Everything is Fodder for a Writer By Michelle Ule

Michelle Ule

How long are you going to work on your family history?” My husband asked.

“Only until we jump the ocean,” I laughed.

The story, which involved many nationalities, traditions, and wars, consumed far more of my attention than I anticipated.

I often wondered why I was wasting time in stuffy libraries rather than staying home to write the great American novel.

But all that research and writing turned out to be invaluable in the future.

What is fodder and how does it apply?

Webster’s Dictionary defines fodder as “readily available material used to supply a heavy demand.”

Novelists need story ideas.

We can find them anywhere.

In my case, when an opportunity arose to write a 19th-century historical novella featuring a log cabin, I merely reached into my family history and pulled out a compelling incident.

I even included my 3x-great-grandfather Thomas Hanks as a character.

The same thing happened a year later, this time using Thomas’ son as a character. I ended up liking him better as a result!

Innocent fodder

Novelists often overhear dialogue that lodges in their minds.

Clever words and turns of phrase can provide fodder for character construction.
A novel can spring to life from an inspiring book written by someone else.

Unexpected smells, tastes or experiences often trigger our imaginations in surprising ways.

Memories of long ago hurts can provide a deep emotional connection with stories.

What about endnotes?

A cousin challenged me when I wrote my family history, “You’re a good writer, Michelle, but you need to cite all your references.”

I grimaced but made sure to cite every source.

Twenty years later when I wrote my proposal for Mrs. Oswald Chambers: The Woman Behind the World’s Bestselling Devotional, I pointed to those 932 endnotes as an example this novelist had the skill to write a proper biography. 

Twenty-five years after finishing my family history—which included clever quotes from ancestors—I’ve mined the research experience and stories well.

Check out your diaries, letters, and memories. 

I’ll bet you’ve got fodder for a compelling story!

Click to Tweet:
Novelists need ideas. We can find them everywhere. @MichelleUle joins #SeriouslyWrite with ideas to find story fodder. http://bit.ly/SWMichelleUle

Memories, unexpected tastes, family history and more fodder sources for novelists from @MichelleUle on #SeriouslyWrite. http://bit.ly/SWMichelleUle

About the Author

A Poppy in Remembrance
by Michelle Ule

Michelle Ule’s most recent novel, A Poppy in Remembrance, was inspired by a great book (My Utmost for His Highest), family history (WWI), and includes many memorable quotes from her father. She blogs regularly at www.michelleule.com

Spanning three countries and the four years of World War I, A Poppy in Remembrance is the epic story of an American woman struggling to become a journalist in a man’s world. As she searches for where she belongs—spiritually, professionally and emotionally—Claire Meacham discovers God and love through her relationships with Oswald and Biddy Chambers, an earnest YMCA worker, and a dashing New Zealand soldier, all the while seeking that elusive byline.

How a Dutch Author Writes American Civil War Stories by Marian Baay

When I discovered that Marian Baay had a story about the Civil War published, I was curious. How did someone who lives in the Netherlands write about an American war that took place 150 years ago? -- Sandy

Marian: Early 2013, author Murray Pura asked me to join his new Civil War series. I seriously doubted his wisdom in asking me – a Dutchie who hardly knows anything about the American Civil War – to write a story about this very same war. So, I declined.

Until then, I simply thought it was impossible to write about a place I had never visited.

However, the idea to write did not leave my mind. Several months later, I finally decided to give it a try. And so it happened that my research began about a place I had never visited and about a war I hardly knew anything about. A story idea had begun to form in my mind, and now I only needed to find the right city or town in the United States where the story was going to take place. After googling on ‘Dutch in the Civil War’ I was led to Michigan and I started reading everything I could find online about this state. So, for my debut story, Heaven Is Not Far, the internet was the main source of my research.

For my second story, The Officer’s Daughter, I downloaded several free Kindle books. I found most info about the war background that I needed in Union General Sherman’s memoir. Although Sherman was not in Nashville during the battle of Nashville, he did write about his correspondence with General Thomas who was in command of the Union army in the city. An eyewitness account of someone who lived in the hills around Nashville gave me the info I needed about the weather and how the area looked back then.

U.S. Army veterans have helped me understand the military ranks and terms and other info about the army I didn’t know.

During my research, I also use Google Earth and Street View Maps to visit the places I am writing about. Of course, everything looks different 150 years later, but it gives me a good idea of hills and woods and streams in the area.

