Past Perfect

Writing Week: Feb 6-10

2012-02-10T11:51:00.000-08:00

Midway through January I began a new work in progress (WIP). I started it a few weeks earlier than I'd planned, but the first part of the WIP was vivid and nudging at me to get written, so I went ahead and did the research for that section first (focusing on Fort William Henry, but also the history of the entire French & Indian part of the Seven Years War), and wrote those scenes. My POV character is a major in the Royal Americans, a British Army regiment, who has the misfortune of being garrisoned at Fort William Henry in August of 1757.

This week I switched gears and began another section of the book that's told from another point of view (POV) character. She's fourteen years old in the first two chapters of her section. I've never written from the pov of such a young person before. It's been fun. Challenging. Thinking back to when I was fourteen only helps slightly, because this girl is not how I was then. She's strong willed. Determined. Full of righteous indignation over unfairness. Often too quick to judge (okay, I may have been this way too at fourteen). I've managed to write two chapters of hers this week (roughly 5,800 words in total), leaving spots in rough sketchy form and several [ ]s scattered throughout, pending further research on several topics.

Which brings me to a list of all the topics I have researched this week, along with the writing:

~ The goings on militarily in New York and Canada in 1759, during the French & Indian War

~ The doings of various Iroquois tribes during the F&I War

~ The apothecary trade (just started researching this topic, which includes the time-consuming task of figuring out which books I need to request from the library or purchase on line. Much more learning to be done)

~ Schenectady, NY, circa 1750-1778 (more books on the way, so my research is still in the bud)

~ Blood letting as a medical practice

~ Welsh bows

~ Welsh accents and the rhythm of English as spoken by native Welsh

I'm pretty sure my current POV character, the fourteen year old, will have aged a couple of years by next week, when I pick up with her next chapter. How will she have matured? What about her will be the same? I look forward to discovering.

From Stone Thrower's Son (working title):

Life at fourteen was pure vexation. How could it be otherwise, caught between girlhood and womanhood like a leaf snagged on driftwood, forced to bide and pray for a pitying eddy to nudge one along, while life’s river rushed merrily past? But Lydia Eve McClaren—fourteen’s latest victim—thought it really too much that she should have to look as awkward as she felt.

In the past twelvemonth her height had outstripped her weight. Her nose had got ahead of the rest of her face. And her hands, once so biddable, seemed intent on doing the reverse of whatever she meant them to do.

She yearned for fifteen. At times she even missed twelve, though she would jump in the Mohawk River in her shift before admitting as much.

How To Do A Welsh Accent

2012-02-06T13:02:00.000-08:00

I'm endlessly fascinated with and charmed by non-USA English speakers' accents. Scottish, Irish, New Zealanders, Welsh... the list is long. Which probably explains why many of the characters I write don't sound like I do when they speak.

Since my stories are set in the eighteenth century, either in the fledgling United States or (like my current work in progress) the Colonies, it's easy for my characters to be European transplants from one country or another, complete with their national flavor of the English language.

I've written quite a few characters with Scottish accents, and one or two with Irish accents. For my current WIP I decided several of my characters would hail from Wales.

For decades I've been a fan of The Brother Cadfael mysteries, a series of medieval mysteries written by the late Ellis Peters, featuring the intrepid and often loose-footed Welsh monk, Cadfael. But other than turning to those for a guide for rendering a Welsh accent in my character's dialogue (keeping as far away as I can from creatively phonetic misspellings that often hamper a reader in making sense of dialogue), I was at a loss for how to give a distinctively Welsh cadence to their speech. So I went Googling. And found this highly entertaining website:

How To Do A Welsh Accent

If you like what you see (and hear) here, then look to the right for many more short tutorials on various accents by voice coach Gareth Jameson. I'm not sure how helpful these videos will be in my attempt to render accented dialogue on the page, but I found them addictive, and thought I'd pass them along to anyone else who happens to be as fascinated by other people's accents as I am.

A few more examples:

How To Do A Scottish Accent
How To Do A French Accent
How To Do A Cockney Accent
How To Do A German Accent

Three Upcoming Historical Novels

2012-02-01T19:31:00.000-08:00

Still Life with Three Books by Vincent van Gogh, 1887

I just pre-ordered three books. This is a rare thing for me to do, but these upcoming historical novels have, for various reasons, caught my eye and I just can't wait my usual few weeks or months after a book debuts to finally get around to ordering a copy.

The first book is Love's Reckoning, by Laura Frantz, first in the Ballantyne Legacy, her new series (release date September 1, 2012). There's still no cover available, though I know for a fact that Laura at least has seen it, and is very happy with it. I am getting quite impatient for Revell to release the cover image to the world at large, having been privileged to read a first draft of the story. I can't wait to see what this new (to Laura) cover designer has come up with. I'll be sure to point the way to it whenever it makes its appearance. O frabjous day!

***

The second book is Lisa Norato's Prize of My Heart (release date March 1, 2012). I've never read Lisa Norato's writing before. What captured me about this one is the story situation. Here's a blurb:

An unsolved mystery separates ex-privateersman Captain Brogan Talvis from his lost son--his only living relation, his only family. Shortly before her tragic demise, his wife abandoned their infant to strangers, refusing to reveal the child's whereabouts. Now, three years later, Brogan has discovered the boy at the home of a shipbuilder's daughter, Lorena Huntley.

Lorena guards a dark secret about her young charge. She finds herself falling for the heroic captain who has come to claim his newly built ship, unaware his motive for wooing her is to befriend the boy he plans on reclaiming as his own--until the day another's evil deceit leaves her helplessly shipbound, heading toward England.

As the perfect opportunity to reclaim his son unfolds, Brogan is haunted by thoughts of Lorena in her dire circumstance, and he is forced to make a heartrending choice between his child and the woman who has begun to capture his heart. But only his unselfish sacrifice can win him the greatest prize of all--love.

Since one of my recent historical manuscripts was set during the 1790s, not too far off the time period of this novel, I'm looking forward to soaking up the setting as well as the story.

***

The third book, Through Rushing Water by Catherine Richmond (release date July 3, 2012), had me at hello. By that I mean the cover. Just. Look. At. It. Then click on it for a larger view. Breathtaking!

After I got over staring at this marvelous cover, I read the story blurb on Casey Herringshaw's site.

I like this book even better now. I've never read Richmond. I hope to fall in love.

But isn't that how it always is with a new author, or a new book?

What books do you see on the horizon (releasing later this year) that you think might have that love affair potential? Any books you've lately fallen in love with? New authors? Tell me about them in the comments!

I still remember how it felt the first time I read Charles Martin's The Mountain Between Us. Sigh. Love at first page, that was.

Book Launch: Before the Scarlet Dawn, by Rita Gerlach

2012-01-31T03:34:00.000-08:00

From critically acclaimed novelist, Rita Gerlach, comes book 1 in 'The Daughters of the Potomac Series', a timeless tale of love and betrayal, loss and redemption against the backdrop of the American Revolution.

Book 1 in the long awaited 'Daughters of the Potomac Series' by author Rita Gerlach.

Readers will grow attached to heroine Eliza Morgan, as she faces the hardships of colonial life when she leaves behind all she has in order to follow her heart and the man she loves into the Maryland wilderness.

* * *

On a windswept night in April of 1775, Eliza sat at her father’s bedside hoping he would recover. Forced to leave the home she grew up in, Eliza grows desperate. She could marry her former suitor, but cannot bear the thought of a loveless marriage.

Instead she falls in love with Hayward Morgan, the condescending son of a landed gentleman. When Eliza learns of his plans to leave England and build a life in the Maryland frontier, she decides to present a proposal of her own.

Visit author Rita Gerlach's new book launch page for more details on her new series, view the book trailer, and read the first chapter of Before The Scarlet Dawn for free!

Review: The Art and Craft of Writing Historical Fiction by James Alexander Thom

2012-01-23T05:23:00.000-08:00

"The past is where we get the raw material we use.... We pick bygone time up by the handfuls and, like clay, see if it feels right and then form it into stories about the past." ~ James Thom, The Art and Craft of Writing Historical Fiction

James Alexander Thom is one of my favorite general market fiction writers, so when I learned last year that he'd written The Art and Craft of Writing Historical Fiction, I ordered a copy and read it at once. More than a nuts and bolts How To Write book, Thom's offering on the craft is in many ways more philosophical than I expected, but delightfully so. It's also peppered with humorous and thoughtful anecdotes that delve into his personal experiences of writing and researching historical fiction. The many examples taken from his novels are bound to interest any reader familiar with Thom and his work.

The book begins with a look at what Thom calls the River of Time. "The story of the world, of America.... flows like a river, and we are all in it--some of us dead, some old, some young, some as yet unborn." Making sure the characters we write come across believably as being in that River of Time farther upstream than the Now in which we write their stories, and offering techniques to help create this verisimilitude, is largely what the rest of the book is about. Unlike the historian, the historical novelist doesn't "[point] backward toward a past time, but [takes] the reader back to that time, back when that time was now, and [looks] forward to the uncertainty of the next hours and days." Thom spends chapters showing and telling how to make those long-ago moments "so vivid, so real, so sensuously complete and immediate that the reader is there, then, looking forward, not just here, now, looking back." Deeper into the book Thom writes, "Your characters are who they are because they enter that stream when and where they do. They are products of their time, and they do what they do because of the circumstances of history in which they find themselves."

Other topics covered are historical truth vs. fiction (the importance of accuracy and just how much fudging of the truth should a writer indulge in). Methods for researching, from book research to the internet to getting out and experiencing history physically. Genealogical research. Taming all that data once you've accumulated it. Starting your story. Writing to the senses. How NOT to write historical fiction. And when and how to orient the reader in another time and place, through setting and details: "As much as you can, you must be like someone who has lived there, because you're going to be not just the storyteller but also the tour guide taking your readers through the past."

The Art and Craft of Writing Historical Fiction is written with an engaging voice that feels more like sitting in a classroom listening to a skilled lecturer telling story after story, and dropping nuggets of vital craft information along the way--or maybe more like a master storyteller sitting across the fire while behind you in the rustling dark owls hoot and coyotes yip. So listen and be entertained, but add another stick of wood to the fire and have your pen and journal ready, because you're about to learn a thing or two.

James Alexander Thom is the author of Follow the River, Long Knife, From Sea to Shining Sea, Panther in the Sky, Sign-Talker, and The Red Heart. He lives in the Indiana hill country with his wife, Dark Rain of the Shawnee Nation, United Remnant Band. You can find him on line at: www.jamesalexanderthom.com

This review was previously posted at Colonial Quills.

It's a Process

2012-01-18T09:28:00.000-08:00

I've spent this month (which is flying by, can it already be the 18th??) doing the background research and developing ideas for two new stories. Now I've chosen one of them to push ahead with. Or one has chosen me. Its protagonists have grabbed hold of my heart, a plot has been spun, and already I'm on the verge of writing that first scene. Research is ongoing, and will be for months. But I thought it a good time here at the outset to jot down the nuts and bolts of my novel crafting process.

Every writer has a unique process by which he or she gets words on the page, then shapes them into a story. I'm always interested in other writers' processes, especially when they're different from my own.

Getting to know many writers over the years, I've noticed two extremes. On the one hand is the writer who pens her first drafts as fast as possible, then goes back and performs one or more substantial edits to bang it into shape. At the other extreme are those writers who write slowly and with such thorough editing as they go that what they end up with at the end of that first draft is pretty much the finished product.

Over the last three novels (since I began writing again after the chemo fog began to lift in 2004), four counting this new one, my process has evolved until I now find I'm somewhere in the middle of those extremes.

My process goes like this: before I start writing a first draft I do a few weeks of brainstorming (or several months if this is happening on the back burner while I'm still writing another novel) about the story as a whole, ending up with what I call a story salad. A story salad is bits and pieces of possible twists and turns, motives, settings, characters, names, connections, mysteries, secrets, hopes, and dreams all tossed together, maybe or maybe not hinting at a novel-worthy plot at this point.

Jesse goes to the Cherokee.

Willa is struggling with some internal conflict.

The overseer is making life tough for Seona.

Daniel or Nathaniel... Danny or Nate.... or should I just go with William?

I create a master file that I fill full of this stuff, laying it down in what I think is chronological order (though it often proves otherwise).

My next step looks like this: When enough of this story salad gets tossed together that I start to sense a shape and a plot to the novel, I create an outline. I used to skip this step, but I found with the last book I wrote that arranging my story salad in a Three Act plot outline helped me keep the pacing in balance as I wrote. And I never lost sight of the main focus of the story. I won't adhere so rigidly to this outline that if a better twist occurs to me along the way I won't take it, but having the outline, reminding me what my original intentions for the story and the characters were, gives me a good base line for judging whether a sudden inspiration (or a character taking the reins) will make for a more exciting, nuanced, or intriguing story, or only prove a sidetrack.

Once I feel I'm ready to start writing, I find a scene to begin with. It may or may not end up being the actual first scene of the book. All it needs to be at this point is a scene early on in the story with something in it that's hooked me, captured my attention. One in which I see the character, feel his conflict, hear his dialogue. That scene I've been daydreaming about and running through my mind over and over more than any other. That'll do to begin, because I want to capture that character's voice as soon as possible. If I do, it will make pushing ahead with the writing work much smoother.

So to begin, I take whatever is there--that first chunk of story salad that looks like it would hang together as a scene (the phrases, maybe a snippet of dialogue, the what ifs, the historical timeline of an event where applicable, all the possibilities I threw out while brainstorming this story)--and create a rough draft of the scene. I do this in a screenplay format: present tense, bare bones setting, basic stage business, main story/conflict beats I plan to build this scene around, most of the dialogue (but rarely any tags beyond a name or even initial). Sometimes long strings of bare dialogue if I hear my characters talking, getting it down as quickly as possible without the distraction of setting or stage business.

By now I see the shape of the scene, that it has a beginning, middle, and end. I know what the main character is trying to accomplish, what his motive is, what the conflict will be, who or what forces are working against him. I put it away for a few hours, or overnight if I'm at the end of a work day. I probably jot down notes to myself about it as I work on dinner or do whatever I do of an evening.

Next writing session I go back to the beginning and begin what I consider my first draft. I listen for an opening sentence if I didn't write one yesterday, wait for it, and when I have something that resonates, off I go. I convert the story salad bits to past tense (in 1.5 spacing, which is the format I'm comfortable working in). I craft whole sentences, add dialogue tags, description, more stage business, really try to get into the skin of my point of view character and hear, see, smell, feel his world, his thoughts, his motivations. Internals spill out, I try to up the conflict, anything and everything that comes to mind at this point gets spilled out onto the page. I want it to look like a finished scene in a book. Of course it doesn't. It's got rambling parts, and parts that are too spare, and parts that don't need to be there at all. I've probably written 1000-1500 words and I'm exhausted. I put it away for the day and will come back to it tomorrow.

The second pass over a scene means drawing even more on the senses if I've skimped in spots, making sure description is in the character's voice and is appropriate for the scene and the pacing. Tweaking dialogue. More detail. Going deeper into character. Probably a few surprises pop up, things that hint a what's to come, making me jot down ideas and begin to formulate future scenes.

Third pass, in which I realize this is all terribly overwritten and start analyzing what should stay, what should go. I strip out phrases and sentences and extraneous dialogue tags, while adding in bits here and there too.

Fourth pass, in which I've had a revelation that Something Else needs to be in that scene and so I work it in and finally (perhaps) understand what that scene is really about. More trimming to focus, not necessarily to make it shorter (that will come later).

At this point I might give the scene one more quick polish before moving on and repeating the process with the next scene. I'll do this over and over again until the book is finished. Then it's set aside for as long as possible to let the whole thing cool before I read through the entire story for the first time, as fast as I can, trying not to fiddle with it, but making notes for edits.

Then, I start to edit. If there are any big changes in the story structure, they come first. Then my very favorite thing of all, editing line by line, polishing the prose, choosing better, stronger, more vivid language wherever possible. Getting lyrical where appropriate, reining in my tendency to overwrite and using restraint in other places. There always seems to be more trimming needed. I'll double check my sources for any historical facts that have begun to slip my memory to be triple sure I've been accurate. Lastly I'll do a search for words and phrases I tend to overuse and replace some of them and....

That's how I make a novel.

The Rose Garden

2012-01-10T09:09:00.000-08:00

Do you enjoy reading historical fiction? Time-travel? Books set in England/Cornwall? Mysteries? Danger? Adventure? The 18th century? Romance? Lyrical prose that will sweep you away to another time and place and create characters so vivid they live on after the last page? Have I got a book for you!

Back when I was trying to choose my favorite reads from 2011, Susanna Kearsley's latest, The Rose Garden, was near the top of the list. So I want to give special mention to this book, tell you a little about it, and why I liked it so (other than the above list of reasons!).

One of those reasons is explained well by Susanna herself, at The Heroine Addicts blog (Getting To Know You). It's about courtship (vs. sex scenes) and the fact that this is vanishing in the market in which Susanna writes (not so much in the Christian fiction market, since that's what we focus on when writing romance), and why she feels it's important not to lose this "getting to know you" aspect of relationships in fiction.

Go read her post and get this in her own words.

Susanna has described the romantic scenes in her books as G-rated, and that's one of the qualities I appreciate about her novels. That doesn't mean the chemistry doesn't sizzle on the page at times, or the reader isn't hoping for and pulling for the characters every small step of the way as they do get to know one another.

Here's a blurb for The Rose Garden.

"Whatever time we have," he said, "it will be time enough."

Eva Ward returns to the only place she truly belongs, the old house on the Cornish coast, seeking happiness in memories of childhood summers. There she finds mysterious voices and hidden pathways that sweep her not only into the past, but also into the arms of a man who is not of her time.

But Eva must confront her own ghosts, as well as those of long ago. As she begins to question her place in the present, she comes to realize that she too must decide where she really belongs.

From Susanna Kearsley, author of the New York Times bestseller The Winter Sea and a voice acclaimed by fans of Gabaldon, du Maurier, and Niffenegger alike, The Rose Garden is a haunting exploration of love, family, the true meaning of home, and the ties that bind us together.

Writing multiple-character scenes

2012-01-06T05:47:00.000-08:00

While sorting through my prodigious accumulation of research books in an effort to thin the herd, I was leafing through a book on 18th century gardens (which I decided I could not part with), and ran across a bookmark. It was a halfsheet of paper on which I'd written the goals for every character involved in a particularly complex and layered scene in my first 18th century historical.

The scene was likely written in 2004, perhaps 2005. There are four characters involved, all men, all with a certain agenda they want to see forwarded. The scene consists of a single conversation in which each character, a plantation/mill owner, a young journeyman joiner, his uncle, and a man all but one of the other three believe to be a slave, has to reach his goal, or keep another character from reaching his.

Sound complicated? I must have thought so. The following is what I wrote to help guide me through this scene, and create as much tension as possible (stuff in parentheses added for clarification):

1. Ian (new guy in town and POV character) wants to get through this unwanted social visit with grace. Once he sees it, he wants to obtain the mahogany. Once it becomes apparent what Pryce (Character 2) wants in trade for it, he wants to control Thomas (Character 3) and prevent him from staying at Chesterfield.

2. Pryce (Chesterfield plantation and mill owner) wants to make a good business deal. Sell some wood to this new blood and if possible trade it for the services of his "slave". He would like to see Ian as financially tied to him as is his uncle.

3. Thomas (who everyone but Ian thinks is a slave) wants to get himself situated at Chesterfield to view the treatment of the slaves there.

4. Hugh (Ian's uncle) wants to see Ian established and respected in the community and so encourages the intercourse with Chesterfield.

It's telling to me that back then, as now, I found it difficult to write a scene like this, with many characters working at cross purposes in a social situation in which they cannot resort to open conflict, without making a list of what each character's goal is in the conversation. By working out ahead of time what each character who participates in the conversation wants, I saved myself a lot of wheel-spinning while writing the first draft. It also lends itself better to subtext, because knowing what each character truly wants, what they actually say can be layered with meaning that body language can then convey.

Of course, that doesn't mean that if halfway through the scene inspiration strikes in the form of a character doing or saying something unplanned that it isn't duly considered as a possible better route to take, or a better motivation for said character to have. But starting with a guideline, or resorting to one if the first draft turns out to be a muddle, always helps clear things up so I can write (or rewrite) the scene with confidence and a firm grasp on the goal and agenda of each character involved.

Does this disqualify me from the Seat-of-the-Pantsters Writing Club?

Just kidding. I withdrew my membership years ago when I realized I was (despite one noticeable lapse) a confirmed Plotter.

The Books I read in 2011

2012-01-01T19:59:00.000-08:00

Happy
New Year!

I'm kicking off 2012 on the blog by posting the books I read, fiction and nonfiction, over the past year. This is the second year I've kept a record of my reading, and while I didn't read as many books in 2011 as I did in 2010, still it's a pretty respectable list.

