Research and Word Choices

Things that make me laugh while I’m reading a book include events and verbal expressions inappropriately placed in a time period and words that are misused. When events or expressions are not appropriate to the time period, I assume the author was too caught up in the story to recognize the need for research. However, when a wrong word choice is made, usually one that sounds much like the intended word, I guess that the author does not know better and the editor was “out to lunch,” so to speak. 

A while back, I read a best-selling book that had an example of the latter in the second sentence of the prologue. The author wrote, “He furls his brow…” It also stated that he does this “countless times each day.” Really? How does one furl his or her brow? Is this somewhat like furling a flag? 

Only a couple of months after reading the previously mentioned book, another book on the list of best sellers presented me with a line taken from a TV commercial. Problem? The commercial was made after the historical timeline of the story.

If my editor had been as lackadaisical as it appears some may be, I would not have been required to defend occurrences as being time period appropriate or to prove the existence of objects during the Great Depression. My word that something was correct meant nothing to Ms. Particular Editor. Every response to a challenge had to be supported with data. Yes, there were school buses in the 1920s. Yes, even young people who were poor graduated from high school. Yes, girls who were from wealthy families attended college. No, Hoovervilles did not exist in small towns and rural areas during the Great Depression. 

Much research can now be done online, but some things still need to be researched in document collections. While I was writing Child of Desire,I needed to locate accurate schedules for Colorado passenger train lines in the 1930’s. So, I visited the historical documents room of my public library. The documents there are considered so valuable that nothing can be carried into the room by a researcher. After several hours of searching, I walked out with copies of the information I needed to assure that a travel event in the story would be historically accurate. 

I really hope there are no “almost words” in my novel. But if you find one, please let me know so I can stress about it for the rest of my life.

Colorado Spring, CO, original Carnegie Library which now houses the historical documents collection. The new library is attached to this building.

Moving On

Hubby and I received a record player as a wedding present. It played 45’s, 78’s and 33⅓’s.We deemed it to be quite the special possession. 

Over the next few years, we collected what records we could afford and owned enough to provide a decent variety. Hubby liked Southern Gospel. Me? Not so much! Being the more “worldly” one, I preferred Pat Boone and a little bit of Elvis. I can still hear Pat crooning, “With the Wind and the Rain in Your Hair.” Then the 8-Track debuted. Although the 8-Track craze was short-lived, we had sufficient time to get on board and, in doing so, stir up the Southern Gospel/Other Music controversy.

Not long after moving into the land of 8-Trackdom, we discovered that a new development was entering the electronic world of sound. What we needed now was a cassette player to play music stored on little tapes. This was a format I liked, and one I stubbornly hung onto even after the introduction of the next big innovation, CD’s. But then I traded cars and, much to my dismay, discovered that there was no cassette player in my new model. So, once again, I had to pitch my favs - even the Judds!

I have come to accept changes in our tech savvy world, but was surprised at how quickly readers moved toward choosing eBooks over print books. As a result, much has changed with regard to the way authors publish. 

Even though originally one of the “hold-out people” who admired a book and savored the smoothness of the paper as I turned each page, I soon found myself enjoying the convenience of a lightweight reader. Okay, I’ll admit it, I felt a little guilty about that. But where else can I purchase a classic for ninety-nine cents or even get a free book?

The second edition of Child of Desire is on Kindle Publishing and, because so many e-Readers have been marketed, I made the decision not to offer print copies. Enjoy the convenience.

Clipart: Hawthorne K-12 - NJ

One Writer's Advice

At almost any writer’s conference, workshop, meet-up, discussion group, or critique session, someone will say, “No matter where you are or what time of day it is, if a writing idea comes to you, write it down immediately. But most writers have to learn first-hand that this is an important bit of advice.

I first discovered how crucial this piece of advice is when I got Amanda, the protagonist in my novel, into a very bad situation. It was easy enough getting her there, but I had no idea how I would resolve her dilemma. After several unsuccessful tries, I decided to let it rest for a while and I went to bed.

At around 2:00 a.m., I woke up and the solution immediately came to me. Not just any solution, but the perfect solution that would advance the action into the next chapter. The first thing I thought was that I needed to make a few notes so I wouldn’t forget. But it was dark and I was tired. I reasoned that a solution so brilliant could not possibly be forgotten in just a few hours. So I fluffed my pillow, pulled the cover up under my chin, and went back to sleep.