It was—and still is—lots of fun to write about this period in the American history. However, it can be hard to read about all the horrible things that happened back then. Therefore, I try to add a touch of romance and hope to my stories. Even during the time that the states were at war, people did fall in love and hoped for a better future with their loved ones.

Have you ever tackled writing a story (historical or contemporary) set in a foreign country? What did you find most difficult? 

~~~~

The Captain’s Wife by Marian Baay

After being rescued from Confederate captivity, Olivia Burns has married her handsome rescuer—Union Captain Andrew Burns. A few days after their marriage, Andrew takes off to fight in the battle of Nashville and Olivia stays behind, waiting on word from her husband about where they will meet again.

When Andrew sends word that he hopes to meet her in Eastport, Mississippi, she travels down south. Their reunion is sweet and they spend a wonderful night together in a barn, but in the early morning of New Year’s Eve, they are abruptly disturbed by sounds of battle. Andrew must go back to the men of his company and leaves an anxious Olivia alone. Terrified to get captured again, she must learn to deal with her fear and emotions. When someone enters the barn where she is hiding, will her greatest nightmare come true?

You can find The Captain’s Wife and Marian’s previous stories at her Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Marian-Baay/e/B00G51X9QA/

Marian Baay lives in the Netherlands, together with her husband and dog, near the North Sea. She enjoys reading a good book, hiking in the woods, dunes, or nature reserves. As a lover of animals, she has always had various pets to brighten her world. In the outdoors, her imagination runs wild and seeds for stories are planted there.

Marian likes to read and write in various genres, but romance is an important ingredient in her stories. The love between a man and woman is such a wonderful gift from God that she likes to add a touch of that heavenly delight into all her stories.

Visit Marian’s blog to learn more about her: http://marianbaay.blogspot.nl/

Avoiding the Pitfalls Historical Fiction – Part Two by Amanda Cabot

Amanda Cabot

Two weeks ago, Amanda Cabot offered pitfalls in writing historical fiction. If you missed it, you can catch it here. This week, she's back with part 2. Enjoy!
~Dora

Welcome back! I’m delighted that you’re here for the second (and last) part of the historical fiction pitfall discussion. There’s no quiz today, because I’m certain that when you read the next selection, you’ll know immediately what’s wrong. This is the more than slightly modified opening scene of Paper Roses, the first of my Texas Dreams books.

March 1856

“It’ll be all right.” Sarah Dobbs wrapped her arms around the child, wishing with all her heart that she could believe the words she’d uttered so often. The truth was, it didn’t matter what she believed. All that mattered was keeping Thea safe. And so Sarah knelt on the hard-packed dirt of San Antonio’s main street to wipe the tears from her sister’s cheeks. The child was hot, tired and excited by the unusual sights, a combination that turned normally sweet-tempered Thea querulous.

Thea was too young to appreciate San Antonio’s rich history. The original Spanish settlement of San Antonio de Valero, named for the Viceroy, was founded in the same year as the French began New Orleans. Located just below the Balcones Escarpment, it had the advantage of a mild, dry, healthful climate; plentiful water and an abundance of limestone for building. In 1721 Valero himself sent a force of 54 soldiers to build a strong fort, what many would call a presidio, nearby. They named the fort San Antonio de Bejar, in memory of Valero’s brother, and by 1726 more than 200 men, women and children inhabited the area. Indians, of course, were not included in that count, although by the middle of the century, each of the five missions in the San Antonio region had more than 200 Indians.

The dominant tribes in Texas were the Apaches and the Comanches. The Spaniards were never able to conquer the first, and the second gave them the greatest defeat they ever suffered at the hands of natives in the New World. But all that had occurred over a hundred years ago. Now the city was part of the great state of Texas, the state that would soon be her home and Thea’s.

Are you yawning? Or did you decide that this was what a friend calls a wallbanger, a book that’s so bad that you hurl it against the wall rather than read it? I’ll admit that I’ve exaggerated the problem, but I’ve judged enough contests to know that including too much history is a common problem.

It’s easy to understand why it happens. We do extensive research and we find so many fascinating details that we want to share them with readers. Unfortunately, heavy-handed infusion of history has the effect of boring readers, including those critical first readers: agents and editors.

So, how do you know what details to include and when? There are undoubtedly other ways to make that decision, but I suggest following three rules.

1. Remember that less is more. When you include historical facts, select the ones that are most critical. In many cases, these will be little-known facts that you’ve chosen to weave into your plot. If one of Sarah’s ancestors was one of the 54 soldiers who’d built the original fort, that would be the fact that I would have included, but rather than simply inserting the fact, I would have followed rule #2.

