Writing Tip: Setting and Truthiness . . .

Suppose you are writing a story set in a locale you've never visited. Is it a failure of imagination that you can't quite visualize the scene?

For writers of historical fiction, creating a sense of time and place are crucial in building story. So, in the quest for 'truthiness', a term coined by Steven Colbert, what writers call verisimilitude (actually 'truthiness' is not quite what writers use in their quest for authenticity or fictional truth), but here's one technique I use when I'm stuck.

A table.

I build a two-column table in Word and jump onto the internet to search for images specifically for a particular place. I copy and paste images that tell me something about this place into column 1 and the URL and my reactions and notes into column 2. Note, I'm not violating any copyright because I'm borrowing these images for research purposes.

Here's an example. When Mac and Deidre's ship, the Brilliant, founders just south of Hobart Town in Van Diemen's Land in 1841, I learned that most wrecks occurred in Bass Strait, north of Tasmania. But one truly spectacular wreck took place just outside Snug Harbour in the 1830's. So I placed my wreck there and wrote my scene. But did they scramble over rocks or sand? Were there sand dunes? How high?

I know from my research that a whaling station was nearby (crucial for rescue), but did a road run inland from Snug Harbour to Hobart Town in the 1840's? I found there was a track, but the whalers were pretty isolated, getting supplies every several weeks. So if the whalers were to help in the rescue, that would occur by small boat. Would they go to Hobart Town or nearby Sandy Bay (because they were transporting prisoners).

Now, what did Sandy Bay look like? What could my characters see once they landed? Since I haven't yet visited Tasmania, the distance being a little over 8,000 miles from my home in the Pacific Northwest, and while maps can tell me something (I use Google or Yahoo maps), image is everything.

What did I find on internet? That the most beautiful, wild cliffs border the ocean along the southeastern coast of Tasmania and that my characters can see Mount Wellington from Sandy Bay on a clear day.

View of Mount Wellington and the Derwent River (Wiki Commons)

I do try to be meticulous about using images on my blog to respect copyright. So, any images that appear here are either photos I've taken myself or photos that are in the public domain, like this one of Mount Wellington from Wiki Commons.

How to save a picture from the internet for research purposes:
1. Open your word file (or word processing).
2. Open your internet browser (two windows open at the same time).
3. Find your image on internet.
4. Right click on the image. A menu will pop up. From here you can copy the image and copy the URL. 5. Move to your Word file. Paste the image and URL. Write notes like mad.

What strategies do you use to bring 'truthiness' to your writing.

After Africa . . . what?

Suitcases unpacked, photos downloaded, jet lag nearly overcome. The cold I caught on the airplane still hanging around. Three weeks in Tanzania, Africa, gave me a big break from writing. No netbook; no computer. No notebooks. One travel journal and a camera. Sixteen people, a tour guide, and two drivers. 4:30 am wake-up calls for "game drives" through three of the most beautiful national parks and game preserves in Tanzania.

Game Drive in Serengeti National Park: Wildabeest & Zebra Migration

Altogether, the trip was unforgettable and not just for seeing zebras, lions, jaguars, monkeys, baboons, wildabeest, and giraffes in their natural habitat -- and the beginning of the Great Migration. Yes, that's one of our jeeps in the photo, right in the middle of wildabeests and zebras crossing the road.

Our group (in 10 days) also visited a coffee plantation, a Maasai compound, an elementary school in Keratu, and a Iraqw family (brickmakers). We sang, danced, learned a little Swahili, talked, ate, and took photos. Lots of photos.

The trip changed my perceptions of Africa. I'm trying to assimilate what we experienced in a daily post  of photos, videos and commentary in my travel blog! So head on over if you want to see elephants eat a Baobab tree, or baby lion cubs playing with their mom -- or in coming days, Maasai women dance a welcome dance.

For this trip to Tanzania did give me a wonderful break from writing, but now it's time to get back to work.

