June IWSG: Why write?

This month's writing prompt from the very helpful resource: Insecure Writer's Support Group (IWSG) simply asks: "Did you ever say 'I quit'? If so, what happened to make you come back to writing?"

I have always written, short pieces, poetry, flash fiction. I wrote 'between' all else. The year before I retired, I began writing seriously. After 26 years of teaching others how to write essays, research papers, and technical reports (and writing a business writing textbook), finally, I thought, I could follow my dream of becoming a writer of novels.

So much to learn. I took classes, participated in small and larger writing groups, read how-to-write books, attended writing conferences, and met other inspirational writers. And I wrote. Ten years later (I didn't say I was a 'fast' writer), I've written 4 novels (2 in much need of revision). That learning curve stretches steeply in front of me, but I joyously pursue my writing -- most days.

Twice, I've nearly quit writing. Each time, someone has critiqued my drafts so furiously, I doubted my ability to tell a good story. But each time, I've returned to writing after a break of a few weeks to several months.

Because . . . 

My world seems in balance when I write. It's what I've longed to do all my life with that deep, never-goes-away kind of longing. I write because I love to delve into history and figure out 'what life was like.' I don't really care about becoming rich or famous. When I can craft a story, a chapter, a paragraph -- sometimes even a sentence -- there's a sense of peace and joy that makes that next writing session possible. My writing (and my other passion, quilting) keeps me creative, observant, and connected. 

Somehow I got stuck in mid-19th Century, partly because of a fascination with the Industrial Revolution. Just now I'm researching gangs in Edinburgh and the lives of indentured servants in Virginia. I write most mornings between 6 and 10, sometimes until 11. Then the rest of the world enters, and 'normal' life resumes. 

I hope that my stories will move readers who are drawn to history. For that's what I'm working on now:  How do my characters come alive? How do their emotional journeys connect with readers?

Oh, and I probably write because I'm stubborn and just want to show those folks who said to me, "You can't."

Click HERE to see what other writers are doing in this monthly update for the Insecure Writer's Support Group. And why do you write?

Distractions and Progress on that novella

I’m exploring new strategies with Randy Ingermanson’s SNOWFLAKE method of planning a novel, because I’m working on plotting and scaffolding and character descriptions instead of simply spinning out scenes.

Because my story is set in Scotland in the 1840's, I keep running into research plot holes where I need to know something. So I'm researching the food eaten by various classes, living conditions, slums in Edinburgh and Inverness, epidemics of cholera/typhus, emigration of the Irish to Scotland, various working conditions, and railroads in and around Edinburgh and Glasgow in the 1840's. And I keep finding fascinating little bits that tell me 'what life was like.'

If I keep in mind the GOAL, that is to write a prequel of about 40K to tell what happened with Dylan and Moira after the end of Standing Stones, I’m encouraged as all this information swirls around and informs the story, even as I doubt the story will hold to 40K words.

And I want to go back to Scotland. Maybe another research trip of two months in September and October this year? Another 6-floor walk-up on the Royal Mile, just about halfway between Edinburgh Castle (where, yes, the royal crown jewels are under guard) and the Holyrood Abby, a ruin . . . but so beautiful. Around the corner, a lovely library; I already have the library card! 

View from Edinburgh Castle (Camp 2009)

Bagpipers coming down the Royal Mile (Camp 2009)

Maybe a day trip up to Inverness to visit Ardkeen House once again (now a private home, but still, once it was a home for wayward women. 

Now I’m checking the internet to confirm that Ardkeen House was built in 1834-1836 by the Inverness United Charities Institution to house the Inverness Juvenile Female School, the Ladies' Female Work Society, and the Inverness Infant School. 

Moira

Moira lived here at Ardkeen House in Inverness until her daughter Rose was born (in Standing Stones). In the novella, she will return to Ardkeen House.

Oh, how the plot thickens.

Here's GERARD BUTLER
(Wikipedia)

The next step in Randy's SNOWFLAKE is to develop character sketches that reveal everything. Some people use Excel to organize all those factors that make a character unique.  

I couldn’t quite visualize what my main characters looked like, so turned once again to the internet.

Gerard Butler jumped off the page as Dylan. And a nameless model became his brother, Michael -- at least nameless, until someone pointed out he's Michael Fassbender.