I could have created about a dozen categories in order to include all my "favorites" from the year. Instead, I'm only going to pick one novel and one book of nonfiction, and explain why that book had an impact on me, why I'm still thinking about it weeks, maybe months, later. But first the whole list:

Fiction
1. The Land Breakers, by John Ehle
2. The Shape of Mercy, by Susan Meissner (audio)
3. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (audio)
4. The Preacher's Bride, by Jody Hedlund
5. To Say Nothing of the Dog, or How We Found The Bishop's Bird Stump At Last, by Connie Willis (audio, narrated by Steven Crossley)
6. Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor, by Stephanie Barron
7. Christmas with Tucker, by Greg Kincaid (audio)
8. Maid to Match, by Deeanne Gist
9. Beastly, by Alex Flinn (audio)
10. The Capricorn Bracelet, by Rosemary Sutcliff
11. The Dawn of a Dream, by Ann Shorey
12. Mine is the Night, by Liz Curtis Higgs
13. Lady in Waiting, by Susan Meissner
14. Love Amid the Ashes, by Mesu Andrews
15. Cottonwood Whispers, by Jennifer Erin Valent
16. Sign-Talker, by James Alexander Thom
17. Catching Moondrops, by Jennifer Erin Valent
18. Jane and the Man of the Cloth, by Stephanie Barron
19. Warrior Woman, by James Alexander Thom
20. Who Comes to King's Mountain? by John Louis Beatty & Patricia Beatty
21. The Warrior's Path, by Louis L'Amour
22. The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom
23. Waterfall, by Lisa T. Bergren
24. Cascade, by Lisa T. Bergren
25. The Man with the Silver Eyes, by William O. Steele
26. Wayah of the Real People, by William O. Steele
27. Cherokee Dragon by Robert Conley
28. Long Knife, by James Alexander Thom
29. Torrent, by Lisa T. Bergren
30. Year of Wonders, by Geraldine Brooks (audio)
31. Ransome's Quest, by Kaye Dacus
32. Caleb's Crossing, by Geraldine Brooks (audio)
33. Flaming Arrows, by William O. Steele
34. Love Remains, by Kaye Dacus
35. Tomahawk Border, by William O. Steele
36. The Buffalo Knife, by William O. Steele
37. The Year The Swallows Came Early, by Kathryn Fitzmaurice (audio)
38. The Year of the Bloody Sevens, by William O. Steele
39. The Rose Garden, by Susanna Kearsley
40. The Children of First Man, by James Alexander Thom
41. The Colonel's Lady, by Laura Frantz

Nonfiction
1. The Art of Subtext, Beyond Plot, by Charles Baxter
2. Boston 1689-1776, by G. B. Warden
3. America's First Western Frontier: East Tennessee, by Brenda C. Calloway
4. Nancy Ward, Cherokee Chieftainess, Dragging Canoe, Cherokee-Chickamauga War Chief, by Pat Alderman
5. The Wataugans, by Max Dixon
6. Trail of Tears, by John Ehle
7. Blue Ridge Range, The Gentle Mountains, by Ron Fisher
8. The Cherokee, by Barbara A. McCall
9. Cherokee, by D. L. Birchfield
10. The Cherokees, by Eileen Lucas
11. The Cherokee Nation: Life Before the Tears, by Madeleine Meyers
12. Cherokee History, Myths and Sacred Formulas, by James Mooney
13. The Melungeons: The Resurrection of a Proud People, by N. Brent Kennedy
14. Melungeons Yesterday and Today, by Jean Patterson Bible
15. The Sisters of the Sinai, by Janet Soskice
16. American Colonies, by Alan Taylor
17. Boone, A Biography, by Robert Morgan
18. The Art and Craft of Writing Historical Fiction, by James Alexander Thom (forgot to add this one when I actually read it a few months ago... thanks Caroline for jogging my memory!)

Sign-Talker by James Alexander Thom was the sixteenth novel I read this year, so it was likely sometime back in the spring when I finished it. I haven't stopped thinking about it, or about George Drouillard, the French/Shawnee hunter and interpreter Lewis and Clark hired (Dec 1803) to accompany them on the journey to the Pacific Ocean in 1804. This is the story of the entire journey of the Corps of Discovery told from Drouillard's point of view. The story continues past the Corps' return, to the years Drouillard spent as a fur trader in the beautiful untamed Yellowstone country he fell in love with on his travels with the captains. Of him Lewis wrote: A man of much merit; he has been peculiarly usefull from his knowledge of the common language of gesticulation, and his uncommon skill as a hunter and woodsman; those several duties he performed in good faith, and with an ardor which deserves the highest commendation. It was his fate also to have encountered, on various occasions, with either Captain Clark or myself, all the most dangerous and trying scenes of the voyage, in which he uniformly acquited himself with honor.

By the time I'd finished this novel I agreed with Lewis's assessment, and it was terribly hard to turn that last page of the book. I'm now reading a biography of the man, George Drouillard: Hunter and Interpreter for Lewis and Clark and Fur Trader, 1807-1810, by M. O. Skarsten. I've read many books and watched many documentaries about the Corps of Discovery, but now when I think of that journey it's Drouillard who comes to mind first, not the men who led the expedition.*

* Sign-Talker is a mainstream historical novel. Life on the American frontier was often brutal, and this book doesn't shy away from portraying it as such.

Unlike Sign-Talker, I finished Boone, A Biography, by Robert Morgan yesterday, just under the wire for it to be included in my 2011 list. This book was read for writing research, and I devoured it as I would have a page-turning novel. Perhaps it's because Morgan writes fiction too that his biography of the frontiersman Daniel Boone reads like a novel. Although Daniel Boone himself may never wander into any of my stories (I'm not saying he won't), I've learned more about the mid to late 18th century frontier settlement from this one book than many others put together, and it's given me many possibilities for one of the new stories that have been simmering on a back burner in my head, and which I plan to plot out in the coming weeks.

I've decided I could happily spend the rest of my days reading such works of history as Boone, A Biography, gleaning little nuggets to work into my own fiction, and live a contented life.

I hope you read some good books in 2011 too. Did you have a favorite novel, or work of nonfiction? Feel free to share about them in the comments. It's from such comments that I find many of the books I end up loving too.

So here's to 2012, and all the books yet to be written, read, and savored!

The Time Between Times

2011-12-31T14:28:00.000-08:00

Moonrise over the Sea by Caspar David Friedrich 1822

In ages past the Celtic tribes of Britain spoke of a Time Between Times, those blurred twilight borders between day and night, between seasons, between one year and the next. It's a time when the eyes of the earth are closing for slumber, when the sun retreats and the moon and stars rise to take the stage. In Celtic tradition and legend, this was a time when the veil between this world and the Otherworld grew thin, where the laws of time and space might be broken. A time of beginings and endings. Of birth and death. Often a magical time.

Maybe because I was born during one of these times, the old Celtic New Year of Samhain, which we now call All Hallows Eve, or Halloween, I'm attracted to those times. I become more attentive to the world at twilight. I feel a special peace during the brief, pearly gray before the sun rises. I much prefer spring over summer, and fall above all other seasons.

There's another Time Between Times for a writer, and here at the end of 2011, not quite the start of 2012, I find myself there again. It's the period of days, weeks, or months between the finishing of one novel and the starting of another. This time between is a blending of the satisfaction and fulfillment of the story just told and the anticipation, uncertainty, and hope for the story yet to be born.

I'm never quite at ease when I'm not writing, but during this time I remind myself that when I'm not writing... I still am. A writer needs to allow time and room for her new characters to speak up and declare themselves. For me, that means picking the right books to read, fiction or nonfiction (and putting aside for later those that aren't filling the creative well), and keeping a notebook handy at all times.

That's where I'm at here on the cusp of 2012, in the hopeful, anxious, suspenseful place between a finished book and one not yet formed. Waiting, listening, scribbling ideas, dates, timelines, back stories.

Anticipating magic.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-22T04:45:00.000-08:00

I saw a book tree like this on Facebook this year and had to try it.

To all who've visited and commented here on the blog over the years (or for the first time today!), I appreciate the chance to talk with you about all things writing, reading, faith, 18th century, and book-related (Whew! That's a lot of interests for one little ol' blog).

Merry Christmas!

And a Blessed New Year!!

Posting at Colonial Quills Today

2011-12-21T04:44:00.000-08:00

About 18th Century Christmas traditions.

Come on over for a visit!

Whatever shall I wear?

2011-12-14T20:41:00.000-08:00

With my new gown, that is.

I've acquired an 18th century style costume gown, created by the talented Scott Blake at Yordreems Creations. From their website: "Scott is known all over the world as one of the leading wardrobe replicators. Now with his wife Erica lending a hand, Yordreem items have been seen everywhere…including the filming of POTC2 (Pirates of the Caribbean 2), the set National Treasure2, Disney World Resorts, TV commercials, huge scale travel advertisements, national television, and on and on…"

Impressive! And so is this gorgeous gown.

Now I need to get a shift (or chemise) and a set of stays, so I can have the gown altered a bit. It's really quite a good fit even without the stays. Just a little big in the shoulders. But stays will tell the real story, I'm sure. So I'm exercising self control and not having the dress altered until I can afford to buy them.

I have to say that simply wearing the gown for an hour or so gave me a whole new appreciation for what the women of the 18th century put up with when it came to clothes. And I wasn't even wearing stays yet! After an hour I had a great deal more sympathy for one of my characters in my WIP, who is left all dressed up and waiting around for a man who is very late, unable to sit down for fear of creasing her gown (as I waited for my husband to arrive home so I could show him the gown, before changing back into my comfy sweats).

When I can budget in the rest of the garments for a complete 18th century ensemble, I'll have myself photographed in the gown. For now though here is a sneak peek, photo taken by Scott and used with his permission (thanks Scott!)

Another journey's end

2011-12-07T11:08:00.000-08:00

At the end of the trail.....

Ah....

That's my sigh of satisfaction, having just written the real final line of the novel in progress. I wrote the last chapter weeks ago of course, only to decide it needed an epilogue to tie up some loose threads and give a better sense of closure.

Not every loose thread. Not one tidy bow. But so ends my first major edit. I'll take a couple days off to clear my head, then launch into a second edit. This one will focus on polishing and trimming. My word count is a little higher than I (and my agent) want it to be (anyone surprised?), and I've made a list of minor changes to work in. This edit will be fast, done by the end of the year, God willing.

So. A little progress report to mark this December day.

And by the by, I read a very good post today from author (The War of Art) Steven Pressfield, about Villains, and why we must give them their say. And make it believable! "The villain... carries the counter-theme. The more convincing his case, the better the story."Click over and share in his writing wisdom!

The Fellowship of the First Draft

2011-12-01T15:36:00.000-08:00

This week one of my favorite authors, Susanna Kearsley talked about Letting Go (The Heroine Addicts blog), saying good-bye to one's characters. Writing that last scene in which they appear. And the wrench of sadness and loss this can bring a writer. Even if the character isn't giving up the ghost, but simply walking off stage and out of the story.

In my comment on her blog, I said: It's hard to let a character go, especially if he's been a point of view character. I just did that on Friday, wrote the last scene from a secondary character's pov, and the last scene before he walks out of the story to go his way. He was good company. I'll miss him. Even though, as you say, there's editing to be done, and perhaps he'll wander into another story one day. This is his second appearance in one of mine. But there's nothing quite like the fellowship of a first draft, between author and character, is there?

That last line got me thinking about the relationship that forms between characters and their creator during the writing process. It holds a lot of the same chemistry, wonder, and thrill of falling in love, as I come to know these story people chapter by chapter.

I've even found myself feeling a bond with a few of my antagonists, because I've gone inside their heads and realized they have reasons (often wounded, twisted reasons) for the wrenches they throw into the smooth gears of my protagonists lives. That's one of my gauges for whether or not I've given my antagonist enough depth and motivation, if on some level I can feel for him, or her, and understand (if not like) where they are coming from and why they make the choices they do. I admit, I've wept over one or two such characters who met their end unrepentant.

When the first draft is done, there's still plenty of time to spend with the characters in each novel. There's editing, and lots of it. And while overall I enjoy the editing and polishing stages of novel writing more than writing first draft, there is one aspect of first draft writing that trumps everything else.

It's those days (and they don't happen but maybe once or twice a week during a first draft) when I emerge after hours of intense writing, when the characters have surprised me, said and done things I hadn't expected, revealed layers to their minds and hearts I didn't know would be there. That is story-writing magic. It's exhausting and exhilarating, and I wouldn't trade it for all the later draft polishing in the world.

A side note: speaking of editing, I've had my head down all week doing just that, and only today realized I hadn't blogged this week. How is it December 1 already? The year has flown, but I've just about met one of my goals, researching and writing a 120,000 word historical novel in under a year's time. I started in February. Got any goals that you're closing in on here at the end of 2011?

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T08:03:00.000-08:00

Giving thanks today to the Giver of all good things.

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." James 1:17

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

This morning I read a blog post from author Jody Hedlund (The Preacher's Bride), about why we (Americans) need to go on a diet.

"We’ve become overweight with our possessions." With that one sentence she's managed to put succinctly what's been weighing on my heart for years about our culture. Consider this my resounding AMEN, Jody.

Happy Thanksgiving! Why We Might Need to Go on a Diet by Jody Hedlund

Music to inspire

2011-11-18T15:17:00.000-08:00

I can't listen to music while I write. Many writers do. I wish I could. I need absolute silence, even to the point of wearing earplugs while I work (at least on the first draft), in a house with no one home but me and the dog, who is asleep 99% of the time. But I do find music inspiring during the hours I'm not writing. Especially in the car. Especially in the car while driving through mountains. Or the glory of autumn foliage.

While writing a novel I like to find a certain CD or maybe a few of them that put me into the story. This will be music that kindles the landscape and time of wherever and whenever my current story is set. That makes me see the characters. That tugs the strings of my heart back through time to some moment in their lives I'm either writing, or have written.

While writing a story set on a North Carolina plantation in 1793 it was a collection of songs called No Man Can Hinder Me, The Journey from Slavery to Emancipation through Song.

While writing a story about a woman coming back to her home in frontier New York, 1784, it was the soundtrack to Last of the Mohicans.

This past year, writing about western North Carolina, 1787, it's been the soundtrack to Ken Burns' Lewis & Clark Documentary. I think Burns' documentaries are some of the best out there, and this one tops my list of all his work. Some of my favorite musicians took part in the making of the soundtrack, notable among them John and Phil Cunningham, of the Silly Wizard Band.

If you haven't yet seen it, or it's been a while, you can watch the first part of the documentary here: http://blip.tv/lee/lewis-and-clark-episode-1-591912

And here is a solo mandolin player's rendition of "Beech Spring," one of the main themes from the Lewis & Clark soundtrack. This takes me right to the over-mountain frontier, 1787. Every time.

I have an idea....

2011-11-15T08:58:00.000-08:00

It's that time in the cycle of my writing life when I'm nearing the completion of one novel and casting about for potential new story fodder for the next.

Maybe "casting" isn't the best way to describe it. I don't go looking for story ideas. They find me easily enough on their own. Because I often absorb them subconsciously while in the act of play (reading, researching, watching good films), it's often a surprise when story ideas pop up later, seemingly out of nowhere. A mushroom is a great analogy for them. I mulch and water the creative soil with great storytelling in all its forms, and a hefty dose of research from the time period I write about (the 18th century), as well as with settings and scenery that inspire, with Scripture, and with the richness of human nature observed. What I get in return is a crop of interesting ideas.

It's at this point in the writing process, with a first draft done and a major edit nearly half done, that my mind is freed up to pay closer attention to the story ideas that have been coming my way for the past few months.

Ideas come to me usually in one of two forms. Either a character is paramount, along with something compelling about their personality or desires, and all I know is a sketchy fact or two about his or her external life. Or the kernel of the idea is a situation involving a group of individuals--an inciting incident intriguing enough that I can see a possibility of a story spinning out of it--in which I know little about the characters other than gender, age, and type, or the path they will take beyond the choices they make in that moment in time. Whether character-based or situation-based, not every idea that comes along has the complexity or substance behind it to expand into a novel-sized story.

How can I tell the difference? While I'm writing a first draft I'll start a file for each idea that pops up to make sure I don't forget it (though if I did, it wasn't an idea I'd have expanded into a novel anyway). And then I'll let it rest while I go on writing or editing the current work. Maybe I'll get a few more flashes of ideas that seem to be related to one of those initial story kernels I filed away, and I'll open the file and add them.

It's like having several pots of stew simmering on the stove, now and then lifting the lid to add some ingredient to one, something else to another. Eventually, the nearer I come to finishing the work in progress (the one on the front burner), one of those pots on the back burners will start to boil up and demand attention. When the front burner is clear I'll bring it forward and spend time experimenting with plot ideas, asking countless "what if" questions, prodding the characters to find what makes them tick and if I care about them and their conflicts enough to spend at least a year with them. Either the passion will take hold and I'll dive into the necessary research and the storytelling, or it won't and I'll slide them onto the back burner again and open another file. Or pot.

So what's cooking on the back burner now? Two possibilities. Both take place during the Revolutionary War, a slightly earlier time period than I've yet written. One is set in the southern colonies, one in the north. Both would require a lot of new research. I don't know yet which I'll pick. Or if I'll finally be able to write the story I want more than anything to write, a sequel to two finished novels, set in the late 1790s. I've decided not to push that one beyond the proposal stage until and unless both of the other books find a home.

But it's hard to keep from lifting that lid, just to take a taste. I won't write the story. I won't. But I could add a little salt there in the first scene, and some ~~carrots~~ conflict to spice up chapter three....

~flickr photo by farleyj

Posting at Colonial Quills Today

2011-11-07T06:06:00.000-08:00

Come visit me at Colonial Quills for more about the frontier stories of William O. Steele, one of my favorite authors, newly discovered.Be sure and check the comment section for updates on more of his stories I've read since that post was written. I continue to be entertained, instructed, and impressed with Steele's stories for children.

http://colonialquills.blogspot.com/2011/11/frontier-fiction-for-children-william-o.html

A new (to me) trick for line editing

2011-11-01T09:27:00.000-07:00

I'm deep into the first major edit of my WIP. This is meant to be a macro edit, where I make sure I've developed my characters well, given them strong goals and believable and conflicting motivations. I'm making sure I've used my settings to full advantage, that they aren't stagnant or repetitive or lackluster. I'm adding in a few chapters of a third point of view character. I'm paying attention to things like pacing, tension, and character arcs.

But I've learned over the years that no matter what my focus is on any given editing pass, I can't pass up the opportunity to line edit along the way. There's something hardwired into my brain that won't let me read over a clunky sentence without rewriting it, or delete a redundant phrase, or snip off an unnecessary dialogue tag or bit of stage business creating a hiccup in the rhythm of the prose, or beef up a weak, lackluster word or phrase that could be made vivid and precise. And I've found a new way in which to smooth out these rough patches. New to me, at least.

Several months back I upgraded my computer. Along with it came a new version of Word (2010), the program I use for writing. Most likely this little trick I've just "discovered" was available in some of Word's former incarnations, but being the non computer savvy person that I am, I never noticed it until I began to muddle my way around this strikingly new Word layout (grumbling through the first week of it, let me tell you).

It's the nifty little option down at the bottom right of the screen (when you have a document open) called Full Screen Reading. When you click on it, your document is displayed very much as it would look as a published book, with two pages side by side on the screen. When I clicked on this the first time, something magic happened. Loads of awkward prose sprang out at me as if it had been highlighted--this, after having read that very page in hard copy, then on the screen as I typed in all my changes, then again out loud to catch the rough spots I still missed after all that editing.

This Full Screen Reading feature might not have made a difference but for one crucial change it makes in the document. It changes the layout of the page, making it slightly narrower than it appears in the standard 1 inch margin document in which I normally work. The lines are shorter, the paragraphs longer. Perhaps I'm more visually oriented than most, but this makes a huge difference for me, seeing these by now familiar words arranged differently on the page. I really SEE them. It's even better than changing the font style or size for catching those rough edges that still need smoothing over even after so many passes.

So, there you have it. Full Screen Reading. One more weapon I've added to my editing arsenal.

Writers, do you already use Full Screen Reading for line by line editing? Have you found it helpful too?

Two Beautiful Rugs

2011-10-25T08:14:00.000-07:00

My birthday falls in autumn, and this year I decided to treat myself to a gift that means a great deal to me, and, I hope, to at least one other person I've never met. I chose to buy a hand-woven rug from an elderly Navajo weaver via the Adopt a Native Elder Program.

As their website (linked above) explains: The Adopt-A-Native-Elder Program exists to create a Bridge of Hope between Native Americans and other cultures.... The Program provides food, simple medicines, clothing, fabric, and yarns to help these (Navajo) Elders live on the Land in their traditional lifestyle.

Please visit their website for more details about their program, but for this post I want to talk about their wonderful Rug Catalog, accessible at their website, or click directly to it here:

Rug Catalog

"The sale of rugs through the catalog is one of the most important ways we have to provide financial support to our Elders. All proceeds from the sale of these rugs are returned to the weavers."

Oh boy. The day I found this website, and the Rug Catalog, I thought I'd stumbled upon a treasure in the desert. These beautiful handcrafted rugs come in all sizes, from the small wall rugs I've purchased, to saddle blankets, to full sized room rugs. The colors range from earth tones, to traditional colors, to some pretty wild and more modern designs. I've chosen the earth and traditional colors, since understated is more my style. But what really blesses me more than anything about this program is that when your rug arrives included with it is a photo of the weaver holding her creation. I cherish these photos, and I pray for these women.

Alice T. wove the rug I bought in 2009:

Mary B. wove the rug that arrived in yesterday's mail:

If you're so inclined, please take a few minutes to explore the Adopt-A-Native-Elder website, and take a look at these beautiful, unique weavings. I think you'll be glad you did.

In writing news... I'm working on edits for The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn, paying particular attention this time through to the goals, motivations, and conflicts of my characters, refining them, strengthening them, striving for clarity every step of the way and making each scene as compelling as possible (Inkspirational Messages has a good post on this topic today).

I do love a challenge. I want to run each day's race of working so that I'm spent by its end. Then I can collapse on my couch for a bit and admire Mary's beautiful rug now adorning my wall, or Alice's, which hangs above my desk.

Thank you, Mary and Alice. Beautiful, beautiful work, ladies!

Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her own works praise her in the gates.

Proverbs 31:31

Chemo brain: 12 years later

2011-10-20T18:51:00.000-07:00

In the mail this week was a letter reminding me it's time for a yearly check up that most women began having after they turn 40, but one I've had to have yearly since I was 30. The mammogram.

I'm considered high risk for breast cancer, because of the radiation treatment I received twelve years ago to cure me of the cancer I had then, lymphoma. Twelve years. That feels pretty exhilarating to type as well as to say in conversation, on the rare occassions the subject arises.

I've talked else where (such as in this interview) of my battle with cancer, and the number it did on my brain for several years afterward, when I was otherwise in remission, my hair had grown back, and I appeared a healthy 30-something woman walking around. What I was, really, was a slightly bewildered ex-fiction writer with her brain in a fog who'd pretty much given up on ever writing again.

God brought me through that dark valley, and five years post chemo I did begin writing again the types of novels that never stopped being my passion to write. The only difference was I settled on the historical genre (instead of fantasy, and contemporary).

Writing historicals takes a tremendous amount of research, especially when one picks an era she previously knew little about. Added to working hard to get back in the discipline of daily writing again without letting it overwhelm me, I had to give myself a crash course in Colonial, Revolutionary, and early Federal American history.

Noooo problem. Except that here's where a long term affect of chemo fog comes into play in my story. I don't have much of a long term memory anymore. Things I researched five years ago (okay, honestly? Things I researched a few months ago) are no longer where I put them in my head, and if I find I need them again for the current novel in progress, guess what? I get to research them all over again. So really my researching never ends, because I'm constantly reading up on subjects I've already researched. I do this now as a matter of course, because I know it's not going to stick for long.