With daylight came the realization that I needed to get the middle-of-the-night revelation on paper. But I quickly discovered I could not remember anything about the sequence. I went to the manuscript, certain that reading again about Amanda’s situation would cause me to remember. It did not.

For the better part of my writing time that day I struggled with getting the story to move forward. Now, I wonder how different the story would have been had I sent Amanda down the forgotten path.

Trust me on this suggestion. Never let a writing idea go unrecorded. Write notes on a napkin. Scribble words on your hand. Enter remarks in your electronic device. Draw images on the bottom of your shoe. Whatever it takes to keep that thought. And always keep in mind that if not recorded now, there is a high probability it will never be recorded. I have no statistical evidence to support this claim, but tempting fate is never a good idea.

Dead of the Night

This proactive post contains a dire warning. This is what you will see each night as you try to sleep if you photograph and/or media post pictures of the sick me. 

Why “keepsake” pictures of tired, listless patients with matted hair, pale skin, dark-circled eyes, and tubes everywhere? Rude at best.

Clipart: Pixeden. com

Why Write?

Recently, the revised edition of Child of Desire was published on Amazon Kindle. Changes to this edition include rewriting and rearranging sections that had word choices and/or an unexpected POV switch previously passed over by editors. There are also some storyline changes. 

While going through the editing process, I was thinking about questions I have been asked about writing. Why did you decided to write a novel? Where did you get your inspiration? Is this actually a story of your life? Why did you choose a time in history rather than a more recent time? As a way of reintroducing Child of Desire, I am addressing some of these questions.

Writing and Inspiration

Many things influenced my desire to write including family, places I lived during my childhood, and career choices. From a young age I was an avid reader and loved stories, and I often wondered if I could tell a story that would captivate the imagination of others.

Colorado was my childhood home. There, I enjoyed hiking mountain trails and wading in the creeks that flowed down the hillsides, and I was always aware of how the natural surroundings influenced the way we lived. Library visits and education were important in our family and my love of learning led to a career in education. I taught in elementary and middle school and completed my career in higher education. During each of these assignments, I shared my excitement for reading with students.

Child of Desire - The Setting

My dad often took advantage of family dinners to recount events from his early life. He was a great storyteller and I was fascinated with his accounts of growing up on the plains of Southeastern Colorado and the survival of the people who lived in that hostile environment. I was equally captivated when he told of his experiences while living in Scott County, Virginia, during the 1930’s. During his brief stay there, he was the “outsider” in a closed mountain community that included many of my mother’s relatives. Dad’s vivid descriptions and attention to detail always transported me back to those times and locations. Because of these vicarious experiences and, later in life, trips to these locations, I chose Southwestern Virginia and Southeastern Colorado as major settings in my story.

Child of Desire - The Plot

Child of Desire is a historical novel that takes place in a period of time before I first saw the light of day. While dreaming about the story, I asked myself one question: “What could people have gotten by with in a world that did not have electronics and mass communication, a world that relied on a few telephones, the telegraph, newspapers, and radios for information? The plot was born with the answer to this question.

Child of Desire - The Characters

Fascination with stories about the strength and courage of people who not only survived the Great Depression but who did so while maintaining strong, independent spirits, provided inspiration for the characters in the story. My goal was to connect a story to that time period in realistic ways and to create plausible, touching conflict.

It was important to me that readers view the protagonist, Amanda, as I imagined her, including her outer beauty, inner being, relationships, struggles, and capacity to love and forgive. The traits of other characters in the story, whether in a supporting role or that of an antagonist, assisted in revealing Amanda’s positive, strong-willed temperament. 

Child of Desire and My Life

In the story, Amanda becomes a minister’s wife. I am the daughter of a minister and the wife of a minister. Even though the story does not reflect my life or the life of my mother, unique experiences while living in church provided housing, and the dynamics in various congregations pastored by my dad and my husband helped to shape Amanda’s story.

My Desire

My dream is that someone will enjoy Amada’s story and be entertained while vacationing in a beautiful summer place, or maybe while curled up in front of a fireplace on a winter day.

Link to Kindle eBook

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For a discussion guide, go to the "Book Group Discussion Guide" tab on this blog. 

Southwestern Virginia Swinging Bridge

Southeastern Colorado Windmill

~ Colorado and Virginia Pictures from Pinterest