This is MICHAEL FASSBENDER (Wikipedia)

Now, truly the plot thickens. I have to tell their story. Don't you want to know what happens next?

Storytelling: Happy for now?

I started work on a novella.

I 'm trying out Randy Ingermanson's Snowflake method of step-by-step drafting, actually ten steps in total. After two weeks, I'm about half way through mapping out the story of Moira and Dylan. My goal is a novella, some 40-50,000 words. Perhaps I'll be able to tell this story a little faster than the three years it usually takes me.

Why this story of Moira and Dylan?

If you've read Standing Stones, you may remember that Dylan left their island home to go to Inverness, seeking work and leaving Moira behind. But he doesn't know that Moira is pregnant. Moira searches for him, can't find him, and winds up in a home for wayward women, baby Rose on the way. 

Readers have let me know they want to know what happens next, and they want a 'happy ever after' ending! In fact, just this week my doctor stood in the hall before her next patient to call after me, "You have to write a happy ending. You can't leave them apart like that."

So it's back to Inverness for me!

"River Ness, Inverness" by Avarim (Wikipedia)

Will I find that happy ending? 

I hope so, but I'm drawn to the stories of people who struggle to make a good life for themselves and those they love. For some reason, perhaps my own childhood, I want to write about those working class people who lived in crowded 19th Century tenements, worked in windowless factories, and fought over bread. In Inverness, the elite disdained a district filled with 'Irishers' called Cowgate. Maybe Moira will find Dylan there. 

Even as I sit in my office, surrounded by 21st Century luxuries, including more books than I can read, I'm thinking 'happy for now' might be a more realistic fit. For our lives are filled with challenges that change over time, each decade shaped by policies beyond our control, and we grow older. Somehow we face down loss; hopefully, we find love to ease the way.

IWSG: May check-in, challenges, and a free read!

I'm just one day late to report in for that wonderful online community (rich with resources), the Insecure Writer's Support Group.

I always hesitate a little at the title of IWSG. After all, writers aren't insecure -- are they? And I'm not insecure, am I? Yesterday at my small writers' group, I did hesitate a little before handing out my stuff to read. What will they say? Will they just hate my latest effort? 

Actually, I'm thankful for my colleagues, for this group meets weekly, and we burrow down into rough drafts with critical and helpful comments. We try to remember we're commenting on the author's voice, the intent of the story, and look at the underlying structure and implications as well as surface 'corrections.' 

My biggest challenge this month has been organizing and rejuvenating my marketing strategies while waiting for comments from beta readers for my nearly-ready-novel, Rivers of Stone. 

1. I experimented with both Google Ads Express and Amazon Sponsored Product online ads to learn that despite thousands of 'impressions,' my book was invisible. No sales.
2. I discovered podcasts (Joanna Penn) that opened up entirely different strategies. Instead of 'selling books,' I'm starting to think about relationships with my readers and what would appeal to them. Nick Stephenson's free video training inspired me to create a magnet (a bonus story or novella) as an incentive to encourage readers to sign up for my newsletter. 

What I learned so far: Getting ideas/inspiration is the good part. Drillling down into the "how" takes time and tenacity. Luckily, I'm stubborn. 

MailChimp offers many templates that can be edited with photos and text. And I'll need to highlight this (and upcoming discounts) in each of my books. Did you know that authors are now putting their promos right inside their Kindle books (first page)?

Perseverance furthers! I have a 'prequel' ready to go once I learn how to use MailChimp to automatically deliver my 'magnet' to new subscribers!

Mark your calendar for a free ghost story! Indie writer Annette Drake has written an enchanting cozy mystery about two sisters. Building Celebration House is set in an antebellum South mansion with its own crop of ghosts. Free now through May 7. Check it out.


Happy Spring! May you have a good month -- and success in finding out what at least 12 other participants in the Insecure Writer's Support Group are up to this month.

Rivers of Stone: A Literary Pilgrimage?

We writers are never quite sure what pushes us to tell a certain story. Some little-known fact. Perhaps an article on a back page of the newspaper or a snippet from a poem sets us off.

