of Faith</u> by Will Durant. I know, it's old and it has some errors, but for an encyclopedic view of the time you can't beat it. Joseph and Frances Gies's series on medieval life was also extremely useful, especially <u>Life in a Medieval Castle</u>. <u>The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in Medieval Europe</u> by Sherrilyn Kenyon was a great find; they have an entire series on various time periods. I read a lot of books on fourteenth century armor and weapons. I also bought <u>The Knight and Chivalry</u> by Richard Barber and <u>Armies and Warfare in the Middle Ages</u> by Michael Prestwich. I also took out a lot of books on castles and royal houses in England. A friend came back from England with <u>The Tower of London: A 2000-year history</u> by Lapper and Parnell. Prince Edward of Wessex has a beautifully illustrated book that helped a great deal. I spent so much time in the 941 section of my local library that I still find myself drawn to it even today. The complete list would take a long time to compile and would probably make for pretty dull reading, but you get the gist. It's a good thing I like libraries.MMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16519201688352108685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348894105782790269.post-21099343088086417292013-05-08T17:17:00.002-07:002013-05-09T09:31:43.786-07:00How Teaching Makes A Better WriterOne of the greatest challenges facing a writer is the creation of real, fully-fleshed characters. I remember thinking when I was in the early stages of writing <u>Isabelle's Confession</u> that I didn't want my characters to sound like <u>Ivanhoe</u>. Not that I'm disparaging Sir Walter Scott's opus, but it does make for slow going when reading it. I also remember thinking about all the criticism leveled against the film "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" because the actors didn't speak with British accents. Members of the English nobility were still speaking French at the time the historical Robin probably lived, so the argument is flawed. In any event, I decided early on that I wanted my characters to be as real and as human as I could make them. To that end, I wrote dialogue for them that sounds like people speaking today on the theory that everyone's language sounds modern to them, no matter when they lived.<br />
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This is where teaching comes in. I'm a high school French teacher, and I've been teaching various levels of French off and on since 1983, when I was an "apprentice teacher" at Alma College. It occurs to me that I find writing dialogue easier and faster than writing narrative because it's what I do all day: I talk, and I listen. Being a world language teacher means I know how to listen particularly carefully (having played in an orchestra for many years can't have hurt, either). I probably should've been a playwright or a writer of screenplays, but I digress. I listen to my classes talk all day long, not just about learning French but about their likes, dislikes, hopes, aspirations, frustrations, and so on. Life is lived in dialogue, and my ears are filled with it all day long, so when I want to put words in my characters' mouths I simply channel my students and other people I've listened to. Life is lived in dialogue, after all.<br />
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I think my writing also benefits from the innumerable experiences I've had over the past fifty years. I've lived in the Midwest, on the East Coast, in the Deep South, and in the Pacific Northwest. I lived for six months in Paris. I've traveled all over the US, to Canada & Mexico, and across Europe. I took a motorcycle trip with my dad from Michigan across Canada to Maine and back. I've also had a lot of different kinds of jobs, from a Wells Fargo security guard in college to a camp counselor to retail to fast food to radio sales to teaching. I also know how to do a lot of different things. I sew, crochet, and have done needlepoint. I can ride a horse and train a dog. I have a black belt in Taekwondo and a blue belt in Hapkido. I can tow a trailer. I'm pretty handy with most home repair and maintenance jobs, although I draw the line at electrical work. I'm a good cook, and have made everything from empanadas to homemade bagels to hollandaise sauce. And that just scratches the surface, but you see what I mean. It all adds up to innumerable experiences--mental, physical, and sensory--that I can bring to my writing. I'm not simply the result of all the books I've read, but also all the people I've met, the songs I've heard, and the things I've done. I've felt a lot and thought a lot, and I believe it helps in bringing real people to the page.<br />
<br />MMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16519201688352108685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348894105782790269.post-34776682962597492492013-04-28T13:30:00.000-07:002013-04-28T13:30:01.887-07:00My Library Card and Me.When I was a kid, I read voraciously and continuously. As I mentioned in an earlier post, our hometown library was a favorite haunt of mine throughout my growing-up years. We had a lot of books in the house, too, from <u>The Jungle Book</u> to <u>Black Beauty</u> to <u>The Book of Knowledge</u>. Yeah, I read the encyclopedia! I also loved coming into my elementary school classroom to see the stacks of paperbacks on the teacher's desk with the little order slips dangling from them, because it meant that the Scholastic book order had arrived!<br />
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As I got older, I progressed from animal stories to science fiction. I think I read <u>The Hobbit</u> for the first time in junior high, and I slogged through <u>Dune</u> early in my high school years. In fact, our common taste in books was one of the things that attracted me to Patient Husband when we were in college. I also made a point of reading books from the canon as it was perceived at the time. It became my habit to read for a bit before going to sleep at night. I have no idea how many times my parents came in to take off my glasses and turn off the light because I had fallen asleep over my current read, but Mom says it happened a lot. <br />