2. Ensure that each piece of history affects the character in some way. One of the problems with the passage above is that the paragraphs of historical facts have no tie to either Sarah or Thea. Consider the difference if I’d said, “Thea was too young to appreciate San Antonio’s rich history, but Sarah couldn’t dismiss the thrill that ran up her spine at the realization that she was only yards away from the fort her great-grandfather had helped build. Mother had raised her with tales of how Great Grandpa was one of the 54 soldiers the Viceroy had sent to build the presidio.” In this case, there was a reason to have included that particular detail, and so the reader doesn’t feel as if she’s being force-fed history.

3. And, most importantly, remember that you’re writing a novel. Your primary goal is to entertain. Readers do not expect a history lesson. As you edit your manuscript, look at each piece of research you’ve included and ask yourself, “Will the story make sense without this?” If the answer is “yes,” delete it.

There’s no doubt that there are challenges involved in writing historical fiction and pitfalls to be avoided, but from my perspective there’s nothing quite so enjoyable as being transported to a different time and place. If you’ve always dreamt of telling stories about times gone by, I encourage you to make that dream come true. I’m looking forward to seeing your books on the shelves!

With Autumn's Return
Purchase Link

She’s planning on instant success. What she didn’t plan on was love.

When Elizabeth Harding arrives in Cheyenne to open a medical practice, she is confident that the future is as bright as the warm Wyoming sun. Certain she’ll have a line of patients eager for her services, she soon discovers the town may not welcome a new physician—especially a female one. Even Jason Nordling, the handsome young attorney next door, seems to disapprove of her chosen profession.

When a web of deceit among Cheyenne’s wealthiest residents threatens to catch Elizabeth and Jason in its snare, they must risk working together to save one of Elizabeth’s patients, even if it means falling in love.

From the time that she was seven, Amanda Cabot dreamed of becoming a published author, but it was only when she set herself the goal of selling a book by her thirtieth birthday that the dream came true.  A former director of Information Technology, Amanda has written everything from technical books and articles for IT professionals to mysteries for teenagers and romances for all ages.  She’s delighted to now be a fulltime writer of Christian historical romances.  Her Texas Dreams trilogy received critical acclaim; Christmas Roses was a CBA bestseller; and a number of her books have been finalists for national awards, including ACFW’s Carol award. 

www.amandacabot.com

http://amandajoycabot.blogspot.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Amanda-Cabot/110238182354449?v=wall

Avoiding the Pitfalls Historical Fiction – Part One by Amanda Cabot

Amanda Cabot

I was delighted when Dora invited me to visit Seriously Write. Then came the hard part: deciding which aspect of writing we should discuss. Since I write historical fiction, I decided to talk about some potential pitfalls, but rather than give you a dissertation that will make your eyes glaze over, I thought we’d have some fun. My version of fun, anyway. It’s a little quiz. The object is to see what’s wrong with each of the following selections.

The first one is from a book set in 1170. Yes, the Middle Ages.

“Can you not settle this peacefully?” Marguerite asked Alain. Surely he must see how conflicted she was by the situation.

“Perhaps I was mistaken,” Alain said, not bothering to hide his scorn, “but I thought it was a knight’s duty to protect his lady.”

Marguerite sighed. She wouldn’t go there. Instead, she nodded stiffly, then took her seat next to Louise. The teenager’s enthusiasm for the fight stood in marked contrast to her own reluctance to see blood shed. But the fight was over almost before it began. With one deft stroke, Alain sent Henri’s sword ricocheting against the wall.

If you guessed that there were anachronisms in it, you’re right. There are at least four. “Conflicted” came into general use in 1967. “Wouldn’t go there” is a phrase from the 1990s. “Teenager’s” first usage was 1921, and – this one surprised me – “ricocheting” wasn’t commonly used until 1828.

Why worry about anachronisms?

The first reason is that they brand you as a sloppy writer. You spend weeks, months, possibly years researching a book. The details of daily life are accurate; the speech patterns are authentic; you’ve even ensured that your characters eat common foods from the era. Why spoil the effect with an inappropriate term? Consider this: checking a word’s first usage is simply another form of research.

The second reason is that at least some of your readers will notice the anachronistic terms. For some it may be a mild annoyance. Others may find the errors so jarring that they stop reading. In either case, the suspension of disbelief that we strive so hard to create is broken, if only for a second. Don’t do it. Don’t risk losing readers.

Okay, are you ready for quiz number two?

At least it wasn’t raining. Normally he wouldn’t mind it. In fact, he preferred rain when going into battle. Unfortunately, today he wasn’t waging war, nor was he facing an opponent at the other end of a lance. It would have been easier if he were. Even a few hours at the quintain would have been preferable to the fate which was now mere minutes away.