In the beginning, it wasn't this way.

It's not that I wouldn't have noticed this memory issue if I wasn't writing. There are huge gaps in my childhood, teenage years, and even early married years that I no longer recall. Frequently my husband will mention something that happened or someone we knew or somewhere we went decades ago and I draw a total blank. Sometimes I'll hazily recall it and realize I would never have thought of it again, ever, had he not brought it up.

Now, I'm also twelve years older than I was before I had cancer and chemo, so maybe some of this is simply age, but I tend to doubt that. Mainly due to the conspicuous timing of the onset of this memory issue with chemotherapy.

So what this all boils down to is that I simply have to work harder at the research aspect of historical fiction writing than I probably would if I'd never had chemotherapy. In some ways I'm glad about this. When I become frustrated, knowing I once knew some fact (or many of them) that I need for a current scene, and have to go back to my books to scour them for knowledge I should still have filed away, I think about the fact that I'm writing at all and know that it's not by my strength that these stories are getting written now. I have to lean on Him, every day. And I'm thankful, every day, for the strength, time, and mental acuity He's lent me to get these stories out of my head and onto the screen.

And I wonder what Jacob thought about when his hip pained him in the night. You know, the one God slipped out of socket when they wrestled, and gave Jacob his new name, Israel? Did that bum hip remind Jacob that getting by on his own strength, by his own wiles, led to grief? Did that stick he leaned on remind him of the God who invited him to lean on Him in order to walk upright? Did he see it as a blessing of insight, rather than a handicap?

I hope so.

A Trumpet with a certain sound

2011-10-17T05:33:00.000-07:00

And even things without life which give sound, whether flute or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is played? For if the trumpet gives an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself for the battle? 1 Corinthians 14:7-8

Today ends my two week post first draft break (okay, I cheated a little here and there, polishing the later chapters of my work in progress for my critique partner), and the start of the next phase of writing a novel. Editing. And the main question on my mind is this: have I made a certain sound, or just a jumble of discordant notes?

Will a reader tap her foot to the tune I tried to play, or cover her ears?

First step toward finding that out is to figure out what is on all those pages I spent the last seven months writing. The best way is to read the manuscript as fast as possible, straight through, preferably without making any edits. I've never been able to do this with my own work in the past, and so I'm not going to try it now. I will, however, read through the manuscript before making any major changes, but I'll make small edits if they are obvious and certain, and I'll pepper the pages with footnotes of editing ideas. And I'll fill the few holes I left, those scenes from a third point of view character I decided midway through the first draft were needful (and still feel are so), but had a little trouble visualizing during the first draft. I'm excited now to write them, so I'm glad I waited.

Questions I'll be asking myself:

Are my main characters, Jesse and Tamsen's, motivations clear and strong? Do they provide conflict to carry their arc through the entire story?

Have I utilized my settings to their best advantage, and do they affect the mood of each scene, or else reflect or contrast the mood? Author Susan Meissner had a good post on this topic recently, at Novel Rocket. Making Your Setting a Character.

Are motivations for secondary characters believable? Have I fleshed out each character to a fully three-dimensional person, or have I settled for cliche?

How's the pacing in each scene? Fast enough? Slow enough? Does it fit with its placement in the novel?

Did I give my antagonists (this book has quite a few) short shrift? I do have a tendency to do that in the first draft.

The list goes on, but these are the sorts of things I'm bearing in mind as I begin today my edits on The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn.

~trumpet photo by Ms. Phoenix, via Flickr

Posting at Colonial Quills Today

2011-10-12T08:14:00.000-07:00

I'm posting at Colonial Quills today. Come on over and share a memory from my childhood that dates back in our family to the eighteenth century. It's got to do with smoking.

An Interview with Liz Curtis Higgs

2011-10-10T05:45:00.000-07:00

Be sure to stop in at Carrie Pagels's blog, Overcoming Through Time, today for an interview with one of my favorite authors, Liz Curtis Higgs.

Among other novels and non-fiction books (Bad Girls of the Bible, Embrace Grace) Liz writes Scottish historicals based Old testament stories like that of Jacob, Leah & Rachel, and of Ruth, Naomi & Boaz. These are my favorites of her books, as I have a soft spot for all things Scottish, and those Scots tend to find their way into my own stories.

Come on over to Overcoming Through Time.

A Reading Snapshot

2011-10-07T07:23:00.000-07:00

I finished the first draft of my WIP The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn minutes before the ACFW awards dinner began live streaming on Saturday, Sept 24, which I watched while I unwound. I've set the story aside for two weeks with the hope that time away from it will lend some objectivity for when I dive in again for edits (barring interruptions like one of my other stories selling) on October 17.

It's a bit strange not writing every day. It wasn't so hard the first part of this week when family visited and we went to the coast for a couple of nights. No computer. No hard copy of chapters. No research. But being back home... it's hard to keep my brain from picking apart the story and getting a jump on the editing.

Instead, I'm painting a room in my house and catching up on some reading. If anyone noticed, the books I'm currently reading over in the sidebar haven't changed in weeks. That's because I've had so little time to devote to reading other than research and critique. But here's a reading snapshot anyway. Hope you'll share yours in the comments.

The last book I finished reading:
Wayah of the Real People, by William O. Steele

The book(s) I'm reading now:

The Colonel’s Lady, by Laura Frantz
Long Knife, by James Alexander Thom
Ransome's Quest by Kaye Dacus
Cherokee Dragon by Robert Conley
Home Life in Colonial Days by Alice Morse Earle

(as you can see, I have trouble not starting new books before I've finished the current ones)

The book I'm reading next:

Torrent, by Lisa Tawn Bergren
(I love this time travel series and can't wait to devour this third book)

What book is up to bat for you now? What book is on deck? Any books get benched recently?

How writing a first draft is like holding your breath under water

2011-09-29T08:54:00.000-07:00

Interested in how the writing process works for at least two of us writers?

Read this blog post my writer friend, Beth Shope, wrote after a conversation we had about what it's like for both of us writing our first drafts.

And the mysterious, wonderful transformation that happens once the words are on the page.

~photo by Elma, courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Colonial Quills

2011-09-28T05:00:00.000-07:00

I'm posting at Colonial Quills today, so come on over and chat with me about road trips, 18th century style.

Not in St. Louis, but wish you were?

2011-09-24T08:39:00.000-07:00

Today I'm not in St. Louis attending the American Christian Fiction Writers 2011 Conference, like so many of my writer friends and colleagues. I'm not attending the awards banquet this evening, when the winners of the Carol Award and the Genesis Contest will be announced.

Instead I'm endeavoring to finish the final chapter of Tamsen and Jesse's story, The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn. Not the final chapter or scene that needs to be written. I skipped a few scenes along the way, knowing I'd come back to them. But it is the final couple of scenes of the story. I've been hunkered down since February, weaving this tale. It's exciting to be so near The End, but more on that in an upcoming post.

At 4:30pm (Pacific time) I'll take a break to watch the live feed of the Carol Awards and Genesis Contest Awards. So many of my writing friends are there attending. While I'm happy to be home alone writing today, I feel a bit wistful to be missing the chance to mix and mingle.

My crit partner Laura Frantz's historical, Courting Morrow Little, is up for the Carol Award for historical fiction. It's a wonderful book set on the 18th century Kentucky frontier with a powerful theme of forgiveness, and well worthy of such recognition. I'm rooting for you, Laura!

Home stretch

2011-09-12T16:22:00.000-07:00

I'm on the home stretch with the first draft of The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn (hence my preoccupied silence on the blog so far this month). This isn't my first novel by an means, but oddly enough, it is the first that was easier to write in the middle than the end.

I've never had a child, but if writing a book is to be compared to childbirth, as some have compared it, I guess I'm bearing down now.

OUCH! I-CAN'T-DO-THIS-SOMEONE-LET-ME-OUTTA-HERE!

But I'll forget the pain as soon as I hold this finished first draft in my hands, right? :)

I'll allow myself a couple of weeks of rest and euphoria, then comes the child rearing (editing & revision)!

Frontier fiction for Children: William O. Steele

2011-08-29T14:59:00.000-07:00

I've made a happy reading discovery. His name is William O. Steele (1917-1979). He was the award-winning author of historical fiction for children written in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Particularly fiction set on the 18th century frontier of Tennessee. That's why I've just discovered him, because I'm writing a novel set on the eastern Tennessee frontier in the latter quarter of the 18th century, and it's always part of my research process to scour my local library and Amazon for novels set in the time period and setting I'm writing about, both for inspiration, a broader view of time and place, and to be sure I'm not writing a book that's already been written!

Thus it happened that I found William Steele, and his book The Man with the Silver Eyes.

"Talatu (which means "the Cricket" in the language of the Cherokee) has spent his young life hating the whites, who have taken his people's land and driven them deep into the wilderness. He is stunned when his beloved great-uncle tells him he must accompany Shinn, a white man with the palest eyes Talatu has ever seen, to the settlement of Watauga, where he is to spend a year with him. Autumn becomes winter as Talatu continues to despise the white Quaker who attempts to live in peace with his frontier neighbors, and he dreams of joining his warrior uncles in attacks on the white settlers.

Set against the backdrop of the raging Revolution and the tensions of frontier living in 1780, William O. Steele has written a memorable story about an encounter between a young Cherokee boy and a white Quaker trader culminating in a confrontation that transforms Talatu from a sullen and suspicious boy into a resolute and courageous man."

~ from the book's jacket flap

Child-me would have adored this story back in 1976, when it was published. She would have gone on to devour every book this man wrote. It was in 1978, after all, that I wrote my first story about a Lakota girl called Yellow Feather, and the wounded mustang she nursed back to health, tamed, and rode in a race to win a prize. I do wish I'd discovered him back in the 1970s when the first stirrings of this frontier fiction lover's wee heart were being fed over and over and over again by the Little House books (always wishing Laura would run off to visit the Indians her Ma so feared).

Grown-up-me is still hungry for books like The Man with the Silver Eyes, in which characters from different frontier races, or those caught between races, overcome monumental differences in culture and world view to find the common ground of friendship. Better late than never, I say, to have found Mr. Steele's books. And with titles like the following listed on this book's "by the same author" page, I will be spending many enjoyable hours visiting Mr. Steele's frontier world.

The Buffalo Knife
Wilderness Journey
Winter Danger
Tomahawks and Trouble
Davy Crockett's Earthquake
The Lone Hunt
Flaming Arrows
Daniel Boone's Echo
Andy Jackson's Water Well
The Far Frontier
The Year of the Bloody Sevens
The No-Name Man of the Mountain
Trail Through Danger
The Old Wilderness Road

The Man With The Silver Eyes at Amazon

When family history mirrors fiction (or the other way around?)

2011-08-17T15:19:00.000-07:00

Roan Mountain, TN

Something unexpected happened today while I was doing some final research reading for my current novel in progress, set in the Tennessee Valley in 1787. In an effort to plot out the last few chapters of the story, while pouring over several reference books, I ran across the name of someone in my maternal family tree.

Thomas Amis (b. 1743/44), my seven times great uncle*, lived in the Tennessee Valley and took part in the history of that area during the time I'm writing about.

I didn't know this when I first conceived the story. I didn't know this until today, when the surname Amis caught my attention and I cross referenced the details given with those I have in my extended family tree, compiled by various relations. It was a match.

Apparently Thomas was one of the first merchants to arrive in the Tennessee Valley (then part of NC), having relocated himself and his family from east of the mountains in North Carolina. He owned a small store and tavern in what is today Hawkins Co. TN, and he attempted to run for a seat in the North Carolina Assembly in 1787, the year my novel commences. But for reasons I won't go into now (to avoid story spoilers), the election was unsuccessful, the polling stations were close, and the Assembly declared both parties from the county not "entitled to a seat."

It's both thrilling and surprising to have found this unexpected link between my family and my novel in progress. This is the second time I've set out to tell a story and ended up brushing shoulders with my maternal family's history. Though seeing as how they settled in the Virginia/Carolina area from the late 1600s, I suppose it was inevitable.

*I've been corrected about this detail by my mom, who has a better head for keeping straight all our family connections. Thomas Amis wasn't my many times great uncle, but my cousin. My second cousin six times removed to be exact. Thanks mom!

On Storytelling

2011-08-12T14:31:00.000-07:00

Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu on Vimeo.

So true.

Thanks, Ira!

And thanks, David!

Kaye Dacus's Ransome's Quest has released!

2011-08-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

August 1st was also the release date of my friend, author Kaye Dacus's, third book in the Regency era Ransome Trilogy.

Ransome's Quest continues the story where Ransome's Crossing left off, and I for one will be very glad to get my hands on this long awaited (well, it seemed long... oy, that last ending!!!!) sequel to the Ransome books. I'll be sad to bid these characters farewell.

But until then, there's pirates!

Kaye's blog

Ransome's Quest

Laura Frantz's The Colonel's Lady has released!

2011-08-02T12:04:00.000-07:00

I could not let another day go by without posting that my friend and fellow author Laura Frantz's third Kentucky frontier novel, The Colonel's Lady, had it's nationwide release yesterday, August 1. I was honored and privileged to read this book as her critique partner (and am reading it again now, with its gorgeous cover). If you are a fan of Christian fiction and/or 18th century historical fiction, or Laura's previous two novels, you won't want to miss The Colonel's Lady.

Laura's blog: The Colonel's Lady launch

The Colonel's Lady

I'm still here

2011-08-01T11:10:00.000-07:00

I'm still here. Still enjoying a semi-break from blogging while I concentrate on the end game of my novel in progress, The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn. It's another late 18th century-set story. Here's a note I just published on FB, about where I am in the glorious and maddening process of novel writing:

This is a brain-stretching day and no mistake. Plotting in detail the last section of the WIP, which not only needs to be satisfying and entertaining on a story/character level, but (more than any story I've yet written) must fit what actually happened in this moment of history. I can't make this part up!

Interweaving my characters and their story with the historical narrative of the mid-1780s frontier is like hunting for the pieces of a challenging puzzle. At least there's a picture on the box cover. It's coming together, slowly, with many note-stuffed and highlighted reference books spread across my desk. Too much coffee. Spinning brain cells!

And as inspirational timing would have it, another story, the one I may write next, is nudging in the wings today so I have a file open for that one too to let all that new material pour out. I'm editing something for my hubby as well. And on the back burner (to be brought up front later today as time allows) are thoughts for my crit partner's exciting novel in progress too.

Did I ever think I couldn't multi-task when it comes to writing?

Is it lunch time yet? :)

So I'm hiding away inside my writing cave, very thankful for the air-conditioning, while the temps outside soar into the 90s (we haven't hit 100 yet this summer, which is very odd, and very welcome by me). Thoughts of green huckleberries starting to ripen in the mountains play at the back of my mind. It's a late crop this year. We had a long spring. I eagerly await our bucket-toting treks to our favorite patches. We've been up to inspect them already and it looks to be a better crop than last year. God and the weather willing!

In honor of huckleberries, here's an excerpt from a children's book I wrote many years ago, called Bear Country. Palister is a teddy bear, discovering a bear's delight for the very first time.

Angus... stood on his hind legs, looking around and sniffing. “Ah! There’s something nearby I think you’ll find to your liking, youngster. Follow me.”

Palister followed the badger into a leafy thicket that spread up the mountain side. Most of the shrubs grew higher than Palister’s head.

A delightful scent caught Palister’s nose. He bent close to one of the shrubs. Peering under a leaf, he saw a shiny purple berry.

“Huckleberries,” said Angus. “A bear’s delight. Give ‘em a try.”

“I already tried grass,” said Palister. “I didn’t like it.”

“Grass?” Angus snorted. “Grass is no good for eating unless you’re sick. Or a rabbit. Trust me, you’ll like these better.”

Palister doubted it, but knew better than to argue with the badger. He plucked the huckleberry from its stem and put it in his mouth. His eyes grew wide.

“Sweet!” he said.

Angus looked both smug and wise. “What did I tell you?”

Palister found three berries on the next stem. He ate those, too. When that shrub was picked over he headed for the next one.

“Looks like a bumper crop this year,” said Angus. “You’ll feel better about things with a full belly, so eat your fill while I take a quick nap.”

The badger curled up in a patch of sunlight. Palister barely noticed. He even forgot to worry about meeting a bear. His mouth and paws grew purple with berry juice. He ate and ate, moving from one bush to the next. He’d gone quite far from Angus, who snored in the sunlight.

“Do badger’s eat huckleberries?” Palister wondered out loud.

I hope your summer is going well, or winter, if you're in the Southern Hemisphere. I'm enjoying mine, and the company of the current cast of characters. Blessings!

Shakespeare (like you've never heard him)

2011-07-27T05:29:00.000-07:00

An impressionist, Jim Meskimen, performs Clarence's speech from William Shakespeare's Richard III... in the voices of various celebrities. This is the most hilarious video I've watched in a good long while. Enjoy!

Posting at Colonial Quills

2011-07-20T08:16:00.000-07:00

You can check out my first post at Colonial Quills today.

It's all about laundry, 18th century style.

Almost Heaven, by Chris Fabry

2011-07-14T10:04:00.000-07:00

I was going to tack this little post script onto my last post, then decided it was well worth its own. I don't know if I've ever given a review of a book I've yet to finish reading, but this time I can't really hold back.

I'm several chapters into Chris Fabry's Almost Heaven now, and it's already wrapped itself around my heart. Actually, it had me crying on the first page of chapter one for this wonderful, sweet character, Billy Allman. And every other chapter or so I feel like I'm being fed a full spiritual meal. If you want an interesting and sympathetic main character to root for, and an insight into spiritual warfare that will have you constantly in communion with the Father, and examining your own inner life and motives while reveling in beautiful prose and a compelling story, then Almost Heaven is for you.

It's no surprise to me this book won a Christy Award. If I could only write a story this rich and spiritually profound! Chris Fabry I believe has a special anointing for this aspect of the craft. I'll just be happy to be held in its embrace for the hours I get to read it, but I have a feeling this one's going to stay with me for a long while.

Visit Chris and learn more about Billy Allman and Almost Heaven at his website: http://chrisfabry.com/almost-heaven.html

Billy Allman played the mandolin, and his story makes my heart sing.

2011 Christy Award Winners

2011-07-12T07:38:00.000-07:00

The annual Christy Awards, given for excellence in Christian fiction, were announced last night. Here's the list of the 2011 winners in each category. Congratulations winners!

Contemporary Romance

Sworn to Protect

DiAnn Mills (Tyndale House Publishers)

Contemporary Series

The Reluctant Prophet

Nancy Rue (David C. Cook)

First Novel

Heartless

Anne Elisabeth Stengl (Bethany House Publishers)

Historical

While We're Far Apart

Lynn Austin (Bethany House Publishers)

Historical Romance

The Girl in the Gatehouse

Julie Klassen (Bethany House Publishers)

Suspense

The Bishop

Steven James (Revell Books)

Visionary

To Darkness Fled

Jill Williamson (Marcher Lord Press)

Young Adult

Motorcycles, Sushi, and One Strange Book

Nancy Rue (Zondervan)

And the one I saved for last, because out of all the winners, this one's cover utterly captivated me before I had an inkling what the story was about. This is one of the most beautiful covers I've seen lately, and I will have my hands on a copy of this book by the end of this day.

Contemporary Standalone

Almost Heaven

Chris Fabry (Tyndale House Publishers)

And in case this cover has captivated you as much as it has me, here's the back cover blurb:

Some people say Billy Allman has a heart of gold. Others say he’s a bit odd. The truth is, they’re all right. He’s a hillbilly genius…a collector, a radio whiz…and he can make the mandolin sing. Though he dreams of making an impact on the world beyond the hills and hollers of Dogwood, West Virginia, things just always seem to go wrong.

But however insignificant Billy’s life seems, it has not gone unnoticed. Malachi is an angel sent to observe and protect Billy. Though it’s not his dream assignment, Malachi always follows orders. And as Billy’s story unfolds, Malachi slowly begins to see the bigger picture…that each step Billy takes is a note added to a beautiful song that will forever change the lives of those who hear it.

PS: Still technically on blogging sabbatical, but when there's something to share, I'll share!

On Vacation... sort of

2011-07-06T11:38:00.000-07:00

It's summer. It's hot. My brain is not at its best just now. I'm focusing on the messy middle of my novel in progress, and since this seems to be demanding more than usual brain capacity, I've decided to take a summer break from blogging.

Sort of.

I'll still be here, posting from time to time. Mostly to redirect you to other blog posts I've found inspiring, encouraging and/or helpful in some way.

Here's one for today. It's from agent Rachelle Gardener, and it's a glimpse inside the Editorial Letter that an author can expect to receive from an editor, or possibly an agent. Just reading the excerpts Rachelle includes in the post made me want to rush to my WIP and go all left-brained over the same issues in my story. Which is a saying quite a lot given the heat-induced fog my brain has been in the past week or so.

The Editorial Letter

And here's another one over at Colonial Quills, posted by J. M. Hochstetler, on the faith of our Founding Fathers. Come on over and read in their own words just what these men believed about God, and the founding of this country.

Faith of Our Fathers

Have a blessed & safe summer. Stay cool (or enjoy the heat and sun if you're one of the Lizard People). Of course, if there's exciting news to share on my own writing front, I'll be back lickity-split to share it here.

Saturday Snippet & Happy 4th!

2011-07-02T09:37:00.000-07:00

I've posted this video before, but what better holiday for it, eh? And be sure to check out Carla's post over at Colonial Quills on the Colonial Observance of Independence Day.

Now, for a snippet from the WIP, The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn. This one has a big chunk missing because major plot stuff happens in it.

The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn
Copyright 2011 Lori Benton

Jesse looked back to see her lower lip caught between her pretty teeth. She wouldn’t meet his gaze. He didn’t know what she was thinking.

Possessing his soul in patience was a lesson coming hard. He didn’t want to be talking about himself, but about her. Her thoughts. Her memories. Her soul was a realm he longed to explore and know as well as he did every stone that pocked this creek path.

“Now I’ve told you something of my past, it’s only fair I get to ask something o’ yours.”

“What do you want to know?”

They were nigh the cabin clearing—he could see the edge of it through the trees—and he was wishing they’d miles yet to walk. Where was he to start?