ROW80 UPDATE:  

• WRITING: Now that the first draft of Years of Stone is complete, I'm rereading Standing Stones (the first book in this trilogy) with new eyes, section by section, with particular attention to character arcs and tension. Then I'll jump back to Years of Stone, hopefully for final revisions. The deadline for the Pacific Northwest Writers Association's literary contest is February 22, 2013. I would like to be ready!
• CRAFT/READING: Setting weekly goals seems to help me keep on track with specific action steps. So here, I'm making steady progress in reading writing mags and currently working through Bell's Plot & Structure.  Is anyone else on GoodReads? I'm finding them very useful in identifying good historical fiction and currently am reading T. C. Boyle's San Miguel (literary fiction) and Annelie Wendeberg's The Devil's Grin (popular fiction), a story of a female doctor and Sherlock Holmes, set in Victorian London (sort of my era). 
• MARKETING: As a somewhat terminally shy person with an outgoing style, I find it difficult to promote my own work. But by keeping this goal of developing a marketing plan and testing it with my collection of short stories (i.e., The Mermaid Quilt), I'm finally finding specific steps to take here too. One example: Brian Johnson's "How to Launch a Book". So that if I do self-publish my historical fiction, at least I'll have more than motivational pats on the back. And three people from the Africa trip expressed interest in my writing! A writer from the Internet Writers Workshop sent a press release to everyone on his e-mail list. I may try this.
• SOCIAL NETWORKS: When people comment on a blog posting, do you respond right on the blog? In the past, I've tried to reciprocate with comments on the person's blog, but interactivity, that is responding directly to people's posts, is another way to connect with readers. Twitter is starting to feel more comfortable and by gradually "following" other writers, I'm learning how to promote my work without being too obnoxious (I hope!). 

Long story short. Now it's time to hop on Twitter and Facebook and find out what other ROW80 writers are up to. I still feel that participating in ROW80 has been so helpful this last year. May your writing go well.

Weds Check-in . . .July 26th

Not sure I'm quite understanding this ROW80, but here's the place to check in and see if I'm keeping up with this week's goals.

This week on the Internet Writing Workshop's NOVELS LIST, there's been much discussion about whether folks should submit work for critiques from stories that are "in progress" or "finished." Makes me want to jump in with an opinion, because the comments have raged against both types of writers, and some suggest there's only one way to participate in this IWW list.

What I've learned since last summer is that feedback from other writers has helped me focus my writing in unexpected ways.

When I was truly stuck, trying to decide which story to write, participating in the FLASH fiction group prompted me to explore ideas and pursue the threads of two possible novels. Over time, one story came to dominate my thinking. Could I have done this without the group? Perhaps.

I then rejoined NOVELS-L and dove into Years of Stone wholeheartedly, built my plot scene by scene on a cork board, spotted plot holes, and continued to write. Then occasionally, yes, work-in-progress, I subbed chapters from the story that was unfolding when I felt I wanted feedback on the energy of the writing overall. At this stage, I got enough feedback to feel I was truly on the right track. No one said, "Stop writing this crap!" though a few complained that I wasn't subbing chapters in sequence. Well, I wasn't writing in sequence so . . .

It's now a year later. The first draft is truly done. Every single chapter sings as best as I can make it. I'm subbing the final section 3 (yes to NOVELS-L) for review and have the entire first draft out to two 'first readers' I trust, and then . . . I'm not sure. Still waffling but leaning ever close to Amazon.

But my point is what worked for me may not work for anyone else. So, whether we submit finished, or work-in-progress excerpts for critique, this writing is a very unique journey, one filled with doubts and joys. Every comment I've received from critters on NOVELS-L (and FLASH) has helped me on my writing journey. I've struggled, learned, revised, edited, sweated, cussed a few times, retyped (oops, re-word-processed), and will persevere.

Thank you all.

Now to ROW80.
1. About 60% through edits on Section 1, Years of Stone. Got comments already on Section 2.
2. Edited one story for The Mermaid Quilt: A Collection of Tales.
3. Drew one picture for same.
4. Found two potential agents I like  for Years of Stone, but still waffling there.

May your week go well!

On completing THE first draft . . .

Today is a BIG day! I have just a half chapter to fill in a scene, and I'll be done with the first draft of Years of Stone, and ready for my first readers. Just nine months. Originally I thought October. Maybe. Then something happened after happily finishing the A to Z Blogging Challenge in April this year.Maybe it was writing every day. Maybe it was researching 19th Century Tasmanian history (my theme for the A to Z). I made a commitment to write 200 words a day. That would have taken the draft to October. But somehow I cranked out an average of 300 words a day. Presto! The draft is done. OK, nearly done. One scene left.

But today marks the end of June. July will be a key transitional month. I'll be looking at revision, not drafting. Lots of work with the Internet Writing Workshop, bless each and every critter who lives there. And that other dreaded question looms closer: Do I self-pub or continue to seek an agent? Or consider an indie press?