The knight on the silver gray destrier let the reins slacken as he looked around him. Though the wheat field could not compare to the raw magnificence of Outremer, there was no denying its beauty. It spoke of fertile ground, of centuries of tradition, of home. This morn it also reminded Alain de Jarnac of the obligation awaiting him.

This is another selection from the same medieval. While there are no anachronisms in this passage, I would venture that some of the vocabulary made you pause. Admittedly, devotees of medievals are familiar with quintains (a post with a revolving crosspiece that knights used for training) and know that a destrier is a war horse. They’d also know that Outremer meant overseas and was a term used during the Crusades.

But – and this is an important “but” – many readers won’t recognize those terms. If a potential reader picked up the book and glanced at this passage, the chances are she wouldn’t buy the book, simply because of the unfamiliar words. You don’t want that to happen, and so I urge you not to fall into this potential pit.

Either use common words or include an explanation. For example, if the author had replaced the simple reference to a quintain with “a few hours of jousting against the revolving arms of the quintain post,” the reader would have understood what a quintain was and might have smiled over the fact that he’d learned something new. The key is never to make a reader feel stupid.

That’s all for today, but I’ll be back in two weeks for part two of the pitfall discussion. I hope to see you then.

Dora here. Did you pick up on the errors in these passages?

As a reader, what pitfalls throw you out of a scene?

As a writer, do you research word usages?

With Autumn's Return
Purchase Link

She’s planning on instant success. What she didn’t plan on was love.

When Elizabeth Harding arrives in Cheyenne to open a medical practice, she is confident that the future is as bright as the warm Wyoming sun. Certain she’ll have a line of patients eager for her services, she soon discovers the town may not welcome a new physician—especially a female one. Even Jason Nordling, the handsome young attorney next door, seems to disapprove of her chosen profession.

When a web of deceit among Cheyenne’s wealthiest residents threatens to catch Elizabeth and Jason in its snare, they must risk working together to save one of Elizabeth’s patients, even if it means falling in love.

From the time that she was seven, Amanda Cabot dreamed of becoming a published author, but it was only when she set herself the goal of selling a book by her thirtieth birthday that the dream came true.  A former director of Information Technology, Amanda has written everything from technical books and articles for IT professionals to mysteries for teenagers and romances for all ages.  She’s delighted to now be a fulltime writer of Christian historical romances.  Her Texas Dreams trilogy received critical acclaim; Christmas Roses was a CBA bestseller; and a number of her books have been finalists for national awards, including ACFW’s Carol award. 

www.amandacabot.com

http://amandajoycabot.blogspot.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Amanda-Cabot/110238182354449?v=wall

Researching for Historicals: Part Two by Pamela S. Meyers

Pamela S. Meyers

Hey, everyone! Annette here. Pamela Meyers is back today to share more on researching for historicals. Enjoy!

Using Local Newspapers to Make Your 

Historical Setting Come Alive, Part 2 
By Pamela S. Meyers

Last week I discussed using newspapers from your historical setting to catch the passion of the town. Today, I want to talk about how using the store ads can help make your story authentic to your time period.

Even though Lake Geneva, WI, my story setting, is small, I was amazed at how many ads filled each week’s edition of the paper. I found those advertisements to be a good reflection of the town’s climate, as far as the Great Depression was concerned. Nothing indicated the presence of breadlines, but that didn’t mean people weren’t struggling to make ends meet. The grocery ads contained numerous items at prices we’d consider dirt-cheap. But to a struggling family, even a fifteen-cent can of soup may be out of reach if they needed something else more.

My main concern was naming a store that didn’t come into business until after 1933. I took copious lists of all the stores who advertised in the paper and even scanned articles for mentions of others. If I wasn’t sure of the date a store opened for business, I didn’t use it.

Later when writing my story I worked from the list of retail stores, dropping in their names as organically as possible. My characters had lunch at a drug store soda fountain at least once. Another time I mentioned the name of the hardware store as they walked past it. My heroine’s father’s law office was in a suite of rooms above the local men’s clothing store. For example, I originally had my characters go to an ice cream store for sodas that I remembered being there when I was a child. I presumed it had been there for years like the drug stores. I mentioned the establishment to the town historian, and he stated he didn’t think the store had been there in the thirties. I changed the name of the place to a fictitious name.

If your setting is a large city, you will probably have a lot more to work with than I did, but the important thing is to work within the framework of what you have, utilizing authentic businesses where you can, and where you can’t create your own.

Next time, I’ll discuss getting the facts as right as possible down to the nth detail.