“How ’bout… what’s the first book you ever read? Or maybe had read to—”

He never finished the question. They’d come out of the trees, and across the sloping cabin clearing the line of sight was clear now the corn was harvested. Two horses, neither of them his or Cade’s, were hitched outside the barn, and sitting in the cabin’s open doorway was Seth Trimble.

Jesse halted, gripping the pistol, letting go of Tamsen’s grasp to touch the butt of the rifle slung across his back. Not in alarm. Only habit.

Then it hit him. Two horses, but one Trimble in sight.

Thunder rumbled in the seconds before Seth caught sight of them and stood. They heard his voice raised, but whatever he said was lost in the thunder’s trailing edge.

“Company.” Jesse shot a look at Tamsen, whose face showed no more pleasure at sight of their guest than he felt. He started up the slope and heard her following.

[long spoiler deleted]

Across the empty field, down at the edge of the wood where he and Tamsen had emerged, Cade sat his horse, still and watchful, rifle raised and leveled. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind at whom it was aimed, or that he was able to hit a mark even from that distance.

The Trimbles left, sullen and brimming with bad grace. Jesse stood in the door yard and watched them go, right hand stinging but aching to feel the crack of bone and teeth again. From the corner of his eye he could see Cade’s rifle following the brothers, till they mounted their horses and rode off down the trail toward Sycamore Shoals.

Jesse turned to find Tamsen standing in the cabin doorway. She was pale and shaken, and a glance told him she’d heard and seen it all. The look in her eyes struck him a blow.

“Tamsen,” he said, but she shook her head, as if adamant he not say another word.

“It was A Thousand and One Nights,” she said.

He stared at her, understanding the words plain enough, but finding no context for them. “What?”

She firmed her lips and said, “You were asking me what the first book I remember reading. That’s what it was. A Thousand and One Nights. Mama read it to me. I used to pretend she was Scheherazade.”

He opened his mouth to say something full of brains and dazzle, like, “Oh.” But she’d backed into the cabin and shut the door.

[end excerpt]

Have a Happy Independence Day weekend, all you who celebrate it! It's a long weekend for the Bentons, during which no doubt the grill will come out, and guests will be over to share a meal. And I'm sure a hike will happen at some point, though today looks like a yard work sort of day. And a library day. And maybe a swing by the store to find something pretty to wear day. Blessings all!

I'm back!

2011-06-30T07:15:00.000-07:00

Whew! I'm back. Bet you didn't know I was gone, but I was. My computer was down for several days, while we feared a hard drive crash. Turned out to be the power supply, so I'm back in business.

I had a laptop without internet connection to write on for the past few days, and while I don't care for laptops in general, I did manage to keep working on Jesse through this 'traumatic' stretch.

During this time I discovered my brother shares my dislike for laptops. We are desktop users. Laptops are for when you can't travel without a computer, and they're good to have around for back up in case something goes awry with the desktop, as happened to me this week. Though what really saved the day (and week) for me was my thumb drive, which I'd had the good sense to keep backed up with all the uber important working files.

Any other desktop users still out there? By choice, I mean. :)

Saturday Snippet

2011-06-25T06:17:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking on the weekend I'll start posting a favorite snip from my week's work. It might be from new material in the WIP, The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn, or something I've gone over editing from Kindred or The Quiet in the Land. I'll be careful not to include any major plot spoilers.

Today's snippet is from a section I've just edited to pass along to my crit partner.

From The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn
Chapter 7
Copyright 2011 Lori Benton

Down in the draw the creek rushed over rocks. A breeze threshed the trees, in the swaying blackness above the firelight's reach. In scant grass nearby, Mr. Bird’s horse grazed. With the cloak around her, a roof of pine boughs to shelter her, a crackling fire to warm her, Tamsen felt remarkably snug. The ache of grief still weighed heavy, but something like peace had settled over her with the release of tears. While Mr. Bird had worked on the shelter, she’d gone down to the creek to rinse her filthy petticoat and bodice, and come up the draw again in time to see the clouds part and the sun setting behind ribbons of dusk-purpled ridges, in a glory that made her stand and drink it in.

Now the sky loomed black, with stars spread in a glittering net that showed in patches between the trees.

“Whither shall I flee from thy presence?” she whispered, breathing in the tang of pine and rain-soaked leaves. “If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there.”

Above creek and wind and flame, Mr. Bird’s voice rose. “If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.”

Tamsen looked at her guide, surprised he'd recognized the scripture, much less could quote it too. He sat cross-legged, his rifle by his knee, looking back at her with such quiet intensity she couldn’t hold his amber gaze, or her tongue. “Do you mean to answer my question?”

“What question was that?”

“Why aren’t you sure, about being white?”

She felt his stare a moment longer before he said, “I’m as much Indian as Cade is, never mind my skin’s not brown.”

Tamsen looked up to see him holding a hand toward the flames, staring at the back of it.

“Not as brown, anyway.”

His mouth tilted in a crooked smile, as though he took pleasure in teasing her with these mystifying statements. “I don’t understand,” she said.

So he proceeded to enlighten her.

S-L-O-W (writer at play)

2011-06-20T07:06:00.000-07:00

I was thinking this morning about writing a post acknowledging the fact that things have seemed to move very slowly for me during the past year+ since I've had my wonderful agent, Wendy, shopping two of my novels around to publishers. No slower than they were moving before, mind. Just a little slower than I'd expected things to move at this stage.

THIS IS NOT A BAD THING!

While naturally I have moments of mild impatience, and a burning curiosity for an inside glimpse at what's transpiring on the other side of my agent's desk and phone (the publisher side), for the most part I've learned to be content with the waiting, trusting there is a reason for it, and a good one. I keep taking those pesky impatient thoughts captive, and reaffirming my trust in God's timing, while I work hard daily to make the book I'm writing the best it can be.

Still, there's no denying this process, for most writers, is slow. Instead of sharing my newbie perspective on that slowness, I'm going to direct you to a thorough and enlightening post on the subject from agent Rachelle Gardner.

Why is Publishing So Slow?

Some positive aspects to this slow pace of publishing, personal to me:

1. I get to spend more time making the novels I write the best they can be.

2. I do not yet have the stress of a deadline.

3. I've learned to count each day I have to write without distraction as a gift, and precious. It's a mindset I'm grateful to have gained on this side of the door marked CONTRACT.

4. I don't always deal with sudden life changes well. Even good ones. Having them come at me this slowly is actually quite comforting.

5. I'm learning to trust God's timing and plan for me in ways I never would have had I been published 15 years ago. Even five years ago.

Taking every thought captive

2011-06-14T12:11:00.000-07:00

My writing journey has been a long one. Most who know me know that. There have been times I've felt very close to being published, times I felt light years from any such thing. Times when writing was a joy, times when it was utter frustration.

Times when I perservered. Times when I didn't. The best of times, the worst of... you get the picture.

I want to share something I've learned through the past twenty years of writing and, for much of that time, working toward seeing my writing published one day. And that's how to deal with the doubts, frustrations, anxieties, uncertainties, rejections, and plain ol' negative thinking patterns that are particularly part and parcel of this writing life. Or any life given over to pouring oneself out creatively.

It's about taking every thought captive.

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)

Maybe it's easy to agree that taking those negative thoughts captive is a good thing to do. A healthy thing. A necessary thing for soul-peace in the long term, and to be certain we aren't straying over into damaging and self-defeating patterns of thinking and behavior.

But what does it look like practically, this taking thoughts captive?

Taking thoughts of doubt, fear, or anxiety captive doesn't mean I exert my will over them. It means I surrender them to God's will. It means I strive to live in an attitude of prayer, because those thoughts bombard me often, and most often without warning.

When they do, I'm teaching myself to take them straight to Him in prayer. Lay them out. Be honest. And reaffirm that He's the one, ultimately, in control of what happens to my writing, and to me, the writer. Reaffirm, with words spoken out loud, lips moving (as my pastor likes to say), that His will, whatever it turns out to be, will be the best for me. Better than what I think is best, in my limited view from this side of any given choice. He loves me. He gave Jesus to die for me. He is a good shepherd. I can trust Him with whether or not any story of mine is ever published, and if it is, then on down the line through every uncertainty that lies along that path.

I can trust Him and His good plans. I can rest in that. There's no need to spend days or even hours fretting over a disappointment, or worried about a decision I know is being made about one of my books--maybe right this very minute--as I wait, and wait, and wait some more.

But still those thoughts come like fiery darts. When they do, and I catch myself getting tense and worried about some part of this writing journey that's out of my control (and even some that aren't!), and rolling those jagged-edged thoughts round and round my head like stones in a polisher that just won't smooth over, I have a choice to make. I can either...

1. Start talking to the Lord about them, reminding myself of His good plans, His perfect foresight, His perfect timing and situation for my books, for me, for any ministry that might come of them. Or I can....

2. Go on fretting. Perhaps whine to a friend, or to my husband. Or fret myself into a migraine and probably a stomach ache too.

It's my choice. Over and over. Hour after hour.

Some days it's minute after minute! But His promises hold true. They're there for the believing, as often as necessary. I'm so thankful for that!

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJ)

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 (NKJ)

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things. Philippians 4:8 (NKJ)

WIP

2011-06-08T08:50:00.000-07:00

I'm playing around with my blog design this week. What do you think of this present incarnation? Too busy?

I've found I really really like brown and green. :)

Edited to add: I removed the background photo and opted for gray. Hmmm.... better? Not sure. It's still a Work In Progress.

Edited again to add: Amazing what you can learn if you just click on the Help link and read the instructions. Not limited to the basic photo or a solid color for a background now. Textured backgrounds! Endless photo options! Oh, the possibilities!

Video Blogging

2011-06-06T14:24:00.000-07:00

Novel Matters has started video blogging.

LIKE!

Don't miss this thought provoking first video blog post by Bonnie Grove, and the discussion that follows.

Flintlocks: How They Work

2011-06-04T10:33:00.000-07:00

If you stop me on the street and ask me what a frizzen is, I can tell you.

For the past two days I've been working on a scene in which a character of the 18th century who has never fired a gun before needs to learn to fire a flintlock pistol (not a rifle; those things are big and heavy and she's a small woman, and can't lift one and hold it steady enough to hit a target).

How I've written so many scenes in which characters draw, brandish, fire, and feed their families with flintlock rifles or muskets and never known exactly how the mechanics of said firearms work is beyond me. But I've got it now. Thanks to this site:

How Stuff Works: Flintlocks

So in case you ever need to know, there you go. There are video clips provided of the firing mechanisms at work.

Click here to see and hear the action of the frizzen.

Click here to see and hear the action of the hammer.

Click here to see and hear the gun fire.

And for a little more on the subject, here's 12 Easy Steps to firing a flintlock rifle, by JoAnn Graham.

Research is such a kick. So are flintlocks. So keep those pistols steady, and those rifles braced tight to your shoulder!

Revolutionary War era flintlock pistol

~ photo by Rama, via Wikimedia Commons

Why I write Colonial American Fiction

2011-05-31T10:26:00.000-07:00

Well, technically I don't write Colonial American fiction, but I do write fiction set in the late 18th century, which is pretty close. And if these nudgings and whisperings from characters in the wings mean what I think they mean, after my current work in progress is finished I'll be writing a story set during the Revolutionary War, which is even closer.

Over at Colonial Quills, historical writers are discussing why they write colonial fiction, among them Laura Frantz (author of The Frontiersman's Daughter, and Courting Morrow Little).

Come on over and visit.

I chimed in with this:

I'd love to claim an abiding interest in early American history as the catalyst for choosing this time period to write about. But the truth of it is, when I had a story idea back in 2004 that took place on a Piedmont plantation, had to do with slavery issues, and happened well before the Civil War, I chose the 1790s over an early 1800s time period for the sole reason that I wanted my male characters to wear knee breeches, not trousers. I'd seen the movie, The Patriot, and found that particular clothing item of the 18th century most fetching. :)

Now, all these years of writing and research later, I believe a more profound guidance was at work as well. I've fallen madly, obsessively in love with the 18th century (particularly the Revolutionary and early Federal eras) and the ideals, conflicts, failures, and triumphs of that generation of frontiersmen, warriors, farmers, slaves, and natives. I can't get through the research for one story without stumbling across an account of some happening so intriguing and adventuresome and daring that a new story idea explodes across my mind like popcorn over a fire. I don't think we've more than scratched the surface yet.

When they die in the end

2011-05-28T12:41:00.000-07:00

I thought about posting this question on Facebook, but realized it's a little more involved than that format allows.

Here's the thing; today I'm finishing up a novel (reading) in which the main character dies in the end. I didn't know this was how the book ended when I began reading it. It's a book by one of my favorite authors, about one of my favorite historical events of the early 19th century. The book is based on the life of a real individual and the storyline follows that life faithfully.

About halfway through reading the book, which I've thoroughly enjoyed, I became so interested in this individual that I googled him and learned the end of his story--and realized by the dates in the front of the book that the novel I was reading would cover his death.

Ruh Roh, said Scooby-Doo.

By that time I was so invested, and the writing was so good, and I was so deeply attached to this character, I decided to finish it anyway.

Now, with a few pages to go, it's breaking my heart. I can read about a page at a time and then have to put the book down, my heart wrenched with what I know is about to happen to this character. How can this book have even a satisfying ending? Will this character achieve any of the inward goals he's had all along, the longings of his soul that have never been fulfilled? Or will it only be in death, somehow, that he finds fulfillment? I can see that as a possible outcome.

I'll come back later today, or whenever I can bring myself to finish this story and say good-bye to this wonderful character, and share my thoughts in the comment section.

Qs4U: Would you read a novel if you knew going in that the MC dies in the end? Have you ever felt cheated when a main character died at the end of a novel, and you didn't see it coming?

In answer to that last one, I certainly have. In answer to the former, if the writing was good, if it sang for me, if the setting and story world were richly drawn and fascinating, then yes, I probably would.

Flightless Bird

2011-05-24T19:34:00.000-07:00

Flightless, because they are no more.

Today I just wanted to give a shout out to a bird that used to grace our eastern forests, the Carolina Parakeet.

These bright, beautiful birds were driven to extinction by the early 1900s, but in 1787 they would still have presented a startling, lovely sight in the old growth forests of western North Carolina.

I was pleased today to give a couple of Carolina parakeets new literary life in my current scene in progress.

So here's a longish (first drafts always are) descriptive passage from The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn, written today:

In the dogtrot between their cabins, Tamsen perched on a stool while Julia Holcomb rubbed a salve into her hands, cut and blistered after helping harvest corn in the fields.

“It’s rendered hog fat," Julia said of the salve. "With sweet-balm and mallow-root from my garden.” Though she’d spent hours at the same task, Julia’s hands, accustomed to such work, were barely reddened.

“And rose petals?” Tamsen asked, detecting the pleasing scent—obtained, no doubt, from the canes climbing trellises around the cabin, still producing a few pink blossoms in mid-October. Beyond the roses and abundant lavender beds, late root vegetables and herbs still clung on valiantly in neat, fenced plots.

Across the slopes of the hollow sparks of autumn’s flaming hues promised what would soon be a glorious blaze, yet Tamsen couldn’t help wishing she’d come there in springtime instead. The cleared acres of Nate Holcomb’s land, especially those around the cabin he’d built near a spring—which cooled the butter and cheeses Julia made—must be a veritable Garden of Eden in the warmer months.

With the flora came fauna aplenty. Since her arrival Tamsen had counted four cats--including the hopeful gray that had visited them in the barn--two dogs, six goats, a cow, an oxen team, three hogs, two horses, a rooster with a harem of hens, and a large wicker cage beneath the dogtrot, hung on a cabin wall, where in all weather save the dead of winter, Bethany kept a pair of nesting parakeets. Tamsen had heard of such birds, with their brilliant green and yellow plumage and ruddy-feathered heads, but had never seen one east of the mountains.

Filling the Well

2011-05-20T14:54:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been blessed with good fiction, novels I've either hunted down or had recommended or merely stumbled across in the comment thread of one of the many blogs I visit during the week. Good fiction is subjective, of course, but I know it when I read it.

I know it because it does more than entertain me for an hour before bedtime.

It fills my creative well--with beautifully crafted description of setting, or emotion, or physical appearance, using sentences and phrases that strike me as fresh and specific and just so perfectly right, that I stop and read them again and again, without ever breaking the story-dream the writer has woven.

Creativity-refreshing fiction is in the eye of the beholder, but here are some titles and authors that are doing it for me:

Love Amid the Ashes
by Mesu Andrews

Cottonwood Whispers
by Jennifer Erin Valent

Sign-Talker
by James Alexander Thom

Jane and the Man of the Cloth
by Stephanie Barron

And a brand new discovery (I can't wait to read more of their books)
John & Patricia Beatty
Who Comes to King's Mountain?

These books have a wonderful rare chemistry with me, and somehow peel back the veil between my plodding everyday mind to the part of my brain where stories swirl like mist, and show themselves in glimpses. They're the kind I want to lose myself in and savor, and simultaneously jump up and work on my own manuscripts for all the fresh inspiration they stir up.

So what books have filled your well, and made you want to jump into your own creative endeavors?

Review: Love Amid The Ashes

2011-05-16T09:42:00.000-07:00

Love Amid The Ashes
Mesu Andrews

Baker/Revell 2011

An epic story of love and forgiveness, suffering and restoration

When her beloved grandfather Isaac dies, Dinah must follow his final command: travel to Job’s household to marry his son. After Job’s world comes crashing down, Dinah finds herself drawn to this great man brought low. What will she risk to fight for his survival?

Review:

I’ve read the Biblical account of Job many times, but after reading Mesu Andrews’s Love Amid the Ashes, I’ll never read it the same way again. Nor will I ever skim over Dinah’s name in the Genesis account without feeling deeply the pain and shame she must have suffered, whatever was the truth of her feelings toward Shechem, the prince who wanted to marry her, and whom her brothers murdered.

I first heard of Love Amid the Ashes through a review by Ruth at Booktalk & More, and was instantly intrigued by the premise--the entwining of Job’s and Dinah’s lives and stories. It had never occurred to me that these two people walked the earth at the same time, the time of the Jewish Patriarchs, or had any part in the others life. There’s a very good reason why Mesu Andrews conceived of this story, but more about that later in this review.

Even such an intriguing premise would not have held my attention if the execution of it was weak, but Love Amid The Ashes hooked me in the first chapter, seen from Dinah’s point of view, in the tent camp of her father, Jacob. We first meet Job from her point view as well, as a man who has come forward to offer his eldest son as a husband for the outcast and scorned Dinah. His compassion for Dinah, and his ability to see her through the eyes of a forgiving father, was immediately endearing to me as well as to Dinah, who comes to respect and love him as her future father-in-law.

Dinah’s journey from shame and living under the stigma of her past with Shechem, to an understanding of who she is in God’s sight, is a triumph of grace and faith and spirit. Dinah was a woman of strength and faithfulness who, though badly wounded by the scorn of those who saw her as tainted, had the heart of a servant, first for her ailing grandfather, Isaac, then for Job in his long months of suffering.

Job’s journey through the greatest loss and suffering imaginable is well known from scripture, and Mesu Andrews doesn’t shrink from holding true to the Biblical account. Experiencing these sufferings from Job’s point of view was wrenching at times, but ultimately builds great compassion and sympathy for the man that has lasted long after I finished reading the story. Love Amid the Ashes has knit my heart with this great man's down all these thousands of years. To Dinah as well, though the truth of her story is less well known.

Both Job and Dinah take on flesh and blood, passion and heart, in the pages of this novel, but the secondary characters, some historical, some not, pull their story weight admirably. There’s Dinah’s faithful Cushite handmaid, Nogahla, Job’s wife, Sitis. Her childhood friend turned merchant turned neighbor, Sayyid. Sayyid’s enigmatic captain, Aban. Elihu, Job’s prized student, who intended to marry his youngest daughter. There’s Jacob’s red mountain of a brother, Esau, and Job’s friends we know from scripture, who come to comfort him and fail miserably at the job. All play vibrant roles in the story, some for good, some for evil, some a little of both. Although it’s clear from scripture that Job’s suffering came straight from Satan’s hand, in Love Amid the Ashes, Satan has a “little helper” on earth in the form of a flesh and blood nemesis who eagerly twists the knife of Job’s suffering, and that of his wife’s, more deeply still, adding intrigue and suspense to an already wrenching story. It’s the secondary characters, and my lack of knowledge of Dinah’s (possible) outcome, that made me uncertain just how this story would end.

Forgiveness, faith, the whys of suffering, the sovereignty of God, and the goodness of God, are all themes explored in Love Amid the Ashes. Overall an impressive debut novel, powerful and heart-wrenching, ultimately heart-warming, especially with a twist at the end that was hinted at, and I’d hoped we would get to see—and Mesu Andrews didn’t disappoint.

The only weakness: descriptions were sometimes more vague than I’d have wished for. A clearer picture of some of these almost fantastic settings, based on the rock city of Petra, which I’ve only seen in photos and through the eyes of an Israeli friend who guided tours there for many years (his photos accompany this review), would have been welcome. But the most important aspect of any fiction genre, compelling storytelling, is something Mesu Andrews has, in my opinion, already mastered. I’ll be waiting eagerly for her next offering.


The Siq, entrance to Job's city of Uz

Job's city of Uz

A few more notes:

~ the generational flow chart at the start of the novel is much appreciated, though I had no trouble keeping all the secondary and minor characters straight.

~ the scripture passage at the head of each chapter lent gravitas and pathos to both the story and the scripture.

~ the author's note at the end of the book explains how she developed the story. I was surprised to find that elements I assumed were fictional have some basis in historical fact. Mesu Andrews's research is impressive. I learned quite a bit, while being entertained, and feel the richer for it.

~ Love Amid the Ashes has one of the most beautiful covers I've seen lately. Good work, Revell design team. Click on the cover for a full sized view. Just gorgeous!

~ I've reviewed this novel without any prompting or compensation by anyone or their publisher. :-)

~ Photos of Petra by Netanel Nickalls, used by permission.

Visit Mesu Andrews' website

Read the first chapter of Love Amid the Ashes

Writing pace and plotting

2011-05-11T10:54:00.000-07:00

This week I'm taking a break from writing Jesse (working title of my novel-in-progress) to do some brainstorming, scene-scaping, and plotting out in more detail of the last two-thirds of the story.