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When I started college I continued to read some science fiction and fantasy as well as more classic works required for my classes. I had a great class in "The Continental Novel" that introduced me to Knut Hamsun, Emile Zola, Thomas Mann and Dostoevsky, among others. I finally read a lot of Shakespeare, and I began reading French literature. One outcome of my studies was I became a lot pickier about what I read for fun. After having read Camus, Sartre, Proust, Duras, Colette, Hugo and poets from Francois Villon on, I had a lot less patience for dreck. These days I read very little fiction. I'll stop reading a book that doesn't hold my attention rather than read it through to the end. I much prefer reading memoirs, nonfiction, and biographies, although I often re-read novels I've read and loved in years past. I've read <u>Sho-gun</u> at least three or four times, and I've read James Herriot's books enough that I have whole passages memorized. If I had to pick an author that has influenced me more than any other, I'd have to say it's Mr. Herriot, with James Clavell and perhaps James Michener bringing up the rear. Herriot's style, pacing, and characterization feel very natural to me, so although my first novel takes place in the 14th century I have to acknowledge my debt to the Yorkshire vet.<br />
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I try to read books that will benefit my writing, on the "garbage in--garbage out" principle. When I was writing <u>Isabelle's Confession</u> I often began by reading a few classic poems from a little pasteboard book that my grandmother had received as a Christmas gift from her sister in 1931. I found that it got me in the right frame of mind to compose the kind of fiction I wanted. I haven't had to do that with my current project, although I may try it if I get stuck.MMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16519201688352108685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348894105782790269.post-45851817733613363252013-04-26T10:21:00.000-07:002013-04-26T10:21:13.160-07:00Why Write?Patient Husband once asked my why I write. Is it because I love it? I had to say no; writing is a slow, hard slog for me. Stephen King says he typically cranks out 2 000 words a day. I'm lucky if I can accomplish that in a week--when I'm not up to my eyeballs in schoolwork.<br />
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But the question remains: why write? My hobby used to be refinishing old furniture. I love to strip off old finishes, sand, and varnish wood, bringing it back to life and usefulness. At some point I realized that I liked it because I got a lot of pleasure from the simple act of accomplishing something concrete. Teaching is a fairly emphemeral task, and some days can be an exercise in frustration. I often compare it to tossing pebbles into a pond; it's difficult to see results beyond the ripples you've created, so it's nice to be able to point to something and say, "I did that."<br />
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Writing has taken the place of furniture refinishing. I like researching and gathering notes, learning about my chosen time period, and then working out what the characters do and say. Sketching out a scene, then polishing the draft gives me a similar feeling of accomplishment, and learning something new is fun as well. I have yet to realize the thrill that comes with publication, but I look forward to the day when I can point to a book on a shelf and say, "I wrote that."MMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16519201688352108685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348894105782790269.post-34873961260937567242013-04-22T14:59:00.002-07:002013-04-22T14:59:46.847-07:00"You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes well you might find you get what you need." Mick Jagger & Keith Richards I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed (heck, I got a D in Geometry in back in high school because I was lousy at proofs) but one thing I do have going for me is a vast store of perseverence. Before I started working on <u>Isabelle's Confession</u>, for example, I finished my Ph.D. thesis while caring for our newborn daughter. Some days I didn't get much done at all, but I just kept plugging away, and eventually I did get my degree and graduate.<br />
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As an aspiring writer I think it's easy to be led astray by those who profess to know much more than we do about the craft. There are classes, conferences, webinars, books, podcasts, and websites galore, all promising to give you exactly what you need to know to write the Great American Novel, the Next Great Play, or The Perfect Screenplay. There's so much <em>stuff</em> that you can easily spend all your time learning about writing while not actually putting pen or pixels to paper. It's easy to doubt your own abilities while running around in search of more and better advice. As I said in my first post, I'm definitely an Old School girl. I never went to the Web for advice on writing. I came across Stephen King's book <u>On Writing</u> in a second-hand bookshop in 2001 or 2002, before I even started writing, and I bought it because I like memoirs. The second half of the book wherein he describes what he thinks are important skills for a writer to have I skimmed over. It wasn't until I actually began working on my novel that I went back to it for guidance, and it was all I ever used outside of my own abilities as a researcher and an editor that I had honed in grad school.<br />
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Ultimately, I think it's important to trust in your own abilities and imagination. Nobody read my work until I was done with it (one of Stephen's tips), which meant I had to be in it for the long haul. It's hard to be thoughtful and purposeful these days with so much clamoring for our attention, which is why patience and perseverence really matter in writing. With your head down and your nose to the grindstone you'll eventually finish, and then you can go looking for an audience. Not that the road to publication is easy or short...MMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16519201688352108685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348894105782790269.post-59461737789844560362013-04-12T09:55:00.000-07:002013-04-12T09:55:07.366-07:00In Praise of Paper.I can't compose at the keyboard. I admire anyone who can, but I've found that if I try I either sit staring at the cursor blinking at me or I change one word for another that I've already rejected over and over again. For whatever reason, I do much better when I have paper and pen in hand. Heck, even this blog post started as notes scribbled in one of my many spiral pads.<br />