~~~~~

LFY in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin by Pamela S. Meyers

A native of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, Pamela S. Meyers lives in suburban Chicago. She served on the ACFW Operating Board for five years and has also served her local ACFW chapter in leadership roles. Her historical romance, which is set in her hometown, Love Finds You in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, released in April 2013. You can find more information on Pam at www.pamelasmeyers.com or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pamela.meyers.

(e-book)       (print)

Historical Photo Tour by S. Dionne Moore

We're doing something a little different on Seriously Write today. S. Dionne Moore shares with us how she researches her amazing historical romances and for a bonus, she shares some of her photos for her latest release. Because of size restrictions, I've embedded her photos into a slideshow. I hope you enjoy it and the notes she took during the tour. ~ Angie

One of the reasons I write historical romance is that I love conducting the research. For my May 2013 release, A Heartbeat Away, I traveled to Sharpsburg, Maryland, the setting for the bloodiest battle of the Civil War, the Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg, for you Southerners).

For what its worth, I traveled to take these pictures after I had the contract for A Heartbeat Away already in hand. This was a confirmation trip, a way to discover and confirm how the citizens of Sharpsburg were affected by this terrible battle and to double check for accuracy on some key points.

Since A Heartbeat Away is less about troop movement and the intricacies of who won/lost, hearing stories about the citizens was paramount. Specifically, I wanted to see the battlefield through the eyes of Beth, a woman with a heart to help, yanked from her tendency toward introspection to witness the pain and ferocity of wounded and dying soldiers whose needs trumped her own. I wanted to see what she would see, hear the screams and imagine the horrific smells that would engulf the town for days and weeks after the battle had ended, and obtain a visual of it all from Piper Farm (near where Gerta’s fictional home would be). I went in with a list of specific questions based on the direction I knew the story would take (one reason a synopsis is crucial!), but with an ear out for any fact that could be added to make the scenes come alive, while adding another layer to the protagonists inner conflict.

I hauled my iPad along for note-taking during the tour, and a bluetooth keyboard so that I could write on the manuscript at night. Beyond those two pieces of equipment, I had my iPhone. I asked questions and took notes on the iPhone when I was inside the museum absorbing what I could about the condition of the Confederates at that point in the war. That most of them had lice -- lived with body lice, really -- was a given and stumbling upon a “louse trap” on display was just what I needed to show the problem in a unique way. There were so many details to immerse myself in, yet I also had to draw a line. Historical fact can weigh down a book. Walking the line between too little and too much is always risky. Some readers want factual details, some do not, so I work hard to strike a balance.

Sharpsburg is a very small town, unscathed by commercial development, a true gem of history frozen in time by the town's refusal to allow commercialism to mar what they have worked so hard to preserve. I was taken on a private tour by Bob Murphy of RCM History Tours. His prices are very reasonable and he accommodated my desire to walk some of the tour. I stayed at the snug and very clean Mary Hill House, where there is a remnant of the battle right there on the parlor floor -- a bloodstain, soaked deep into the very old hardwood floors.

About the Author

S. Dionne Moore started writing in 2006. Her first book, Murder on the Ol’ Bunions, was contracted for publication by Barbour Publishing in 2008. In 2009 she moved on to writing historical romances as an outlet for her passion for history. In 2010 her second cozy mystery, Polly Dent Loses Grip, was a 2010 Carol Award finalist and she was also named a Barbour Publishing 2010 Favorite New Author. In 2011, her first historical romance, Promise of Tomorrow, was nominated a 2011 Carol Award finalist.

Born and raised in Manassas, Virginia, Moore moved to Greencastle, PA in 1993, then to Mercersburg in 2009. Moore enjoys life in the historically rich Cumberland Valley where traffic jams are a thing of the past and there are only two stoplights in the whole town.

For more information, visit her Website at www.sdionnemoore.com.
Follow her on Twitter: @sdionnemoore
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/sdionnemoore

Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/sdionnemoore