I've never taken a novel that was only one-third written and plotted it out, scene-by-scene, all the way to the end, but I feel the need to do so this time around. My usual method is to keep a sketchy outline, which I expand into a more detailed scene-by-scene outline--but only a chapter or two ahead of where I'm writing.

That is, when I write a novel linearly (from Chapter 1 straight through to The End). I've been known to jump around and write a novel in out-of-order chunks. Doubtful if I'll ever write one that way again though.

During my recovery from chemo fog, when I was retraining myself to write, writing whatever scene I could see clearly, no matter where it might happen to fit in the overall story, was what I had to do to keep myself engaged in the process of coming to the computer every day, to beat down resistance and keep my spirits up. It worked very well. I did finish that novel, and called it Kindred. But the first draft came in at a whopping 325,000 words.

After a lot of sweat and tears, it's a much slimmer 126,000. Most of the excess that needed trimming came from the fact that writing it out of sequence, I never knew in any given scene what might prove important later, and what wouldn't, so I chocked those scenes full of anything and everything that seemed interesting or relevant. For me, writing in chunks without an outline equaled an extremely overwritten manuscript lacking in focus, until I began hacking back that excess, with a great deal of help.

While it enabled me to write again after a long frustrating dry season, that sort of editing is not a job I ever want to tackle again. Hence the plotting. My guess is that in the long run I'll have much less anxiety during the first draft writing process than I'm prone to have when I can't see as clearly where I'm headed with the story, and hanging over me like a sword is the knowledge that there's a word count cap publishers prefer an author heed, but that I'm liable to blow past and leave in the dust if I give myself too much freedom in the first draft.

Many authors will advise new writers not to edit themselves in the first draft, to give themselves freedom. I see the wisdom in that in most cases. But for me? It leads to excess, and more work and worry later. I think I'm going to have to be a plotter, unless I want to take five years to write each book, which is how long Kindred took me to write and then cut back into a publishable form. The book I wrote after that, which I plotted quite a bit more and wrote linearly, took eighteen months and came in at just under 130,000, which I then cut back closer to 120,000.

Jesse, I'm hoping, will take me less than a year. I began writing it on February 8th with a more detailed outline than I'd ever started with before, and by May 8th had written a third of the story. If I can keep up the same pace, I'll have the first draft written in nine months. That would be very very cool. But a year is my goal.

I wonder if anyone else has experienced a morphing of their writing process over time. I've had twenty years and a shot of chemotherapy in the middle of things to change how my brain works out this complex process of novel writing. Anyone else find themselves changing from a plotter to a non-plotter (a seat-of-the-pantser), or vice versa?

Colonial Quills

2011-05-09T03:05:00.000-07:00

I've been eagerly waiting to share with you about a new website devoted to promoting Colonial American fiction...

... where you'll find:

Monday

Fiction Sampler

(spotlighting a novel and author)

Wednesday

In Ye Olden Days

(historical facts and trivia about life in Colonial America)

Friday

Tools of the Trade

(writing and research tips, particularly for 18th century fiction)

Saturday

Colonial Recipes

Colonial Quills will feature fiction and historical topics relevant through 1800 and perhaps a little beyond, including the Revolutionary War and the early Federal Period, which is very good since I'm a contributor and so far I've written novels set in the mid 1780s to the 1790s, just a wee bit after the Colonial period.

Come visit us at Colonial Quills, and say hello to my fellow contributors:

Carrie Fancett Pagels
Laura Frantz (The Frontiersman's Daughter, Courting Morrow Little)
Carla Gade
Laurie Alice Eakes (Lady in the Mist)
Rita Gerlach (Surrender the Wind)
Louise M. Gouge (The Captain's Lady)
J. M. Hochstetler (Daughter of Liberty, Native Son)
Pat Iacuzzi
Lynn Squire
Jennifer Hudson Taylor
Gina Welborn
Roseanna White (Love Finds You in Annapolis, Maryland)

Come Monday....

2011-05-06T17:43:00.000-07:00

Watch this spot for some news, come Monday.

No, not that news. Other news. Good news. Or maybe I should call it an announcement. Or... an invitation. Yes, I'll call it all of those.

You'll just have to wait and see....

A Walk in the Woods

2011-05-03T08:56:00.000-07:00

Having plotted stories on trails from the east coast to the west coast, over a span of twenty years, I've learned to never underestimate the power of a good walk in the woods to get the plot ideas flowing.

It probably helps that most of the stories I write have at least one scene set on a trail over mountains or between neighboring frontier cabins, so there's always a research element involved in hiking for me. But I think it's more than that. There's something in the purely physical activity of hiking--breathing clean air, getting the blood pumping--and the inspiring scenery and wildlife encountered, that gets those creative juices flowing. By now I've trained my brain to go exploring down a maze of story paths as soon as my hiking boots hit the trail.

Brian and our old dog, Hiero, on a trail in the Cascades, one snowy spring

Sunday after church my husband, dog, and I drove out to one of our favorite mountain lakes on the Rogue River. We hiked to Blue Grotto. It's a five mile round trip, or near about, and it was the warmest day we've had so far for hiking this spring. I'm a hot weather wimp. Let the temps get much above 70 and I find steep hiking a slog. Sunday's afternoon temperature was right on the border of what I can handle, which meant I wasn't talking much as we hiked, which meant my mind was wandering down its own paths. And a few knotty plot issues for the upcoming chapters in my WIP got themselves untangled.

I now know:

~ who kidnaps a certain character, and how that character gets away.
~ how two characters are introduced earlier, when I need them to be
~ how to correct the present problem of my antagonist having fallen out of the story for too long
~ who the third POV character is going to be, and why
~ that ring that popped up out of nowhere in a recent scene, complete with a history that caught me totally by surprise, has an inscription on the inside of the band. I wonder what it will say?

This ring is like a character that pops on stage unexpectedly and insists they have an important part to play in the story. Generally I let them stay, though they can be hard to manage. But when they (in this case it) fit so perfectly, it's reassuring to a writer. To this writer. It gives me the feeling that this story exists already, somewhere in my soul. Like a vein of ore hidden beneath common old rock, that I sit here each day and chip away at. When story elements like this ring coming spilling onto the screen, unplanned, but right, it feels like striking gold.

All that, and I got great exercise too. And spent time with my husband and our dog in a beautiful setting, and incidentally was reminded that whenever I have my character trekking over mountains or along rivers or through woods, I need to have them dive-bombed by pesky droning flies and bees on a fairly regular basis!

So what's your favorite non-writing activity in which you actually are writing, just not obviously to the untrained eye?

A Cabin In The Wood

2011-04-29T16:08:00.000-07:00

In lieu of blog silence in the latter half of the week, thanks to one too many migraines, I'm going to share some photos of settler cabins I took several years ago during a trip to Cades Cove, TN, never knowing how near that area I'd one day set a novel. How I'd love to be able to transport myself there right now, especially since I spent a large part of my work day today describing such a scene. I'll add snippets from the scene between the photos (character names removed to prevent spoilers. I'll call her X, and him Y).

They emerged from the woods as the sun was setting, into a high, secluded clearing nestled between two shoulders of the mountain. Trees ringed the clearing on three sides. A cornfield edged the fourth. Opposite the corn, where the ground sloped up, stood a cabin built of peeled logs, trimmed and neatly squared.

It was small. Smaller even than the Teagues’ home. Nearly twice as long as wide, it had a door in the center, south-facing, with a stone for a threshold, a papered window to the side. Because the land lay lower to the west it caught the setting sunlight, making it look as if it hadn’t lost the luster of new-cut wood.

They came first to a shed, just up from the creek bottom. Y stopped, untied the quilt and homespun bundle, and handed it to her.

“Go on in, take a look at the place while I see to the horse. I think we left it tidy, but don’t hold me to it.” He smiled down at her. “We took our leave thinking to come back bachelors still.”

His eyes told her he wasn’t truly worried, but she was beginning to be. She followed the beaten track from the stable-shed to the cabin’s batten door. She pulled the latch string, felt the bar lift within, and pushed her way inside.

Her first reaction was relief. The place didn’t smell bad, and the floor wasn’t dirt. Puncheon logs, fitted and sanded smooth, spanned the floor wall to wall. She left the door standing open for light and stepped to the side to look around.

There were two rooms. The one she stood in had a creekstone hearth that held a crane for cooking. Pots, a skillet, a bake kettle, and gridiron lined the hearthstones. The furnishings were sparse, and none resembled a bed. Beyond the doorway beside the hearth must be the room they used for sleeping.

A long table of homemade construction occupied the center of the room, with caned chairs drawn up to it. Several more chairs lined the walls next to smaller tables holding possessions her eyes skated over, until they landed on the books. Books! Lined up atop of a set of shelves. There must have been a dozen. Maybe more. Clothes hung on wall pegs—breeches, leggings, shirts—as well as traps and what she thought were snowshoes. Heavy winter moccasins stood in pairs below.

All was tidy and well kept. Even more surprising, the cabin bore touches evidencing a woman’s hand and eye: checked curtains hung at the window, and a matching linen runner spanned the table, with a pewter bowl of apples in the center.

Fresh apples, she realized, stepping up to the table with the quilt in her arms and touching one of the fruit.

“Who are on earth are you?”

X snatched her hand back, muffling a small outcry.

A girl in faded blue homespun stood framed in the doorway between the cabin’s rooms. She was small-boned and pretty, with pale hair streaming loose to her waist and eyes of such sparking blue X could see their color from across the room in the fading light.

Cades Cove, TN

Ever struggle with self-doubt?

2011-04-26T13:11:00.000-07:00

Boy howdy, have I struggled with it this week. It sort of hit out of nowhere, when my novel in progress was going quite well, I thought.

But when the self-doubt hit, it hit hard. Is there really some purpose God has for me in writing? Will it be of any eternal benefit to me or anyone else? Am I good enough? I'm I fooling myself? Are my stories predictable and boring? On and on it went, as I unburdened my heart to a friend, yet she promptly understood and prayed with me.

Then this morning, in the wee hours, I came across this blog post from agent-turned-writer Nathan Bransford on separating confidence from self-doubt.

I'm so thankful for praying friends. I'm also thankful for other writers who take the time to blog about the challenges of the writing life. If you're struggling with self-doubt when it comes to writing, go read Nathan's post. Even if you aren't, you likely will at some point, to some degree, so go read Nathan's post.

And as my friend prayed for me, I pray for you, fellow writer, or mom, wife, minister, father, husband, friend, that our work would never be in vain, but guided by Him to be part of His work, whether in word (written or spoken) or deed. Amen

Love Delivered Me

2011-04-22T05:00:00.000-07:00

Love delivered me, and love created me

to be your companion, mankind

Love sustained me, and love guided me

and love abandoned me here.

Love killed me, and love dragged me

and love laid me on the bier.

Love is my peace, and for love I chose

to redeem mankind at great cost.

So you should fear nothing,

for I have looked for you

both day and night,

in order to be your haven;

I have done well,

for I have won you in battle.

~ from the commonplace book of John Grimstone, 1372 (translation)
~celtic cross photo by cubanjunky

To listen to Love Me Broughte, by Mediaeval Baebes (the lyrics are the same as those in the above translation, but sung in Middle English) click the link below.

http://youtu.be/fh0wyEEjPbc

A blessed Easter to you...

Because He is Risen!

Did You See This?

2011-04-20T07:07:00.000-07:00

Recently I read this post from author Mary DeMuth, over at Novel Journey, and it won't let go of my heart. So just in case you missed it....

Why You Shouldn't Give Up As A Novelist. Really.

I hope it will encourage your heart, if you are in a place of working and waiting... like me.

Review: The Dawn of a Dream

2011-04-18T07:41:00.000-07:00

The Dawn of a Dream
Ann Shorey
Revell, 2011

From the back cover: Luellen O'Connell is stunned when her husband of just one month tells her he is leaving--and his reason devastates her. Deeply wounded by his betrayal, Luellen decides to follow her dream to become a teacher, a desire she had set aside when she married. But can she truly hide her past? Or will it destroy her ambitions forever?

Beldon Grove, Illinois, 1857

From the first chapter of The Dawn of a Dream I was swept up in Luellen’s plight after her husband turned out to be a no-good scoundrel, and my empathy was with her as she had to face her kin and community at a particularly testing time in her extended family’s life. Enter the hero, Ward Calder, an Army officer and friend of Luellen's brother, Franklin, who strikes just the right note of support, chivalry, and respect to earn the reader’s (and Luellen’s) gratitude.

Luellen’s dream of earning a teaching certificate, put on hold during her brief marriage, comes to the fore again, despite several daunting obstacles she must overcome or learn to live with in order to see this happen--including the haunting shameful secret of her failed marriage.

Secondary characters encountered along the way included Belle, Luellen’s friend at the teaching college she attends. Another secondary character, introduced later in the book, is Leah. I found her story particularly compelling and woven skillfully into the major storyline, but will forbear any spoilers about this character. She’s best served up fresh.

Luellen's story is set against a college experience, and training to become a teacher, a refreshing change from the usual new-to-the-school-house experience most often found in books about young women of the mid-1800s who want to be teachers. College for women was an aspect of the 1800s I knew nothing about, but a reader learns a lot almost without realizing it, while being absorbed in the challenges and new experiences Luellen and Belle face. Luellen's determination is tested on every side, even by loved ones who misunderstand her, yet her true calling and gifting as a teacher shines through. The classroom scenes where Luellen learns to interact with young students were some of my favorites.

Though Ward and Luellen are often separated for long stretches of time, Ann Shorey keeps up the tension in their slow-burning relationship by bringing them together at key points. Ward, a man of honor and self-contained strength, is following his own dreams and career path in the Army, but he can’t forget Luellen, as she can’t forget him. But can the “once burned, twice shy” Luellen ever trust a man again?

Ann's vivid descriptions made the story come alive for me. Often as I read a historical I long for more description, or to better see (and smell and hear and taste) the scenes than what is offered on the page, as if the settings are skimming over, instead of delved into. I didn’t have that problem once with The Dawn of a Dream. And there are plenty of unexpected story twists from beginning to end. Just when I thought things were finally settling down and I could predict what was coming next, Ann threw another curve ball.

If you haven’t read the previous two books in the Beldon Grove series, it won’t hurt to start with this one. The Dawn of a Dream focuses on the daughter of the main character of the first book, The Edge of Light, but the story stands on its own.

Ann's website: http://www.annshorey.com/index.html

_________

I finished reading The Dawn of a Dream late last Friday night, and on Saturday Ann Shorey had a book signing at our local bookstore. Before the signing Ann and I met for lunch nearby, in company with several other writer friends. It was great to connect with Ann again, talk about her book, her upcoming series with Revell, and of course about the writing life. While the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference was happening down near Santa Cruz, we had our own mini writers conference at the local mall, and I left feeling buoyed in spirit and richer for having had that time to share with kindred souls. It happens far too infrequently for this stay-at-home hermit of a writer.

I'll leave you with a few pics from the day, and encourage you to check out Ann's At Home in Beldon Grove series, The Edge of Light (Kindle addition presently available free from Amazon) The Promise of Morning, and The Dawn of a Dream.

This photo of the group who met for lunch (minus Linda, who had to leave early) courtesy of Ann Shorey.

Lauri on: Character Motivation

2011-04-16T15:06:00.000-07:00

Here's my last post in which I'm sharing some of the writing craft wisdom my friend, Lauri Klobas, shared with me during a few intense months in which she taught me how to edit my badly over-written prose.

Not all of the advice she gave me had to do with trimming back needless description, though. She helped me define a few secondary characters that weren't coming across well, either because their motivation or role in the story was unfocused, or they were (no writer likes to hear this) coming across as a type, as cliche, not as individuals. She had one great tip for me that I've used since whenever any character, whether a viewpoint character or a secondary character who has an important role to play, has been less than forthcoming about their motives and goals (secondary characters do have goals too).

Lauri on: Getting a Handle on Secondary Characters & their Motivations

~ What I like to do in cases like this, is write something that will never be in the book—like the scene between [two secondary characters, up to no good] when they plan this. Sometimes, once you set them to talking, you can find out all sorts of interesting things about them that you didn’t know… and you get a better handle on what they know, and when, and it’s easier to show it to the other characters in the course of the story.

Max, one of the rescued kitties Lauri took into her home and heart, enjoying the LA sun.

Thanks for remembering Lauri with me this week!

Lauri on: Trimming the Fat

2011-04-15T07:07:00.000-07:00

This week on the blog I'm sharing the writing advice I received from Lauri Klobas, a friend I will always consider my first editor.

Lauri had a lot to teach me about trimming and tightening unfocused story elements and overwritten prose. I still over-write my first drafts, but through her editing of my historical, Kindred, bleeding bright red all over the screen, I'm able now to go back, after a cooling off period, and the excess wordage screams at me, instead of hiding itself.

Lauri on Tightening/Trimming/Hacking-Burning-Slashing

~ I truly think when you chart out the story on index cards* and see where one thing does not carry to another or closely resembles another chapter, you'll be chopping merrily through. Beta 4 (the version of Kindred she read) felt "loose" to me, not as focused as it could be.

*Using index cards to map out a novel, one card per scene or chapter, was something Lauri recommended to me to be sure all the scenes I'd written were really needed, or to spot places in the story where the pace was lagging, or I had neglected a subplot/character.

~ Don't get dramatic on me here (I must have whined, or threatened to wimp out and give up!). Look, a tree is nice but when it gets all overgrown, it overtakes everything else. Can't see around it, above it, through it... but a good trim and you have a lovely asset to the garden, that's all. And good heavens, don't I know how easy it is to get lost in a story, loving parts and wanting to keep parts... even though those branches are hanging in front of the window and impeding the view. We are too close to our work and it's hard to see it clearly.

~ After reading your blog post, I had a thought. When you go through and do the index card thing, it might be cool to note if the chapter is a Macro or a Micro. Meaning, if it is a big, all-encompassing chapter, you'll know it's a chapter that doesn't require details as deep as does a micro. For example, when Ian and Seona are [spoiler deleted], that's a micro, a small and private place and time. The details percolate through the scene. When Ian is on he road encountering the coffel of slaves, that's a Macro, a bigger scene. It's a place where the big details are described but you don't need the same depth as you would in a Micro.

Does that make any sense? It could be one way that will help you pare down the words because you don't need the ocean of description in every scene. It can be a bit suffocating to the reader-- so many details, sort of like a bell clanging in your head and it's too much, too close. That's the way I felt at the start with all of Ian's wounds. Not to mention, I didn't know him that well... those details worked just fine after [spoiler deleted]. By then, I knew him, I cared about him and what he was doing. He's still too new in the beginning so I would suggest going a bit easier there-- work on story to draw in the reader, rather than detail. It'll help the top of the book be more "taut and muscular," stuff that will capture the attention of an agent.

Lauri on: Back Story

2011-04-13T07:10:00.000-07:00

This week I've spent time reading over the emails exchanged with my friend Lauri, during the months I began the huge task of editing Kindred down to a manageable length. An element I'd struggled with was back story: where to put it, and how much needed to be included at all. Lauri's answer: later and less than one might think. Her suggestions seemed radical to me at first, but I eventually came around to realizing she was right. Much of what we discussed was specific to my story, but there were some general tips I could pull from the emails to share.

Lauri on Back Story:

~ "It's also pacing. As the story warms up, a dip into back story deadens momentum, stops the story arc and in this reader's mind, feels like the brakes are being put on. "Well, this happens-- but wait, let me tell you what happened LAST year so you can appreciate what is going on now.""

~ "Right NOW, after 50 pages, you are in a good position to start including backstory. Why? Because now you have a "sticky wicket" of problems for your protag who isn't crazy about slavery, but here he is, about to take charge of a hugh Carolina estate-- with slaves."

~ "I've used this backstory analogy before on the Forum... if one attends a cocktail party and says hello to someone who looks like someone you might like to know and you say, "How are you?" and they come back with, "Well, to tell you the truth, I'm not feeling all that good today. I went to the doctor and he said... blahblahblah... and then, my wife, she just started out with the same-old, salme-old... the kids were on my back. Then my car started making this screeching noise...." Well, we wonder what we have stumbled into and quickly try to get away from the barrage of Too Much Information."

~ "Do you ever listen to Dr. Laura on the radio? I worked on her short-lived TV show and even though I am pretty politically opposite of her, when it comes to people and their behaviors, I'm right with her. And I listen to her. I get a kick out of how she cuts to the quick on calls. People are just driven to give her back story. "Well, my mother and her sister never got along. When they were kids...." and Laura will say, "Tell what is bothering you about your mother." They'll say,"Well, like I said, my mother just didn't get along with her sister...." Often, after hearing just the pared-down version, Laura will ask for back story because she needs it to illuminate the problem. But people just feel they have to give a lot of background. And in the space of a radio show, there is no time for that. And it really isn't needed but callers feel obligated to give it."

Remembering Lauri Klobas

2011-04-11T09:03:00.000-07:00

This week marks a year since my friend, Lauri Klobas, author and gifted critter, passed away after her third battle with breast cancer.

Lauri and I had known each other only on the Compuserve Books & Writers Forum when she graciously and unexpectedly volunteered to have a look at my historical novel, Kindred (which at the time was just under 300,000 words long), to see if she could help me edit it down, the challenge of which I'd posted about among the writers on the forum, probably many times.

I've been reading through some of our saved correspondence from back in late 2007-08, the months that my writing life was totally consumed with editing Kindred to a length that an agent or editor would consider looking at. I've gleaned a few snippets of writing wisdom from Lauri that I'll be posting on the blog this week. For today, I'd like to share again my memorial for Lauri, originally posted April 16, 2010:

__________________________________

A very special friend passed away early yesterday morning after her third battle with cancer.

I met Lauri Klobas several years ago on the Books & Writers Forum, a place I've mentioned in previous posts. Lauri and I shared a love of animals (kitties for her, dogs for me), and we often crossed paths on the many pet-related forum threads, not to mention all the writing craft threads that were generated over the years. Lauri also wrote wonderful Letters From Home detailing her work as a teleprompter for NFL, and her past work behind the scenes on many television shows, and her interaction with the "stars" of Hollywood, many of them hilarious, some of them eye-opening, some truly head-shaking.

Over time we began to be aware of the book projects each other was working on, and about two years ago I received an email from Lauri offering to help me edit my extremely long historical novel, Kindred. I hadn't yet encountered Lauri's editing skills for myself, but I knew she was an encouraging soul--she'd headed the monthly Goals thread, where writers state their goals at the start of the month, give a mid-month check in, and an end-of-the-month report. Lauri, during her stint, was always there with the virtual confetti ready to throw for successes and encouraging words for those who hadn't met their goals.