What did I learn from writing this first draft? A few tips to pass along that may be useful to other writers.

TIPS FOR WRITING THE FIRST DRAFT

---Set up a working plan. Doesn't have to be a final outline, but a sketch of where I want to go.Sort of 'who's on first'.
---Work up short descriptions -- a few words -- at the scene level to map out the whole story. Remember doesn't have to be complete. Think main characters, their goals, where they want to be, where they physically and emotionally travel. What obstacles they face.
---Write what I can. Every day.
---Start with characters talking if I don't know where the scene is going. They know.
---Draw maps and update them. This 'grounds' the story and sets physical relationships. (Note: Allen says also think logically! Start from one place and move to another. Ask what's logically first. Not that I was ever THAT logical!)
---Set a promise for a specific word level, say 100 words higher than I think I can do easily. And make it so.
---Keep a daily work journal organized by today's date that tracks word count, any unanswered questions, ideas for scenes, conflicts, events, and, especially for historical novel writing, track those dates!
---If a question arises right in the middle of a writing session, just write it down in the middle of where I am (maybe use ALL CAPS), and keep writing. Don't jump on the internet to fill it in, unless curiosity compells you to do so. You can do that later. Unless, of course, you must.
---If I can't afford Scrivener yet, use the cork board for scene cards set up by chapter and section. Here evaluate themes, characters, conflicts, locations, and seasons.
---Set goals or a working schedule (if goals are too intimidating) for major deadlines (first draft, second draft, first readers, etc).
---Take time to celebrate each accomplishment. Plan to write tomorrow!

Once this last month, really just last week, I dipped under 100 words and was depressed, lost faith, got discouraged. I had made too many commitments that bumped the writing. So, learn a lesson from this! NOTHING BUMPS THE WRITING. OK, almost nothing. Family would bump the writing. But I can reschedule other commitments.

My cork board is clean of 3x5 cards. The next story is already nibbling away.

#151 Would you trust . . .

Would you trust a jubilado
dancing in the street?
See omens in a cloud of green butterflies
settling just ahead of your path?
Stare into the red heart
of a Rose of Sharon.
Touch the points on a nettle?
Bathe your face
in the mist of a waterfall?
Look into the eyes of a stray dog
that follows you?
Count the fingers and toes
of a newborn babe?
Hear the telephone before it rings?
Dance without music?
Dream without sleeping?
Say yes before the question is asked?

This week’s Sunday Scribbling’s prompt is trust, a very difficult prompt. I wonder if we trust our ability to understand the reality that exists around us, that we perceive or define by our senses. Though I do not, or do not trust that I do, some of my relatives seem to have an extra sense. Also, jubilado is Spanish for retired person. As a relatively newly retired person, this word fascinates me for its very different connotations.

Some people have asked when Standing Stones will be finished. I do work every day except travel days, and now am revising Section 3 (out of five sections), focusing mostly on plot holes, logical connectors, and character development. I’d like these characters and their predicaments to be as real to a reader as they are to me. I hope to have one more go through for style and estimate I’ll be ready for my 3 readers by June or July, if all goes well. Six weeks in September/October brings the last bit of research and editing, so I hope to finish completely by December 2010, making it about three years overall for this novel. After that, the story’s no longer mine. Wish me well.

Monday morning.

Today begins the new week. This week we're back on the road, in the midst of moving to Vancouver, Washington, and I'll be taking down one of the most beautiful offices I've ever worked in. Each morning about 6 am, I sit here, sometimes with a cup of ginger tea, and look out over a forest of scrub brush pines, the sun sometimes coloring a few clouds pink. Within an hour, the color is done, the sky a flat blue, but I don't notice. I'm writing. The $20 printer I got from a garage sale two months ago works just fine. My bright blue plastic packing crates turned on their sides function beautifully as a temporary bookcase. And I have my desk. One of those really big fold up office tables. Ah, spread out and work!

I don't know exactly where my next office will be. We haven't seen the apartment yet. Most likely I'll have a nook somewhere. This ambiguity of space comes at a time when I'm really finished with the first draft. I should be celebrating, but I know what is ahead. The same ambiguity of space, only internal. The story is on paper. I love these characters, but have I done them justice? Do I speak for them their innermost thoughts and hopes? Have I captured their experiences in a time not my own? Will I have the tenacity and vision to edit? and for how long?