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In my notebooks I feel free to write whatever and however it occurs to me. Sometimes, when the synapses are firing nicely, the words tumble out in nearly final form, requiring only a bit of polish before adding them to the rest of the work. Sometimes I write the scene as it appears to me, sketched out in a fairly omniscient third person perspective (so far both novels are written in first person). And sometimes I talk to myself, making suggestions, proposing scenes, making corrections, and notes for further research.<br />
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I suppose I could do all of this electronically. I've used the review function in Word with my students, but if I had to wait for a computer to boot up every time a snippet of dialogue popped into my head in the middle of the night I'd forget what I wanted to say and it would be lost.<br />
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Looking at my notebooks, it's easy to see that writing is a process as our English teachers told us. There are additions, subtractions, word changes, rewrites of all sorts. I use highlighters to indicate which word or phrase I ultimately decide to use. When it's as perfect as I can make it, I finally type it into my computer, where I print out the file from time to time and edit it again. <br />
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I think the moral of the story is, use what works for you. Respect your process, no matter how hopelessly archaic it may seem to anyone else. After all, people have been writing on papyrus, parchment, and paper far longer than they have in pixels.MMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16519201688352108685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348894105782790269.post-76913120205412417402013-04-09T10:45:00.003-07:002013-04-09T10:45:44.874-07:00"There's no time for us..." QueenA publishing consultant once told me that only five percent of all writers make a living from their work. That means the vast majority of all writers, aspiring or already published, need a day job to keep a roof over their head and their bellies full. This leads to one of the great conflicts in a writer's life: trying to find time to work.<br />
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When I began writing <u>Isabelle's Confession</u> I was working as a substitute teacher, which meant I had time to write nearly every day, but when I went back to teaching full-time lesson plans, grading, and my students' needs had to come first. Writing got pushed to the end of a very long "to-do" list, which meant that sometimes weeks would pass before I could find time to get serious work done. I also had to develop some strategies to help keep my writing in the forefront. I began carrying little spiral notebooks in my purse, in my jacket, and in my jogging coat. I exercise in the morning before going to work, which means most of the year it's dark. With nothing much to see by streetlight, I find I can focus on a scene and think about where it needs to go without distraction and I can put it in my notebook, which I then transfer to my main notebook to be incorporated into the book. I also got a pair of Bose noise-cancelling headphones to help me focus on my writing when Patient Husband is home. Reading over what I've already read usually helps me pick up the thread of what I was working on and allows me to move the story along, as does research, although I have to be careful not to get lost in the stacks of research for its own sake. I also had to learn not to get overly frustrated by my often glacial writing pace. The muse speaks when she's ready, and if you're doing all you can to create a comfortable place for her you just can't force things. Thinking about your writing is work, as is editing, and both constitute progress as much as new words on the page do. And, ultimately, as Stephen King said in his book <u>On Writing</u>: Life isn't a support-system for art. It's the other way around.MMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16519201688352108685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4348894105782790269.post-5866484046578646992013-03-17T08:14:00.002-07:002013-03-17T08:14:32.726-07:00From my earliest childhood, our town library was one of my favorite haunts. I spent many happy hours there, reading everything from Walter Farley's novels to Jane Goodall's <u>In the Shadow of Man</u>. As I got older and began working on my degrees, I continued my love affair with libraries. Some folks may have found the dim aisles of the stacks oppressive and lonely, but to me it was home.<br />
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When I began writing <u>Isabelle's Confession</u>, I soon realized that more research was in order. Luckily for me, King County has a fantastic library system. What they didn't own personally, they'd happily get for me through interlibrary loan, which was good because I needed detailed information on fourteenth century English weapons, clothing, food, housing, holidays, pastimes--innumerable details that make a historical novel fascinating and its characters more real. I bought a few books, but most I borrowed from the library. For the most part I avoided the Web, not trusting its reliability. <br />
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I also had to be careful not to commit anachronisms. I often turned to my big dictionary (both French and English) to see when words came into use. I had a tough time deciding whether or not to use "explode," for example. Words like "second" or "minute" were easier to avoid once I got into the mindset, although I did find a few had slipped in when doing a final read-through. I was recently reading <u>The Robe</u>, and was annoyed to see that the author had left in a reference to alligators in his first-century story--a New World animal not known by Europeans at the time. It may be nit-picky of me, but it interferes with my suspension of disbelief. I suppose that's why I don't read much historical fiction. I prefer to read biographies and books on history because I know their authors have done their homework (usually). If I get into a book and find it doesn't meet my expectations I stop reading it. Life's too short to read junk.<br />
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Next up: trying to find time enough and tranquility to write.MMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16519201688352108685noreply@blogger.com0