But that would prove no comparison to the effort she made in editing my novel. I wanted her to be ruthless. I know it's hard to be so with another writer's work, especially if that writer is a friend. But Lauri did it. She made that manuscript bleed red, and she did it with gentle humor and encouragement. I'm not sure she ever quite believed how ecstatic I was to get a few chapters back from her and see how much she felt could be excised without diminishing the story I wanted to tell, or the characters I wanted to breathe life into. I learned to trust her instincts, and often cut more than she suggested, because, in spite of my ingrained wordy ways, I was learning to edit.

More than as my first editor, I will miss her as the tenderhearted rescuer of "problem" kitties, as the proud owner of her first home, as a lively, optimistic presence on the forum even while she struggled with her own failing health, as a person who was truly engaged with the world around her and genuinely interested in how the rest of us were getting along with things. As a true cheerleader. As my friend.

These are Lauri's last words to me, in response to the news that I had signed with an agent with Kindred. They were written at the end of March after she left her home and moved to be near family and friends for her final weeks. They so perfectly epitomizes who she was to me:

I have been waiting for this letter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yippee. I would type longly and effusively, but I am having trouble with my typing!
Boy, l am I proud of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
XOXO
LEK
I will miss you, Lauri. I am not the same because of you. Thank you so very much.

What to blog?

2011-04-08T11:01:00.000-07:00

There I was sitting at my computer at 5-something AM this morning, wondering what to blog about today, when I took a quick gander at my blog rolls over in the sidebar, and there's Jody Hedlund, one of the most consistent, prolific bloggers I know, blogging about what to say when you are out of ideas. If you've never read Jody's blog... it's full of informative posts about a novel-writer's debut experience, and the writing life in general.

But that doesn't let me off the hook for today. I've been blogging here since 2007, according to the dates in my archives. That's a long time for an unpubbed author to have kept up a running blog, posting 2-3 times a week, with no unscheduled gaps in posting (that I can recall, anyway). Blogging can be time consuming, brain-draining, and there's this thing called blogger burn out that happens to some. I've experienced it. It's part of the reason I usually only blog twice a week now.

As author Catherine West commented in Jody's post today, "I started to get stressed over my blog at one point, thinking about how it was a waste of time if nobody was reading it - well, I enjoy it, so it's not a waste of time."

That's the attitude I work on maintaining. I started blogging to see if I enjoyed it, if it was something I could maintain long term. For the most part I do, and can. Sometimes posts don't generate discussion. Sometimes they do. It's always fun when that happens.

It's also nice to have a place to mention good news in my writing journey. I have a small bit today. Just got the call from my ACFW Genesis Contest coordinator that my entry made it into the Semi-Final Round of judging. This is something new for the Genesis this year, an extra round of judging before the Final Round, and as I understand it, only three entries in each category will make it to that last round.

The best thing about the Genesis Contest is the detailed score sheets that come back after each round of judging. There's three of them each time. That's three judges' feedback on the first 15 pages and a one page synopsis, twice (in previous years)--for the first round and for the final round (in which editors and agents are the judges). This for a $35 entry fee. It's a very good deal. And since this is the first year I've been a first round judge (in a category other than the one I entered; dem's da rules), I know the amount of work (and prayer) that goes into judging these entries now. Far more than one might imagine.

I'm wondering if this year there will be three sets of three judges' score sheets, since they've initiated the extra Semi-Final judging round. In which my entry just slipped in (and this is starting to sink in)!

I'm excited for the feedback to come, and for making it this far.

What stays in the heart

2011-04-04T10:03:00.000-07:00

I identify with that feeling of despair in seeing some scenes hit the cutting room floor. There’s one, out of all the scenes and parts of scenes I’ve cut from several novels, that haunts me still and I’m determined to slip back in between the pages one day, if given a chance.

The above is part of a comment I left last week on Writer Unboxed, a writing blog that's fast becoming one of my most frequently visited. It was in response to a post by Stephanie Cowell, on the subject of creating a rising plot line, and the struggle she faces in that creation.

By her own admission, Stephanie isn't a plotter. She puts her characters on the page and follows them, and creates a plot in the process. I'm more of a plotter than that. In fact, my current novel in progress was more thoroughly plotted before I wrote the first word than any novel I've ever begun.

But when it comes to each chapter, each scene, I like to give my characters some wiggle room. I know the main plot points or character beats and conflict I want to hit, but I like to remain open to the characters saying something unexpected, or taking an action I hadn't foreseen weeks or months ago when I conceived their story line and what their goals and conflicts would be. When they do, I let them run with it for a bit to see what might come of it. There have been times when giving them rein led me to a revelation about their character that I mightn't have reached any other way.

But this writing method has its down side. It gives rise to some lengthy scenes and chapters, and the need to go back when I'm further along in the story, or perhaps not until the first draft is written, and trim, trim, trim back everything that I began to develop, or allowed the characters to indulge in, but proved unneeded later on.

This is needful for two reasons: tighter storytelling makes for a better paced and more compelling read, and my first drafts always run ridiculously far over the acceptable word count for CBA historical fiction. There's no choice but to cut.

Sometimes the cuts are just a line here and there, or a paragraph. Sometimes it's whole scenes that need to go, because they aren't pulling their story weight.There is always worth in the the scenes or partial scenes I end up having to cut, or I never would have written them. They deepen character, or give complexity to a conflict, or lend the overall story atmosphere and mood. But if they don't move the story forward as well, they have to go.

"I am always in despair of all the stuff I have to cut. It stays in my heart," Stephanie Cowell wrote at Writer Unboxed last week. It's true. There's a low level grieving process that goes on in my soul when this happens. Stephanie's post felt like an arm around the shoulder, a voice saying, "Yeah, I know. It hurts."

I'm sure Stephanie and I aren't the only writers who write long and then cut back. If you do this as well, have you developed any tricks for enduring the pain? Or does it get easier with time and practice? Are there more writers who write spare prose and find themselves having to go back and add material? I admit, that's something so foreign to my process that it's hard to imagine. Oh, the luxury to be able to add to a story!

~photo courtesy Carol Walker, Creative Commons, Wiki

Review: Maid to Match

2011-03-31T10:53:00.000-07:00

Maid to Match
by Deeanne Gist
Bethany House Publishers
2010

From the back cover:

Falling in Love Could Cost Her Everything.

From the day she arrives at the Biltmore, Tillie Reese is dazzled--by the riches of the Vanderbilts and by Mack Danvers, a mountain man turned footman. When Tillie is enlisted to help tame Mack's rugged behavior by tutoring him in proper servant etiquette, the resulting sparks threaten Tillie's efforts to be chosen as Edith Vanderbilt's lady's maid. After all, the one rule of the house is no romance below stairs.

But the stakes rise even higher when Mack and Tillie become entangled in a cover-up at the town orphanage. They could both lose their jobs, their aspirations... and their hearts.

I read Gist's first book, A Bride Most Begrudging, years ago and enjoyed it, but this book's setting drew me in first and foremost. I'm a sucker for anything set in the Appalachians. If it's the Blue Ridge of North Carolina, all the better. Historical? Well, that's just about perfect. Add in the fact that a.) Gist's hero, Mack Danvers, is a tall, rugged, fiery-tempered mountain man, with a strong sense of justice and responsibility that compels him to defend those weaker than he, and b.) is possessed of a smoldering physical presence that Tillie couldn't possibly overlook, though Mack's the identical twin to a footman she already works with and isn't the least attracted to*--and it makes for a very compelling hero.

From the moment Tillie first sees Mack, engaged in a brawl with a townsman (who deserved far worse comeuppance than he ever got), there was only one face I could put on him. This one (who played a well known character also introduced to the viewer in the midst of... you guessed it...a fist-fight).

*I found the contrast between the brothers, and Tillie's response to them, an interesting angle to explore. Though they look enough alike that they're sometimes confused for each other, Mack and his brother, Earl, are very different men. This served to make Tillie's attraction to Mack come across as far deeper than the physical, since his brother Earl is every bit as handsome. The romance between these two made sparks fly off the pages, which you don't always find in CBA romances.

I've never visited the Biltmore Estate, near Ashville, NC, but Maid To Match has made me want to. An aspect of this story I greatly enjoyed (being a fan of the recent British drama Downton Abbey) is a look inside the lives of the large servant staff of an American mansion at the turn of the 20th century, and the differences between them and their British counterparts.

Some of the services Tillie had to perform for a certain rich visitor to the estate, as a trial run for a lady's maid position, were so revolting and the treatment she received so humiliating, at first I wondered why Tillie would still want to pursue this goal after such an experience, especially when she has another offer on the table that seems overwhelmingly appealing (to me!). Gist provided enough sound motivation for Tillie to believe this is the path she needs to pursue, no matter the cost, and to make me believe she could believe it, as well as showing just how good Tillie would be at the job; patient and hard-working and humble, in contrast to the experience of her rival for the ultimate lady's maid position, Lucy.

Another plot line I found engaging was that of the children in the orphanage in the town of Asheville. It was wonderfully and sometimes heartbreakingly utilized through the story to bring Mack and Tillie together... as well as keep them apart. Mack's character, in particular, is allowed to blossom through the use of this orphanage setting and the plight of the children therein.

As a writer I found myself rereading phrases throughout the book, wishing I'd written them. As a reader, this is the first book I've read in quite some time that I didn't want to put down. Yet it was more than a page-turner. Watching Tillie and Mack struggle to hear God's voice, to find the setting and role where their dreams could be realized, their gifts and talents used, and the yearnings of their hearts be fulfilled, was a pleasure. While the ending was predictable, the journey to their fulfillment was well worth it and I hated to see the story end, to say good-bye to Tillie and Mack. I would have gladly read on through their lives, since their company was a great joy. Which is, in my opinion, the final litmus test of a good book.

A Celtic Odyssey in song

2011-03-29T05:04:00.000-07:00

To my surprise (though why I'm surprised anymore I don't know) I found the tracks to one of my favorite Celtic music CDs on Youtube.

Celtic Odyssey, a Narada collection, is one of the few CDs I own of which I can honestly say I adore every single track, and never skip a one no matter how many times I've listened to them. I do have a favorite, though. Listen through, it's the only song with no instrumental accompaniment. This was the music I found inspiring during the writing of Kindred, which has a lot to do with Scots, and Scottish immigrants in North Carolina.

Follow the links. Hope you enjoy them, and check out more of each artist's work.

1. Carolan's Ramble to Cashel, by Northern Lights
2. The Butterfly, by Orison
3. Donal Agus Morag/The New-Rigged Ship, by Altan
4. Calliope House/The Cowboy Jig, by Alasdair Fraser/Paul Machlis
5. Chuaigh Me 'Na Rosann, by Scartaglen
6. Trip to Skye, by John Whelan/Eileen Ivers
7. Are Ye Sleeping, Maggie? by Alasdair Fraser
8. Tribute to Peadar O'Donnell, by Moving Hearts
9. Siun Ni Dhuibhir, by Relativity
10. Alasdair Mhic Cholla Ghasda, by Capercaillie
11. Puirt a Beul, by Sileas
12. The York Reel/Dancing Feet, by Gerald Trimble
13. Morghan Meaghan, by Laurie Riley and Bob McNally
14. Strathgarry, by Simon Wynberg

In Thanks for a Productive Day

2011-03-24T15:33:00.000-07:00

Today was a productive writing day. What that means for me is over 2000 new words on the page that didn't exist when I got out of bed this morning to turn off the 5am alarm.

It also means I stayed focused.

It means I sat here in this increasingly padded chair and kept clicking the keys when about 98% of me was sure we'd rather be in the kitchen baking something, or riding an extra five miles on the e-bike while I watch one more episode of something not really worth my while.

It means I didn't go shopping, even though we could use another loaf of bread. And maybe some milk.

It means I didn't answer the phone. But then, I almost never do.

It means I didn't read all the blogs I wanted to read.

It means I have much to be thankful for, the work of today... that I'll probably tear apart and rewrite tomorrow before I push on with the next scene. But what a blessing to have words on the page to play with come tomorrow morning.

The day started with:

Heaving in breath, heart going at a gallop, Jesse sprawled on the bank beside Tamsen Littlejohn while she coughed up what seemed half the mountain’s runoff.

And ended with:

“But it'll be a great help to me,” he added with a crooked lift of his mouth, “if you don’t try crossing another rain-swelled creek—or take on any more bears—at least while I’m not around.”

What makes for a productive day for you? What makes you breathe a prayer of thankfulness for the work of the day?

~photo of rain-swollen creek by Scott Basford

used under Creative Commons License

Wiki Commons

10,000+

2011-03-21T08:42:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who paid an extra visit to this blog yesterday, to help skooch me up over the 10,000 hit mark. Very silly of me and very kind of you!

I appreciate everyone who visits, reads, and comments here. It's been a interesting few years, keeping up a blog about writing and historical research, and historical fiction, while I've yet to be contracted for any of my own novels. This has been and continues to be a slow-paced journey, with no way to predict the end, but I hope some of the things I've shared about along the way have been encouraging to others whose writing journey has not proceeded at the brisk clip they'd hoped it would.

In the words of Winston Churchill, "Nevah, nevah, nevah, nevah give up." A gentlemen shared them with me yesterday at church, while you guys were working on my hit count (thank you again!), concerning this long writing journey I've been on, longer than the seventeen years he's known me, and I told him yes, I sit myself down and give myself that talk every few months.

The only way to assure you will never be published is to give up trying. The only way to assure that your writing, published or not, will never touch another human soul is give up writing.

Two things I'll do only when and if God impresses (very very strongly) on my soul that that's His will.

A framework for the beauty to come

2011-03-18T10:32:00.000-07:00

Having reached the customary point in my first draft where I start fretting about rising word count (roughly seven chapters in), I needed this timely reminder from author Patti Hill, over at the excellent Novel Matters blog today.

Taming The Perfectionist Monster

It's a first draft, I'm reminded, and therefore it ain't gonna be perfect. In my case that means it's going to sprawl. It's going to burst at the seams with my indulgence toward setting. It's going to be filled with rabbit trails in dialogue and character internals and way too much stage business as I throw onto the screen everything I see these fascinating people doing and thinking; I'm still exploring who they are, tossing ideas around on the page to see what sticks, what they pick up and run with.

What they leave behind I'll come along in the next draft (or the one after that) and tidy up.

"... perfectionism," sayeth Patti, "will not get you through a first draft, the draft meant to be nothing more than a framework for the beauty to come later."

A framework for the beauty to come. I can get my head wrapped around that freeing notion.

~ misty mountain trail photo by Brian Stansbern, used under Creative Commons License, Wiki Commons, because I'm in a Blue Ridge state of mind

Pressing On

2011-03-14T19:00:00.000-07:00

Pressing on despite not being able to see the path ahead can be hard. And a little scary. It's where I am right now in regards to writing. I've been in a working and waiting mode for so long I'm not sure I'll know how to "be" whenever God opens a door and one of my novels slips through.

No doubt I'll learn. Just as He is presently, constantly, showing me how to wait, and to trust in His good plans (and that there is, in fact, a path I'm following), I'm sure He will show me how to stride forward through any doors that eventually open.

As it happens, I'm working on a chapter in which two of my characters must embark on a dangerous mountain crossing in the dead of night. They have the stars and moon to guide them, the sure-footedness of the horse one of them rides, the keen eyes and wilderness skill of the one who leads the horse.

I have the light of the promises from God's word to guide me, and the One who leads me has the keenest eyes, the surest step. I can trust Him as my guide.

A few brief excerpts from a high mountain path, the scene-in-progress:

He caught her falling from the saddle twice more before the night wore to gray and the stars faded, and the trail ahead grew clear enough to pick out without all his senses focused on every stone and root and knife-edged drop. It was grown chill. A mist had crept up from the creek hollows below, nipping at their heels though they were yet above it. They were deep in the mountains now, and high, with rank upon rank of red oak and sugar maple, buckeye, black cherry, and ash crowding close, here and there darker pockets of spruce and pine and fragrant fir.

He’d chosen their route well. They hadn’t been seen once—by human eyes at least—but he was thinking that with dawn creeping westward it was time to leave it and take themselves off in an unexpected direction.

Just ahead the trail crested. If memory served it dipped into a saddle meadow where a creek flowed, and along that creek was another path, overgrown but passable. He’d make for that, hold to the creek, find the girl a place to lay her head for a bit.

He glanced back at her, perched on the horse.

The hood of her cloak had slipped back. Her head bobbed on her neck, lolling toward her chest. He reckoned they could be tracked by the hairpins she’d been losing all night, if anyone knew to look for such things. Her hair was in snarls, curling up around her face with the dampness of the morning, and the little lace cap hung askew over one ear. In the growing gray of dawn the shadows beneath her eyes looked dark as bruises, her face strained by fatigue and the horrors she’d endured.

She was still so beautiful Jesse had to remind himself to breathe.....

“Morning,” he said, and gave her a weary smile.

“Uhn,” she said. She rubbed her eyes, but didn’t take her hands away, as if the sight of him and the horse and the world were too much misery to bear. He wanted to give her something to hold against the memories that were surely pressing in on her. All he had to give right then lay behind them.

He nodded toward their back trail. "Look."

Wordless, patently uncaring, she looked, and he thought he heard her breath catch.

They weren’t high enough yet and too hemmed by trees for the grandest views, but through a gap could be seen the distant face of a sheer rock cliff, banded in drifting mist. Forest lapped like a thick green wave rising from the mist to crash against the wall of stone. Above it in the clear-washed air an eagle circled, its white head catching the gold of sunrise, though the forest canopy held them still in half-light.....

The horse beside him shifted. He looked up to find she’d put her back to the view and was gazing up the path, face frozen, eyes wary as a startled deer’s.

The same alarm jolted down Jesse’s spine when he followed her gaze. At the crest of the trail a man clad in buckskins stood at the head of a halted string of pack mules, regarding them.

Copyright 2011 by Lori Benton. All Rights Reserved.
Blue Ridge Mountains photo by Jurgen Nagel, used under creative commons license, Wikipedia Commons

Music for an 18th century state of mind

2011-03-10T15:52:00.000-08:00

I had a fun discussion with some girlfriends earlier this week about movie soundtracks, and our favorite movies. No surprise that mine are almost all historicals, complete with sweeping soundtracks, lots of fiddle music, often with a Celtic strain. It's the music that transports me to the 18th century mountain frontier, and what I listen to in the car when I'm scene-weaving and dreaming up plot turns, or listening to my characters' urgent voices.

Topping my list of favorites are the soundtracks from:

Dances With Wolves, music by John Barry
Last of the Mohicans, music by Trevor Jones with the haunting ballad I Will Find You, by Clannad
Braveheart, music by James Horner
The Two Towers, music by Howard Shore (especially the Rohan theme, with its gorgeous Norwegian Hardanger fiddle weaving a haunting strain throughout... yes, I rather like haunting music. I flirted briefly with the idea of learning to play a Hardanger fiddle after first seeing the film. Very briefly.).

A movie I recently watched for the first time, The Journey of August King (Jason Patric and Thandie Newton), based on the book of that title by John Ehle, was set and filmed in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina (home of my heart). It has a gorgeous soundtrack by Stephen Endelman that I don't own, but would like to if only it was available. I've yet to find it, but since I own the movie I can at least hear it from time to time.

Other music that puts me in the right mindset for writing my 18th century stories is a haunting (again with the haunting!) and inspiring book/CD package called No Man Can Hinder Me, The Journey from Slavery to Emancipation through Song, by Velma Maia Thomas. There are songs on this album that I cannot listen to without weeping, even after years of hearing them. They are powerful, evocative and raw. Some of these songs have inspired scenes I've written, especially in my novel Kindred.

And Music of the American Colonies, by Anne and Ridley Enslow. Many of these songs were completely new to me, some of them political, some of them humorous, some highly educational. One of them, Anna, is played on Benjamin Franklin's invention, the glass armonica. And yes, it is a haunting sound. And very beautiful.

There are so many Colonial and Early American inspired collections out there. I'd like to sample a few, but would love to know your favorites first. Or are there other movie soundtracks that transport you to the 18th (early 19th century is fine too!) century? Please share them in the comment section.

Deerskins to Shillings: What stuff cost in the 18th century

2011-03-07T15:51:00.000-08:00

Instead of having to track down various websites or book resources that give lists of what this or that item was worth in the late 18th century when I find myself needing to insert such historical tidbits into a scene, I'm proposing to start my own list here on the blog.

This Fair Trade post will be for me and anyone else in need of knowing, say, what a prime beaver skin was worth on the North Carolina frontier in 1785 (six shillings). I plan to update it periodically (and give a shout out when I do), with my sources cited.

Feel free to copy and use this information as you may need. New information, links, or sources will be added at the top of the list, so you won't have to wade through older stuff to find it. If you know of a website where such lists exist, please post a link in the comments section and I'll add it to my compilation.

* * *

Fair Trade List

what stuff cost in the 18th century

1785. If you had to pay land taxes on the North Carolina frontier in 1785, and had no hard money (specie or coin), or paper currency circulated by the state, you could lawfully pay your tax by the following means:

clean beaver skin = 6 shillings

cased otter skins = 6 shillings

uncased otter skins = 5 shillings

raccoon and fox skins = 1 shilling, 3 pence

woollen cloth = 10 shillings per yard

bacon, well cured = 6 pence per pound

clean tallow = 6 pence per pound

clean beeswax = 1 shilling per pound

distilled rye whiskey = 2 shillings and 6 pence per gallon

peach or apple brandy = 3 shillings per gallon

country made sugar = 1 shilling per pound

deer skins = 6 shillings

~ from History of the Lost State of Franklin, by Samuel C. Williams.

1700s (mid century) The First Foot Guard's 18th century cost of living website lists many everyday items and their value during the mid 1700s, London.