I'd rather the story was rolling forward, but everything I've read and heard suggests this part, this revision part, is as important as any drafting that goes before. So, I'll begin. With a new office and a different kind of progress. Meanwhile, writing each week for Sunday Scribblings gives me a kind of writing community that leavens out this other work. And when do I start sending the book out? I only know not yet.

Inspiring writers . . .

I'm just finishing up reading Mary Doria Russell's A Thread of Grace and like so many things about her writing style: underlying themes that challenge the reader, depth of character development and relationships between the characters, and vivid country settings in Italy. So I went to her website to find she's just published a new book, Dreamers of the Day (an excuse to go back to the library before my books are truly overdue), and she has also posted advice to writers.

OK, so writing is supposed to be a lonely occupation. I know if the writing doesn't go as well as I wish, I doubt and delay and pretty much feel inadequate for a day or two.

I read somewhere that even with severe writer's block (which I don't quite believe in), that the best strategy is to simply write. Even if you don't like what you're writing. Just write. Then check back the next day. A writer's guru from Writer's Digest Forum says you'll be surprised to find yesterday's writing is fine. You can always return for revision later. But the key is you don't require inspiration.

Mary Doria Russell gives a helpful list of tips in her Note to Writers. Among these, two for me stand out (not the least being her generous and open tone):

--Fall in love with your characters. Make them laugh and cry. They'll tell you what they want to do.
--Don't rely on writer's groups. Russell says that it's enough to read her own "crappy drafts." (This in itself is reassuring for every rough draft seems crappy at some point.) She continues: Search out test readers. Tell them to look for what's broken. They will help you diagnose editing areas, but only you will know exactly how to "fix" the story.

Allen told me last night that writing a novel was a long and solitary occupation. Writing is very hard work. I don't want to settle for "The novel is finished. Hooray!" I see about another year and maybe two years of editing before Standing Stones will be the best story I can write.

But every day remains a challenge. So I'm going off to my first creative writing conference and will hope for useful information, knowing that whatever I learn, I still will remain committed to this process. And it doesn't matter if others like my stuff or don't like my stuff. I write.

Mako Yoshikawa, writer at work.

I just finished reading Mako Yoshikawa's second novel, Once Removed, and was just delighted at the layers of craft at work in this convoluted story of step-sisters and their relationships over time. Skillful and moving, the story shows effective use of:
--multiple points of view, changing each chapter
--inner dialogue balanced well with vivid description of action and perceptions and reactions. Example: "She recognized him right away. He was standing toward the back of the crowd . . . . Her realization of this simple fact was like a jolt of energy, like three meals and a restful night's sleep in a bed rolled into one" (129)."
--Key concrete images used throughout the story come home in the conclusion to link tightly to the theme, and more than one theme is revealed and resolved satisfactorily, but in a way that gives the reader the sense these characters will continue to live on and grow.
--Characters add depth through revelations, but each character does not know what others know, and the emotional depth comes through clearly as key events are gradually revealed.
--Language is used with precision, with one thread being puns and one character limited in language.
--The story does not back away from large issues, cancer, adultry, Hiroshima, yet puts them in human scale through stories within stories.
Overall rating: A

A writer's questions

I write daily. I read lots of good how-to-write-brilliantly articles. I sweat and send stuff out. I've even gotten a few things published now, but sometimes I feel like I'm talking to myself. And I doubt, doubt, doubt.

This week, my questions now are:
--How do writers find the balance between setting, dialogue, action, and internal dialogue?
--How do writers create a sense of conflict?
--Is there a writing group online I could work with?
--Are my characters strong enough? Different enough?
--Specifically how do writers move a rough first draft to a final?
--How do writers sustain themselves when writing a novel?
--Are there smaller online writing groups that really work? How does a writer who's "on the road" find out about them?

Every writer's interview seems to indicate a different kind of process. Some work with intensely detailed outlines; others wing it. I know writing is a discipline, a long-term commitment. Even every time I pick up a new book, I'm noticing strategies and skills as the story unfolds.

Today's progress on Standing Stones: Found some wonderful research on conditions on the transport ships (think Australia, 1840), and discovered Australia put together a circle of massive standing stones (privately subscribed) in 1998 to honor Scottish (and Celtic) emigrees. After a rush of about 800 words a day, I'm slower today, wanting to fill in details that make the scene come alive. A new character fell off the boat literally, but no main characters got killed (which I was a little worried about). And the next step: Keep writing!