Where did Rivers of Stone begin? Maybe with mermaids off the coast of Scotland that morphed into the first book of this series, Standing Stones. Maybe with the continued saga of Mac and Deidre in Tasmania, Australia, in the second book of the series, Years of Stone. 

And maybe it was just time to tell the story of Dougal, Mac's brother and a fiddler, and his sweetheart, Catriona. Rivers of Stone was shaped by countless camping and hiking trips across Canada as we traveled east to visit family. I was fascinated by the fur trade era and those who crossed the Rockies. Here's a picture of a breakfast view from our last camping trip near Banff in 2015.

Then three years ago, I read a little blip about Isobel Gunn who disguised herself as a man to work for the Hudson's Bay Company in 1806. She remained undiscovered for two years until she became pregnant. 

Almost immediately, Catriona moved from supporting character to primary protagonist.

I don't know how others might define 'literary pilgrimage'. For me, it's that journey writers take as we sink into the characters, the history of their lives, inner and outer, and the story itself. Sometimes I wish the writing of a novel would take less than three years, but this process of  'coming to  know' -- at least for me -- simply takes time. 

Time to get back to those final revisions, with thankfulness for my beta readers who now have their review copy of Rivers of Stone in their inbox! 

With thanks to John Fox of Bookfox for his "50 Good Questions to Ask Authors."

Rivers of Stone: Cover Reveal

Once a book is nearly done, writers step away from the keyboard to focus on the cover, the media kit, and the launch. 

Today, I'm celebrating the new cover for Rivers of Stone, scheduled for release this summer in late June. 

Thanks to the remarkable skills of Angie Zambrano of pro_ebookcovers fame, this new cover fits right into her previous designs for my historical fiction series (see right).

Indie writers have a lot of say in the design of their covers. We need to consider how the cover appeals to our readers, if the cover is readable at the Amazon 'click on me' size, and whether the cover captures and predicts the essence of the story.

I love how the cover dramatizes the wilderness of 19th Century Canada. So, I'm pretty excited, but I'm also wondering how readers will react. What do you think? Would you pick up this book, based on the cover?

Here's the description for Rivers of Stone:   

In 1842, Catriona McDonnell, unwilling to be left behind in Scotland by her husband Dougal, disguises herself as a boy to work for the Hudson’s Bay Company. Within a few days of landing at York Factory on Hudson’s Bay, Cat is assigned to work at the Company trading post. But Dougal is ordered to go west to Fort Vancouver and the Pacific Northwest -- abandoning Cat.

Rugged terrain and thousands of miles now separate them. Even a letter takes three months to reach its destination. Catriona’s courage and tenacity will be tested in unexpected ways as she struggles to find passage west to Dougal. Along the way, she meets Canadian artist Paul Kane, on his own quest for the Hudson’s Bay Company during the decline of the fur trading era and the settling of the west.

Now, back to work on final editing. May you have a good week!

IWSG: Into the Abyss: The Draft is Done!

What a thrill. Last Sunday, I finished my current project, Rivers of Stone, after three years of work. Research, writing, editing, revising, more research, editing, and rewriting. Done. Well, really, done for now. 

I’m ready to send this story off to my beta readers and switch my writing attention to that wrap-around stuff (the cover, the blurb, the newsletter, the media kit).

I want to let go of this story for a little bit, these characters I know so well. But, remember the principle of selective observation? That we notice in the morass of data around us those bits that are most useful?

Yesterday, PBS interviewed Colum McCann about his book, Letters to a Young Writer. McCann commented about how to dig into character: “It’s not just what they ate for breakfast, but what they wanted to eat.”

What a fantastic way to move into deep point of view. My reaction? I wanted to revise my story one more time to see if the story captures what my characters want. Even writing these kinds of notes down as part of a character sketch would inform motivation, conflict, and plot. 

And I’m still wondering if my story has enough sensory detail and if I should go back just one more time to check out just how those five senses invigorate my writing (I lean to touch, hearing, and sight more than smell and taste).

Image @bytoropov (Yusuf Toropov)

But, I’m still setting Rivers of Stone aside. Because I could spend yet another year picking away at revision.

So thank you, IWSG. You came to the rescue with Bryan Cohen’s article this month, “What the Heck is Copywriting Anyway?” 