Dressing in the 18th Century

2011-03-04T17:30:00.000-08:00

I've had a crash course on stays this week, between my friend Carla Gade's posts on Dressing a Colonial Lady, and the blog and emails of the Colonial Lady herself, Mary Spencer. If you'd like to tell between stays and corsets, check out Mary's informative and interesting site (she's a Colonial reenactor), and don't miss Carla's blog series from this week:

Dressing a Colonial Lady, Day One
Dressing a Colonial Lady, Day Two
Dressing a Colonial Lady, Day Three

In case you'd still like more on the subject, I went on a "getting dressed in Colonial times" hunt for videos on Youtube. Here's what I turned up:

A video showing an 18th century farm couple, from Claude Moore Colonial Farm, dressing in their workaday clothes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_OOjFR5A4A

Dressing with pocket hoops and petticoats http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e829nat4Kw4&feature=related

Mid-18th Century upperclass fashion http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pw-AVf6lFw&feature=related

Another video, using drawings, showing the steps of dressing an upper class Colonial Lady http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCrn8YrVufU&feature=related

Clothing Layers for the 1780s and 1790s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUoNGe_qJbU&feature=related

For a slightly later period, a video of a woman donning an 1805 Regency drop front style dress, over 1790s stays and petticoat. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eO_4PnO8KDM Looks like having a maid, or a double mirror, would be very helpful.

These are good resources for a writer of 18th century fiction who lives on the West Coast, and can't visit the sites and the folks who have a shared passion for (and far more knowledge of) 18th Century Colonial and Federal clothing.

When the stakes are life and death

2011-03-01T13:54:00.000-08:00

I seem to need pretty high stakes to make a lifestyle changing resolution and stick to it.

Take exercise for instance. I want to feel good and look my best, but that wasn't enough to get me exercising regularly in my twenties. Then I had cancer at 30, which was cured, but the treatment put me at high risk for other types of cancers. Being well warned that 15 to 20 years out someone like me typically encounters cancer again, I decided I wanted to be as strong as possible physically if/when that day comes. So I've exercised almost daily for the past twelve years. It's become a way of life. Short term benefits are that in my 40s I'm in the best shape I've ever been in, and finally I can keep up with my husband on our mountain climbing forays. I couldn't do that in my twenties.

All that's to say, I think it would be far better if it didn't take life and death stakes for me to "get up off the page" of my life and go out to meet those goals. But I'm like my characters that way. They too require high doses of motivation, where the stakes are life and death, to get up off the pages of a novel and live.

So Make It Worse

In his outstanding book The Fire in Fiction (one of my favorite writing craft books. Read it!), agent Donald Maass writes "In many manuscripts the protagonist's motivation is shallow. We do not believe that protagonist is driven to action, and often the action to which the protagonist is driven is less than it could be. Pump up the motivation. Pump up the response. You may feel afraid of going too far. In fact, in most manuscripts the protagonist does not do enough."

From all I've read of Maass' advice to writers over the years, the main take away I've gleaned is always to make it worse. Make the story stakes higher whenever possible. Make the antagonist stronger*. Take away all the protagonist's props. Make it life and death, which doesn't necessarily mean the protagonist's physical life is in jeopardy if she doesn't reach her story goals. Maybe it's her reputation that will die. Maybe it's her dream. Her hope. Her relationship. Her career. Her eternal soul. Whatever it is, it needs to be of utmost importance to the protagonist, or it won't come across as compelling to the reader.

*Don't forget that antagonist. He has to have a believable motivation for thwarting the protagonist. It won't work in most stories to make a villain oppose your protagonist simply because they are "bad." Delve into that character's past and find the motivation that will make them seem the protagonist in their own eyes at least. Make them convinced that setting themselves against your protagonist is the right thing to do. Or if not the right thing (how about an antagonist who's going against his own conscience?), then the life or death course he must follow or experience a loss, a death, of something he holds dear.

Motivation is a crucial component of a successful novel, for main characters, but also for secondary characters whose actions help drive the plot. Dig deep and take the time you have to in order to explore your characters' histories. I've been known to write journal entries from various characters, even minor ones who have a role to play but aren't viewpoint characters, in which they spill their guts about what they want, and why they see themselves as in the right, or the victim, or compelled to take some action that's going to nudge (or shove) the story plot and my protagonist in a certain direction.

And perhaps don't be too quick to snatch at the first motivation that comes to mind. My talented writing acquaintance Beth Shope* knows the wisdom of making many passes over a scene, or an idea for a plot turn, before moving on to be sure she's delving deep into her creative well where the richer and most refreshing story layers lie:

It's a slow process, though. There are days when I envy those writers who can charge ahead. But if I do that, what ends up on the page is whatever happened to be floating on the surface of my mind--stale stuff, boring ideas, flat word choices. Pond scum. I have to spend time with it, diving deep to fresher waters (i.e., shaping and revising) to discover more original material.

If I moved on without doing that, not only would I miss the story, I'd have an entire novel's worth of pond scum to revise. And I'm not willing to do that. It's kind of like building a structure right the first time vs doing a slap-dash thing that will later have to be completely taken apart to fix it.

Every writer's process is different, but like Beth I find that if I forge ahead too quickly, either through the plotting stage when I'm working out each character's motivation for the actions they take in the novel, or in the scene-by-scene stage, then I'm bound to miss that unexpected phrase or nuance of emotion that crops up in the tenth or twelfth pass over a section that changes something as significant as the tone of the entire story, or perhaps shows me a deeper level of motivation I might never have seen had I rushed ahead.

I'm back to add a link to an excellent post on the subject of upping a protagonist's stakes in a novel, by Donald Maass, over at Writer Unboxed. What Are You Afraid Of?

*Beth Shope's story Dragon's Eye is published in the Lords of Swords fantasy anthology among "the works of recognized masters Tanith Lee and "cult" favorites John C. Hocking and D. K. Latta, alongside rising stars E. E. Knight and Howard Andrew Jones."

One Word

2011-02-22T08:14:00.000-08:00

Not long ago I was talking to a friend about finding a single word to define where you are in life, or that describes what you feel the Lord is working out in your soul, or expresses a goal you have for yourself for this (still relatively new) year. She shared hers with me.

Until a few days ago, I didn't give much thought to what that One Word might be for me. Did I really need one? Nah. I didn't. Probably couldn't settle on just one word anyway. Why bother trying?

But it seems that word was out there, waiting, and didn't take kindly to my indifference, even after repeated hints as to its identity kept dropping into my lap. Yesterday it decided to insert itself into the one place I could not possibly overlook it, which is kind of ironic when it turns out that word for me is...

Patience

It all started a week or so ago with a quote I read in a post from author Kathleen Popa. It's attributed to Adel Bestavros, and I've been meditating on it ever since.

Patience with others is Love.

Patience with self is Hope.

Patience with God is Faith.

Like other writers I know, my writing journey has been a long one. By December of this year it will be twenty years since I first picked up a pen with the notion of finishing a novel and seeing it published. I've finished quite a few novels since then, and come close to getting more than one of them published. But I'll confess. Not every moment of the past twenty years has been spent in perfect peace. Impatience, anxiety, a sense of being left behind, of missing my chance of being published over and over again, even despair of being able to write, ever again, after a serious illness midway through this journey, have been allowed to get the upper hand from time to time.

Yet I know right where to turn when those thoughts come like fiery darts and I find my stomach coiling up and the pressure on my chest and the tightness in my brow... I look up to the verse I have taped above my desk.

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you. Isaiah 26:3

My thoughts are fixed on His goodness.

My thoughts are fixed on His perfect timing.

My thoughts are fixed on Him. Wherever this journey takes me just might not be as important as the One I'm taking it with (can I get an Amen?).

Yesterday I was unexpectedly inspired to rewrite the opening lines of Jesse, my novel in progress. I wasn't happy with the first sentence in particular. It seemed to me that I could have better captured the character's voice from the very first word.

Would you like to guess what the new first word (as this draft stands presently) of Jesse turns out to be?

But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing. James 1:4

You may have seen this notion of One Word for a year elsewhere. I've seen other blog posts about it. Do you know what yours is? I invite you to share it in the comments.

portrait: Emma Hart as Ariadne. George Romney, 1785

Two Great Posts on Writing

2011-02-17T08:58:00.000-08:00

I've stumbled upon lots of great writing posts this week. Here's two I hope you don't miss.

From Athol Dickson at Novel Journey: Scariness in Fictionland.

"Sometimes being a novelist is scary. For example, over the last year or so I’ve seen dozens of emails from other authors who claim they strongly dislike the first person point of view. That’s a frightful development for a serious novelist."

And from Steven Pressfield, an interview with Hollywood script consultant Jen Grisanti: The Log Line of Your Life. She gives a very workable formula for creating a log line (or one sentence pitch, as I tend to call it) for your story:

SP: How exactly would you define a log line?
JG: A log line is a brief description of the plot of your story, which involves an emotional hook and a twist of irony. A log line organizes a story in the briefest form possible while retaining the strongest emotional effect.

Athol's post is inspiring, challenging, freeing, and Steven Pressfield's interview with Jen Grisanti helped me write a much better one sentence pitch for the novel I've just begun. Check them out!

Best. Valentine's. Day. Ever.

2011-02-14T19:15:00.000-08:00

After nearly a year as her client, I got to meet my agent, Wendy Lawton, in person today. She was driving through my neck of the woods, so we made a breakfast date to talk story.

Talk story. Are there better words for a writer to hear? Okay, maybe "we have an offer" but God willing those will come in His time. For now, it's all about the love of story, and that's what we talked about today. And it's green light all the way for my new project, Jesse. I couldn't be more thrilled about that, as I've already begun (hee hee) and am very enamored of my new hero. I'll be "meeting" the heroine, Tamsen, tomorrow, bright and early.

Now, I'm usually a pretty level, laid back person, but when I left our breakfast meeting this morning my mind and heart were doing the happy dance. What a wonderful opportunity to finally meet my agent, and on Valentine's Day to boot!

And because it's Valentine's Day, to top off the day I'm indulging in the last of my Mocha Java Cake. For anyone who hasn't tried this yummy, gooey-centered cake, here's the recipe I used.

I'm eating this luscious cake as I type this. You should see my keyboard.

Loving the second-born, and third-born, and....

2011-02-10T13:04:00.000-08:00

Novel writing and child bearing have been compared in many ways by many writers before this little blog post, but I've had one of those moments today and thought I'd share it before it sinks back under the weight of the every day.

I have to think that falling in love with a new set of characters (after one has written at least one novel already), must be like having a second child. I can imagine a parent thinking initially, "I love my first child so much, how could I possibly love another person with the same intensity and focus?" And then a second child is born, and somehow, you do love that one every bit as much.

After I finished Kindred I didn't think I'd ever love a set of characters as much as I loved Seona and Ian, Thomas, Lily, Judith and the rest. Then I started another novel, and along came Willa, Neil, Joseph, a couple of orphaned children, and surprise if I didn't love them all deeply too.

Now there's Jesse, Cade, and Tamsen, and I'm falling head over heels for them.

I hope it will always be this way, however many books I write. I want to love these story people passionately, care to the bottom of my soul what happens to them, between each other and between their souls and God's heart. I want them to be as real and as substantial as my skill right now can make them. And one day I hope to kindle a little of that love in a reader's heart as well.

A prayer before setting out

2011-02-08T09:40:00.000-08:00

The plotting for Jesse is done, even down to a one page blurb and a potential (real) title. I'm about to start writing Chapter One, and I'm eager to discover how well this detailed plotting will work for me. Will it help me write the first draft in under a year's time? Time will tell!

I'm excited about the new setting. It's eastern Tennessee, 1787 (back in the day it was still western North Carolina), in what is now the Elizabethton area. Really the whole Tennessee Valley, as it seems my characters will be on the move quite a bit throughout this story.

Well, I'm stalling for just a few moments more here before I head off down a dusty trail to find two of my characters on an autumn journey, long enough to share the prayer in my heart this morning. It's in the form of three scriptures I keep in mind at every stage of writing a novel.

Commit your works to the LORD, and your thoughts shall be established. Proverbs 16:3

How I need my thoughts to be established!

And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands. Psalm 90:17

His establishing will be beautiful. And when my heart is overwhelmed....

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you. Isaiah 26:3

Plotting: the 3 Act Structure

2011-02-04T17:34:00.000-08:00

I spent January writing the opening chapters of a book that will be a sequel to both Kindred and The Quiet in the Land.

This month I've put that story aside to work on Jesse (working title), a stand alone set in 1787, in the North Carolina back country. Having decided to do something different and plot this story out as thoroughly as possible before I write one word of it (in hopes of writing the first draft in under a year's time, a feat I've never yet pulled off), I've chosen to try a technique I've heretofore shunned as too restrictive--outlining the plot using the Three Act Structure.

I'd read about it repeatedly, been taught it at conferences, but the notion didn't strike me as something I might want to actually try out until my friend Joan Shoup (J. M. Hochstetler) posted about it on her blog. Though I used the basic format Joan provided in her blog post, substituting my story information for hers, the information in the outline below pertains to her Revolutionary War novel Crucible of War, the fourth book in the American Patriot series (which I eagerly await). It is shared here with her permission (thank you, Joan!). And just to note, key story points of Crucible of War have, naturally, been omitted to avoid serious spoilers.

Act 1: Beginning the Quest

Battle of Trenton and return to camp.
Encounters between Carleton and Elizabeth, Andrews and Blue Sky

Act 2: Crisis Points
1. Battle of Princeton

Elizabeth returns to New York.
Washington and army block British at Princeton, then withdraw to Morristown.

2. Build-up to New Campaign
New York

Elizabeth and Tess renew relationship with Howe and his officers.
Pieter returns to NY to court Elizabeth.

Morristown

Reconstituting the army and planning campaign 1777.
Carleton rebuilds his Rangers from renegades.
Red Fox and/or Spotted Pony return to the Shawnee to seek reinforcements.
Carleton decides to refit several of his merchantmen in France as warships to engage in the naval war.

New York

Complications with Pieter and Howe.
Elizabeth carries intelligence to Congress, meeting with John Adams and others.
Progress of negotiations with France and Spain.

3. 1st Crisis and Turning Point

Pieter learns the truth.

4. 2nd Turning Point—Campaign 1777

Red Fox and/or Spotted Pony return to Morristown with a mixed party from the tribes.
Battles of Bennington, Brandywine, Germantown.
Elizabeth’s covert activities increasingly put her in danger.
Elizabeth learns her parents and Abby are returning to Boston.

5. Main Crisis and Turning Point—Saratoga

Carleton and his Rangers join General Gates at Saratoga.
Americans defeat Burgoyne, ending the British quest to split the colonies along the Hudson.

Act 3—Denouement

Tess leaves for Boston to prepare for the Howards’ return.
Howe prepares to move against Philadelphia.
Andrews and Blue Sky face a painful decision
Carleton and Elizabeth take leave of each other and Elizabeth returns to NY.
Setup for vol. 5.

Teachings abound on this well known story structure (as do opinions of its usefulness for novel writers), favored by screenwriters in particular. Googling it will turn up quite a few sites and resources. Here's one.

Earlier this week as I was starting this process I read a great blog post from author Ann Tatlock, over at Novel Journey. It's all about taking the time to listen to our characters before we push ahead with the writing.

For the past week I've combined Ann's advice with Joan's outline, and spent much time thinking this story through, daydreaming, reading over the gradually expanding outline again and again, adding details, turns and twists, the all important conflict, and generally spending more than usual time researching the relevant history and setting and frontier cultures. I now have a seven page single spaced outline, broken into three acts, and a story that's more heavily plotted from the outset than any that have come before it.

Still, there are aspects of the story that aren't clear to me. The spiritual thread is one. I suspect, but I don't yet know, what the spiritual thread of the story will look like. I never do until I've started writing, whether I've plotted the story to a fair-thee-well or am flying by the seat of my pants. Pretty early on the characters will tell me what's in the depths of their souls, what they need to work out between themselves and God.

For now though I'm seeing one great benefit of all this plotting and structure: I'm less intimidated by the mountain before me than I've been at the start of a novel since I finished my first, caught my breath, looked down to see how far I'd climbed and got a bit dizzy at the thought of doing it again. And again.

chess photo by Mrs Logic, flickr

Review: The Land Breakers

2011-02-01T08:36:00.000-08:00

Here follows my contribution to Historical Tapestry blog's Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2011, for the leafless and chilly month of February, in hopes of brightening it just that wee bit for fellow historical fiction lovers.

Review: The Land Breakers, by John Ehle

John Ehle's The Land Breakers, first published in 1964, contains some of the best portrayal of 18th century mountain settlement I've ever read. The book reads like living history, and I can only wonder how I've missed this author all these years.

The year is 1779. Mooney Wright, a hard-working, deep-thinking young man, and his wife, Imy, both newly released from their indentured servitude, arrive in Morganton, North Carolina, in search of a parcel of land to begin building their new lives. Though reluctant at first, Mooney ends up leading his wife into the back country, to a high valley surrounded by higher mountains, an untamed land without doctors, schools, churches, or roads (even neighbors at first), abounding in dangers from the two-footed as well as the four-footed, with settlements few and far between. Together Imy and Mooney clear a spot of land and build a cabin.

Winter exacts a heavy price on the couple before others arrive to settle in the mountain valley. Ehle introduces us to Tinkler Harrison, a determined man with big plans for a settlement and the kind of people he believes should be allowed to live there. Not high on the list of prospective neighbors is his son-in-law, the lazy, bedraggled Ernest Plover, with his long-suffering wife and passel of pale-haired girl children, the most memorable of which is Pearlamina (Mina), who develops romantic intentions toward Mooney Wright.

Of all the unforgettable characters in this novel, Tinkler Harrison's married-but-abandoned daughter, Lorry, was for me the most memorable, along with Mooney Wright, with whom her story is closely intertwined.

Just as much a character as the men and women who come to populate this back country settlement is the Appalachian mountain setting. Ehle's prose is lyrical in places, in his description of the beauty of the land filtered through the eyes and sensibilities of Mooney Wright, Tinkler Harrison, his daughter Lorry, and Mina Plover.

I could recommend this book simply for Ehle's vivid portrayal of the purely practical struggle of pioneering life, both its hardships and its frolics, its triumphs and tragedies--including battles against the elements, too little food, inadequate clothing, wild animals, illness, births and deaths that cause some characters to lose their way or give up hope, while others rise beyond what they thought themselves capable to clear their land and plant their crops and carve out a life in the rugged, brooding mountains. But it's also a riveting story, with scenes that will remain alive for me for a long time, scenes including poisonous snakes, livestock droves, a girl lost in mountain fog, but topping the list is an epic hunt to bring down a marauding bear that is more harrowing than anything I've read in a long while.

The Land Breakers, by John Ehle: Recommended!

An 18th Century Bookshelf

2011-01-28T10:36:00.000-08:00

"Elijah Boardman, 1789" by Ralph Earl

My characters, as it turns out, are readers. I didn't anticipate that development when I began writing Kindred in 2004. I couldn't have told you on that rainy April day what year the Revolutionary War ended, much less what literature was being published and read during those final decades of the 18th century.

Quite a learning curve I set for myself.

Over the course of writing two (so far) novels set in the Federal era of American History, I've had the fun of researching what books my characters might have kept tucked under their pillows for a bit of late night candlelit reading, or gathering dust on their bookshelves as symbols of their comparative wealth.

In Kindred there's Ian Cameron, son of a Boston bookbinder, who collects books on cabinetmaking designs such as Chippendale's Directory. And Thomas, a free black man from Boston who finds the course of his life irrevocably altered by the published slave narrative of Olaudo Equiano. And Judith, the true bookworm of that story, who is partial to the novels of the day like Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe and Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, and the poems of "that young Lowlander, Burns".

Even in his uncle’s room the trappings of former wealth were evident. Fine hangings on the high-post bed, a rich turkey carpet spanning the pinewood floor, and the Hepplewhite desk at which Ian sat, with its triple finials and glass-paneled bookcase, gave the illusion of increased income.

Ian opened the case above the desk to visually caress the wealth—Defoe, Swift, Johnson, Locke, Boswell, Smollet and Fielding. A collection of poems by that young Lowlander, Burns. Outdated copies of Franklin’s Almanack. Most were bound in leather, some worked in gilt. A familiar spine caught his eye, a book of Norse legends he’d read as a lad. Ian tugged it free. Inside was an inscription in his father’s hand:
1767. Inverness. My first Bound Book.

“Hugin and Munin fly each day the wide earth over. I fear for Hugin lest he fare not back—yet I watch the more for Munin.”

As we fly the earth over, Brother… Think and Remember.
The book, twin to one his parents owned, bore early evidence of Robert Cameron’s distinctive tooled style. Ian brought it to his nose, smelled the aging leather, and for an instant was back in his father’s shop in Boston.

In The Quiet in the Land there is Neil MacGregor, graduate of Edinburgh University, trained physician, and botanist. He's partial to the more scientific works of naturalists such as Carolus Linnaeus and John and William Bartram. And there's Willa Obenchain, daughter of a frontiersman and a lover of the popular epistolary novels of Sir Samuel Richardson's Pamela: Or Virtue Rewarded and Clarissa: Or a History of a Young Lady, books her grandmother maintains lead only to slothfulness, so she's forced to hide them and read them on the sly.

It's too early to tell with Jesse, one of the new frontier novels I've begun planning, whether or not the characters will have access to books, much less be readers, but chances are they will be.

In Over Jordan, the second novel I've begun, an early chapter opens in a book shop where a character is enthusing over the poetry of Philip Freneau, an American poet know for his anti-British writing during the Revolutionary War (before and after his six-week stint as a prisoner on a British prison ship). Important to my character are his poems about Native Americans. Freneau is considered something of a transitional writer, the images, tone and themes of his work anticipating the "romantic primitivism" of writers such as James Fenimore Cooper and Ralph Waldo Emerson in the early 19th century. He was perfect for the scene in which I placed his work, which helps foreshadow much of what that particular character will experience as her story unfolds.

We're all affected by what we read. That held true in the 18th century as well as the 21st. Showing this in my stories has helped bring my characters to life, whether it's social, moral or political commentary, business and scientific journals, or poetry that most engages them. But I have to say the one development in the field of 18th century literature for which I am most thankful is the "rise of increasingly realistic fictions" (Wiki).

In other words, novels.

photo credits: stacked books, Lin Pernille Photography (flickr); shelved books, guldfisken (flickr)

Burns Night

2011-01-24T05:18:00.000-08:00

O my Luve's like a red, red rose
That’s newly sprung in June;
O my Luve's like the melodie
That’s sweetly play'd in tune.

As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I:
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a’ the seas gang dry.

~from A Red, Red Rose

January 25th is the birthday of Scotland's national bard, Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796).

Burns, the son of a tenant farmer, is also known as Scotland's favorite son, and the Ploughman Poet. And just as the Scots have gone abroad and settled all over creation, love for Burns' poetry has followed like a faithful collie. Burns' lyrics were written mostly in the Scots language (or dialect, depending on which side of that argument you fall on), a language I'm particularly fond of having crowded my novels with plenty of Scotsmen and Scotswomen, and having no intention of swearing off that habit any time soon.

Around the world on January 25th, a celebration of Scotland's best known bard's life and works, called a Burns Supper, will take place. The first Burns Supper was held in Scotland in 1802. "The basic format starts with a general welcome and announcements, followed with the Selkirk Grace. After grace comes the piping and cutting of the haggis, where Burns' famous Address To a Haggis is read and the haggis is cut open. The event usually allows for people to start eating just after the haggis is presented. This is when the reading called the "immortal memory", an overview of Burns' life and work, is given. The event usually concludes with the singing of Auld Lang Syne." ~from Wiki

Wee, sleekit, cow'rin, tim'rous beastie,
O, what a panic's in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa sae hasty,
Wi' bickering brattle!
I wad be laith to rin an' chase thee,
Wi' murd'ring pattle!
~ from To A Mouse, On turning her up in her Nest with the Plough

Burns died tragically young, but many of his poems, or phrases from them, have become universally known.

O wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us
To see oursel's as others see us

Nae man can tether time or tide

The best-laid schemes o' mice, and men
Gang aft agley

Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne?

To read more about the man, visit the Official Robert Burns site.

Because Burns first published his poems in the late 1780s, I was able to work mention of him into a scene or two in Kindred, set in 1794. Here's a clip from the story, in which I've disguised the identity of a particular character with X, to avoid spoilers:

They ate with little conversation. Before X finished Ian lay back on the pillows, the scent of roses sweetly painful, but roused at the clink of dinnerware and took hold of X’s hand. “Leave it. Would ye like me to read to ye?”

Her face brightened. “Mr. Burns?”

Ian smiled flatly, but capitulated. X liked him to read the man’s romantical works, Poems Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, with his faint accent ridiculously broadened. “I can manage a verse or twa. But first….”

X had set the tray by the door and was reaching for the volume.

[break for unrelated spoilerish stuff before they get to the reading]

Outside the day was fading. Ian lit a candle while X settled on the bed beside him.

“Aye, right.” Ian pitched his voice to mimic his mam’s lowland speech, and began the poem of the son who left the honest work to which his father had reared him, to seek an easy fortune. “My father was a farmer upon the Carrick border, O/And carefully he bred me in decency and order, O….”

In the middle of the fifth stanza, as the son left off his failed schemes and returned to work the soil—to plough and sow, and reap and mow—X interrupted him.

“Do you like being a farmer, Ian?”

“Aye, lassie. I like it weel.” He’d answered flippantly, but hearing the words out of his mouth he knew them for truth. He stared at his hand, splayed on the page, noting new calluses from spade and axe and plow. Minding the slaves’ lighter steps coming in from the field that evening he said, “Today’s Saturday.”

“And tomorrow’s the Sabbath,” X said. “Though there’s no meeting for us to attend.”

“Aye, there is… if ye wouldn’t mind a bit of manure on your shoes.”

“You mean the Reynolds?”

He’d surprised her with the notion. But why not? He’d yet to tell John of what happened on the ridge, the night he followed the slaves. It was time he did so. “Would ye come with me tomorrow, to worship with our neighbors?”

The tiredness lifted from X’s face. “I’d like that, Ian. Yes.”

~ from Kindred, Copyright 2011 Lori Benton All Rights Reserved

And last but not least, a Burns poem not to be missed:

Ha! whaur ye gaun, ye crowling ferlie?
Your impudence protects you sairly:
I canna say but ye strunt rarely,
Owre gauze and lace;
Tho', faith, I fear ye dine but sparely
On sic a place
~ from To A Louse, On seeing One on a Lady's Bonnet in Church

photo credits: quill by neil conway; Scottish landscape by Shandchem; Trossachs bridge by kyahl. All photos used under creative common license.

1790s Clothing

2011-01-20T12:35:00.000-08:00

This is an email I sent earlier today to several fellow 18th century writers. Because I'm so immersed in the subject this week, I'm posting it here too (Pardon the references to personal trials and tribulations. I usually try to reserve them for Facebook. ).

I'm feeling too ill today after back-to-back bugs (taking care of a hubby home-stranded by sickness in the brief interlude between them! Oh,what a month it's been) to do more than a little scene plotting today, the first day I might have written undisturbed since Jan 7th, had I not come down with the second bug yesterday. I'm here though, propped up on medication. This is the most sickly winter for our household that I can remember for many a year.

But enough of that, back to writing! Since my upcoming chapter will contain more references to dressmaking than any I've previously written, I've been immersing myself in 1790s fashion, fabrics, patterns and sewing (via Tidings from the 18th Century, by Beth Gilgun), while resting comfortably in my recliner near the warm and cozy stove. Gilgun has a lot of great leads in her end of chapter references, and I'm off to follow a few. But first....

The early to mid 1790s were such a transitional decade. Not quite Rev War fashion, but not yet quite the Jane Austin Empire waist fashion either. My specific year is 1796, so I'm going with the the round gown with its lengthening sleeves as the established fashion, and the chemise dress with its thinner fabric, gathered neck, and wide bright sash as the most fashionable thing to be had for a middle class young lady. Perhaps they've heard about or seen the Empire waist gowns with their sheer fabrics and short puffed sleeves, and wonder would they ever be daring enough to wear such a thing, much less during a New England winter, just drawing to a close in my chapter.

Apparently some did just that. There was "quite an uproar from the pulpits and in the press over the scantiness of the Empire style. Timothy Dwight, a Congregationalist minister and president of Yale College, [penned in a 1811 pamphlet,] "A young lady dressed a' la Greque (or Grecian style, meant to emulate Grecian statuary) in a New England winter violates alike good sense, correct taste, sound morals, and the duty of self-preservation." From Tidings from the 18th Century, by Beth Gilgun.

The 1790s are a bit later a time period than most of you are writing, but if any of you have a good reference for this time period in regards to fashion (particularly New England/Boston), I'd appreciate a mention. I've just tracked down Janet Arnold's Patterns of History (1660-1860). It's always a joy to find our library carries a research book, and they do have this one. Another I will track down is Fabric of Society: A Century of People and Their Clothes, 1770-1870, by Jane Tozer and Sarah Levitt.

Anyone read either of those? Do you have another indispensable resources for the period to share? I'd love to add to my resource collection!

A Wednesday Wrangling

2011-01-19T07:35:00.000-08:00

Time was I reserved rounding up the latest and greatest books and writing posts I've found roaming the Wild Web for a Friday, but I've run across quite a number of great posts already this week, ones that fall into my Don't Miss It category. So without further ado, here they are:

Dale Cramer talks about keeping writing tight and trim. It's a subject I never tire of reading about.

Jody Hedlund discusses the ever-growing importance of a novel's first chapter. I have to agree!

Latayne Scott asks the question, should we unplug from all this on line social connectivity? I wish, sometimes. Other times... I'm still okay with it all. But then, I'm not published yet.

Steven Pressfield tells us why panic (for a writer) is good. Always love Pressfield's encouraging posts on all pursuits creative.

I'll stop with those four. Have you run across a great post on writing or reading or things creative lately, one you wish everyone could read? Please share the link in the comments.

The Writer's Voice

2011-01-14T10:22:00.000-08:00

In a recent blog post, Books & Such agent, Wendy Lawton, commented, "And reading good books, fresh books, starts to infiltrate your own writing. You develop your voice by osmosis, not by technique."

That statement resonates with me.

Many years ago I showed a story I'd written to the members of a writing critique group I was part of in my early twenties. The story had been an art class project I did in high school (at the time I was more concerned with the illustrations and the book binding process/design we were exploring in class, than in the story itself). Anyway, years later I showed the story to my critique group, who by then were familiar with my (ahem) serious adult writing. One writer after reading the first page said, "I can already recognize your voice in this."

That was the first time I'd encountered the term voice applied to writing, yet I instinctively knew what he meant. So, I thought, I have a voice. That sounds like a good thing to have as a writer.

Fast forward a few years and through discoveries of many favorite fiction writers (Diana Gabaldon, Ellis Peters, Stephen Lawhead, Francine Rivers, Laura Frantz, Linda Nichols, Susanna Kearsely, James Alexander Thom, Charles Martin, too many others to name), and I began to see how each of these writers had influenced that thing called my voice. Over time my writing has taken on a slight nuance of one writer, a certain sense of humor shaded by another, a rhythm of sentence structure faintly reminiscent of yet another.

There were times I worried that I was letting other writers influence me too much, but I don't worry about that anymore. Here's why: if I'm reading Ellis Peters or Charles Martin, for a few days my writing might reflect their voice in a more noticeable way, but given time that influence is going to sink down deeper and have a far more subtle affect than if I were trying to write like Peters or Martin or whomever.

I liken the process of developing a writing voice to taking vitamins. The pill is there for a moment on the tongue, then it's swallowed and becomes a part of the body, strengthening and enriching where it's needed. You can't see the vitamin, but you can see, and feel, its influence.

Just like our bodies are either strengthened or weakened by the foods we give them for fuel, our writing voices are affected by what we feed them, in the form of recreational reading.

If you are a writer then I encourage you to feed your voice with intention, with writing that's fresh, that has substance, that energizes you. Think of the books you read as nourishment, and (as mom would say) make good choices!

photo: cover for Books are for Reading, by Suzy Becker

My First (creative) Love

2011-01-09T07:35:00.000-08:00

The summer after high school I worked in the graphic art department of the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. It was an internship position I earned on the strength of an essay, (ironically, because I was far more interested in becoming an artist than a writer at that time in my life), competing against high school seniors across the country. It was a fun, albeit brief, interlude before I entered art college that fall.

One of the unexpected bonuses of that summer was that my bus into DC, from the Maryland suburbs, arrived at the Mall an hour before I had to be at work, downstairs past the elephant in the rotunda entrance. That meant I had an hour to wander through the Natural History Museum, exploring all the corners I had missed on childhood trips, with no one around but the cleaning crew, Monday thru Friday, all summer long. How I wish now I could have the opportunity to do something like that at the American History Museum! But at that point in my life, this was the ideal situation to have landed in.

It was during that summer internship I learned that Robert Bateman, my favorite wildlife artist, whose work I then aspired to, would soon have a large showing in the downstairs gallery of the museum.

After my internship ended and Bateman's show opened, I went back into the city several times to see his Portraits of Nature collection in person. It's one thing to see these paintings in the pages of a book (no internet back then), reduced from their original sizes. It's quite another to stand in front of them, many large as life, and see the brush strokes, the surprising color choices, the textures, the little squiggles of paint. I learned more about painting in the hours I spent standing and gazing at this collection of Bateman's work than I did in two years of art college.

Paintings from the Portraits of Nature showing, Washington DC, 1987:

Paintings 1983-1986

Paintings, 1980-1982

Paintings 1977-1979

Paintings 1967-1976

Robert Bateman's main page

It's been nearly twenty years since I've painted professionally. About that long ago I began writing, which quickly became and remains the master creative passion in my life. But I've decided it's time to set up shop again to paint. I'll still be writing full time. In fact this month I've begun a proposal for a sequel to Kindred, just in case a publisher is one day as interested in seeing it as I am in writing it. I'm also working on a proposal for a third stand alone book set on the frontier of western North Carolina/eastern Tennessee in the 1780s.

Anyone else starting up new creative pursuits in 2011, or like me, reviving old ones?

photos by cliff1066, and krossbow

Historical Fiction Challenge Review: Panther in the Sky, by James A. Thom

2011-01-05T09:19:00.000-08:00

The Historical Tapestry blog has the post up for the January reviews, and since I haven't finished a novel, historical or otherwise, yet this month, I've decided to review the last historical novel on my 2010 Reading List, James Alexander Thom's Panther in the Sky.

Panther in the Sky is based on the life of Tecumseh, the Shawnee chief who resisted American settlement of the Ohio country during the late 18th century, until his death during the War of 1812. In a smaller measure it's also about his nemesis, William Henry Harrison, though Harrison doesn't make an appearance until late in the book, which begins on the night of Tecumseh's birth, under the auspicious sign of a shooting star, green as a panther's eye; hence the name he is given (Tecumseh translates to panther in the sky), and the expectations placed upon him as one who will do great things for his people.

For many years Tecumseh fulfilled those expectations, sometimes in spite of his own people, who didn't always share his understanding of the bigger picture of the ongoing conflict with the Americans--both settlers and armies--which often had them fleeing their villages at harvest time to face cold winters of deprivation. An aspect of the book I particularly appreciated is the balanced portrayal of all sides in this conflict, native tribes, British/Canadian troops and Americans, civilian and military. There are well-meaning and flawed men on both sides, men (and women) of courage as well as cowardice, the wise and the foolish, those who can see beyond their race and upbringing, and those who tragically cannot, at least not to the measure needed to see victory. The latter includes Tecumseh's strange, disturbing younger brother, Loud Noise, who would grow up to be The Prophet called Open Door, who, for a time, helped Tecumseh unite the tribes of the frontier against the ever encroaching American settlement.

Thom's prose is vibrant, powerful, sometimes lyrical, and he's quickly become one of my favorite historical writers. Most of the story is told either from Tecumseh's point of view, or that of his older sister, Star Watcher, and the authentic feel of those points of view never faltered. It was eye-opening to view this clash of cultures on the American frontier from the Shawnee perspective. Though I knew how the book had to end, being familiar with this portion of history, I couldn't help hoping for Tecumseh's intelligence, determination, and love for his people to win out in the end, even as the Shawnee and their allies were hemmed into ever more restricted lives by broken treaty after broken treaty.

The book is long, over 700 pages, and it wasn't a quick read. Two factors, time, and the need to occasionally put the book aside to let the events of the story (and of history) settle in my heart, contributed to the long read. The sense of the inevitable lies heavy on the pages, and as admiration for Tecumseh grows, so does the regret and even grief for where it all will lead. Yet Thom has created a character and a late 18th century Shawnee world convincing enough to sweep a reader along on the tide of optimism, courage, and conviction that marked the majority of Tecumseh's life.

If you're interested in late 18th century fiction, native culture, or American frontier settlement (and you are unbelievably late in finding Thom's work, as I've been), then Panther in the Sky isn't to be missed.

A List and a Challenge

2010-12-31T07:12:00.000-08:00

I did something this year I've never done before, kept a list of all the books I read, fiction and nonfiction. Since it doesn't look like I'll be finishing any of the five or so books I'm currently reading by the end of this last day of 2010, here's Da List, the titles in each section listed according to the order in which I read them.

Books I read in 2010

Fiction (54 books)

A Parchment of Leaves, by Silas House
No Graves As Yet, by Anne Perry (audio)
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
Follow The River, by James Alexander Thom
Eclipse, by Stephanie Meyer (audio)
Walks The Fire, by Stephanie Grace Whitson
Children of the Longhouse, by Joseph Bruchac
The Red Heart, by James Alexander Thom
Arrow Over The Door, by Joseph Bruchac
Lost Mission, by Athol Dickson
Like a Watered Garden, by Patti Hill
The Shadowy Horses, by Susanna Kearsley
Here Burns My Candle, by Liz Curtis Higgs
Her Mother's Hope, by Francine Rivers
The Winter Sea, by Susanna Kearsley
Tea Time for the Traditionally Built, by Alexander McCall Smith (audio)
Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons, by Ann Rinaldi
Mariana, by Susanna Kearsley
The Winter People, by Joseph Bruchac (audio)
The Help, by Kathryn Stockett (audio)
All The Tea in China, by Jane Orcutt
Mutiny's Daughter, by Ann Rinaldi
A Breath of Snow and Ashes, by Diana Gabaldon (audio)
The Family Greene, by Ann Rinaldi
Named of the Dragon, by Susanna Kearsley
Her Fearful Symmetry, by Audrey Niffenegger (audio)
Royal Escape, by Georgette Heyer (audio)
Courting Morrow Little, by Laura Frantz
Sweetsmoke, by David Fuller (audio)
Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins (audio)
She Walks in Beauty, by Siri Mitchell
Ransome's Crossing, by Kaye Dacus
A Room of My Own, by Ann Tatlock (audio)
Every Secret Thing, by Emma Cole
Home Another Way, by Christa Parrish
Sacred Hearts, by Sarah Dunant (audio)
Touching the Clouds, by Bonnie Leon
The Mountain Between Us, by Charles Martin
An Echo In The Bone, by Diana Gabaldon (audio)
Rainwater, by Sandra Brown (audio)
When Crickets Cry, by Charles Martin
The Education of Mary, A Little Miss of Color, 1832, by Ann Rinaldi
Chasing Fireflies, by Charles Martin
Wrapped in Rain, by Charles Martin
Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins
The Letter Writer, by Ann Rinaldi
Summer of the Danes, by Ellis Peters (audio)
A Vision of Light, by Judith Merkle Riley
In Pursuit of the Green Lion, by Judith Merkle Riley
Where the River Ends, by Charles Martin
In The Company of Others, by Jan Karon
The Kitchen House, by Kathleen Grissom
Last of the Breed, by Louis L'Amour (audio)
Panther in the Sky, by James Alexander Thom

Nonfiction (41 books)

Madeleine L'Engle [Herself], compiled by Carole F. Chase
Indian Heroes and Great Chieftains, by Charles Eastman (audio)
Becoming a Vessel God Can Use, by Donna Partow
Writing the Other, A Practical Approach, by Nisi Shawl & Cynthia Ward
The Hemingses of Monticello, by Annette Gordon-Reed (audio)
The Art of War for Writers, by James Scott Bell
Horatio's Drive, by Dayton Duncan (audio)
Mohawk Blood, A Native American Quest, by Michael Baughman
A Million Miles In A Thousand Years, by Donald Miller
The Invisible Wall, by Harry Bernstein
Undaunted Courage, by Stephen Ambrose (audio)
Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell (audio)
Shouts And Whispers: Twenty-one Writers Speak About Their Writing And Their Faith
Spunk & Bite, A writer's guide to punchier, more engaging language & style, by Arthur Plotnik
The Scene Book, by Sandra Scofield
The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield
The Forest for the Trees, an Editor's Advice to Writers, by Betsy Lerner
The Wilderness War by Allan W. Eckert
Forgotten Allies by Joseph T. Glatthaar and James Kirby Martin
Mohawk, The Life of Joseph Brant, by John Jakes
Indians, by Edwin Tunis
The Natures of John and William Bartram, by Thomas P. Slaughter
Ark of Empire, The American Frontier, 1784-1803, by Dale Van Every
Mohawk, The Life of Joseph Brant, by John Jakes
Frontier Living, by Edwin Tunis
A Company of Heroes, The American Frontier, 1775-1783, by Dale Van Every
The Bloody Mohawk, by T. Wood Clarke
The Realm of the Iroquois, Time-Life Books
Christopher Columbus and His Legacy, Opposing Viewpoints, by Mary Ellen Jones
Martha Washington, An American Life, by Patricia Brady
The Adirondacks, A History of America's First Wilderness, by Paul Schneider
The Hemingses of Monticello, by Annette Gordon-Reed (audio)
Sifters, Native American Women's Lives, edited by Theda Perdue
Patriot Doctor, the story of Benjamin Rush, by Esther M. Douty
Doctors on Horseback, Pioneers of American Medicine, by James Thomas Flexner
The Lost State of Franklin, by Kevin T. Barksdale
The Story of Medicine in America, by Geoffrey Marks and William K. Beatty
From Ulster to Carolina, the Migration of the Scotch-Irish to Southwestern North Carolina, by H. Tyler Blethen & Curtis W. Wood Jr.
First Frontier, by Rebecca Stefoff
Born Fighting, How the Scots-Irish Shaped America, by James Webb

Total: 95 books! Goodness, who knew? If I had to choose a favorite title from each section, the one book that impacted me the most, or that has stayed with me the longest... this is hard... so many engaging novels, so many intriguing research titles and nonfiction books....

For Nonfiction, The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield. Please everybody, read this book!

For Fiction... I know this is lame, but it's a three-way tie between The Mountain Between Us, by Charles Martin, The Red Heart, by James Alexander Thom, and The Shadowy Horses, by Susanna Kearsley. I choose these titles for the same reason, they were my introduction to Martin, Thom, and Kearsley, each of whom shot like rockets to the top of my favorite authors list. I can't choose between them.

A new list starts Jan 1, 2011, when I'll also begin taking part in a Historical Fiction Reading Challenge, hosted by the Historical Tapestry blog.

__________

Each month, a new post dedicated to the HF Challenge will be created (at Historical Tapestry blog). To participate, you only have to follow the rules:

everyone can participate, even those who don't have a blog (you can add your book title and thoughts in the comment section if you wish)

add the link(s) of your review(s) including your name and book title to the Mister Linky we’ll be adding to our monthly post (please, do not add your blog link, but the correct address that will guide us directly to your review)

any kind of historical fiction is accepted (HF fantasy, HF young adult,...)

you can overlap this challenge with others kind of challenges

During these following 12 months you can choose one of the different reading levels:

Severe Bookaholism: 20 books
Undoubtedly Obsessed: 15 books
Struggling the Addiction: 10 books
Daring & Curious: 5 books
Out of My Comfort Zone: 2 books

The challenge will run from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2011.

________

I plan to do a review once a month, so I'm committing to Struggling the Addiction: 10 books (though I'll actually review 12). Judging from my reading list, doesn't look like reading at least one historical fiction title per month will be a stretch.

You know that feeling?

2010-12-27T12:47:00.000-08:00

You know that feeling when you start a novel by a new-to-you author, one you stumbled upon at Amazon or a used book store or the library, that no one told you about or recommended, but it's your favorite historical genre, favorite setting, favorite time period exactly, and you open the book thinking I'll just check out the first page for now because I've got stuff to do and no time to sit and read.... and 7 or 8 pages later realize you're already under the book's spell?

Got that feeling today with The Land Breakers, by John Ehle. And it doesn't even matter if the book continues to engross me or not. I hope it does. I expect it will. But just to have had this moment of exhilaration and hopefulness about it, this sense of a new and exciting world opening before me, makes for a rare and lovely belated Christmas gift.

It's a feeling that never, ever gets old.

photo by takomabibelot, Flickr