Cohen says copywriting “is the act of writing all the words that go outside of your book. Book descriptions, emails to readers, and advertisements all fall under the copywriting umbrella.”

In my heart, I know I’ve taken Rivers of Stone as far as I can. That’s why I’m thankful for those beta readers. So, while I wait for their responses, it’s time to make a schedule, play with book covers, and draft my book blurbs. 

Let my inner copyeditor loose! I want to say, “Wish me luck,” but what I really need is persistence and courage. Let’s do this.

Today's post is part of a monthly commitment to the online writing community, Insecure Writer's Study Group. Check out their extensive and very helpful resources. If you haven't already, sign up for their newsletter -- and write on! And check out what others have written for IWSG this month HERE.

Exploring Place in Scotland

As I finish working on revisions for Rivers of Stone, set in the 1840s across Canada, I appreciate anew that wonderful opportunity to immerse myself in a place and time far from the present. While our winter has been rather long with seemingly endless snow and cold, it doesn't quite measure to the snow my characters encounter in a winter crossing of the Rockies!

When I began research for the first book of the McDonnell family, Standing Stones, we went to Scotland. Here are some highlights of happy travels there -- just to share.  

St. Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, The Orkney Islands

We started our two months in Kirkwall, the capital of the Orkney Islands. This was our favorite 1,000-year-old church, St. Magnus Cathedral, just two blocks from Mrs. Muir's Bed & Breakfast.

Urquhart Castle along the River Ness

We traveled up the River Ness to Urquhart Castle, once held by Robert the Bruce (13th Century), and later blown up to prevent it falling into the hands of the Jacobites in 1692. We climbed everywhere -- from dungeons to castle kitchens to the castle keep. We didn't see the Loch Ness monster.

Below, I'm almost dressed in a kilt. A proper kilt has about 4 yards of material (I think I got it on wrong). We had a great time trying to follow the instructions though.

This next photo shows the inside of a crofter's cottage, made of stone with a roof of grass. Here the day's catch would be smoked over a central hearth. People slept in a sort of box-bed with a lovely quilt, and in the winter, the animals were brought inside.  

Interior, Crofter's cottage at Kirbister

Stirling Castle

We also stopped at Stirling Castle, where I found a mermaid sculpture, worn by centuries, tucked near a staircase. Here also, a workshop of weavers worked on tapestries, following the tradition of ages past.

Detail of Unicorn Tapestry, Stirling Castle

When I'm researching a story, the writing seems to come more easily when I have that sense of place and history, when I've studied artifacts in local museums, eaten herring and scones, and walked along foggy, crooked streets past stone buildings. 

Yes I read many books, academic papers, journals from long ago, view videos, and study photos online as part of my research for each story about the McDonnell's. When possible, though, traveling to those places where my characters once 'lived' helps me to bring my stories to life. 

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse of our trip to Scotland. Maybe later this week, I'll post a few more pics taken in Edinburgh, an unforgettable city. Our apartment there was on the 5th floor -- no elevator!

Finding the right place in 1846 . . .

It's 1846, and my characters in Rivers of Stone are slogging through mosquito-infested river country, somewhere south of modern day Winnipeg, which is some 1,000 miles east of where I sit by my keyboard on this cold spring morning, with a cup of hot tea nearby.

I'd rather be writing the story, filling in missing scenes, but this morning, I'm looking over my maps and double checking the names and locations used for Fort Garry. 

Finally, thanks to the Official Blog of Heritage Winnipeg, I've sorted most of my questions out.

Back in the fur trading era, folks met at the Forks (currently Winnipeg, formerly the Red River Settlement), where the Assiniboine and Red Rivers met. They traded furs, partied, and exchanged stories. Voyageurs and former employees of Hudson's Bay retired here, married, and raised families. Here, Fort Gibraltar was built in 1809. 

1821: Fort Gibraltar was renamed Fort Garry after Nicholas Garry facilitated that famous merger of the Hudson's Bay Company with the North West Company. After serious flooding, by 1830, the fort was in deplorable condition.

1831: Governor George Simpson, dubbed the "little Emperor" because of his strong leadership style (and short height), decided to build a new 'Fort Garry,' about a day-long journey north of the Forks. No one was happy about this. But he lived here with his English wife, Frances, between 1830-1833, until she lost a child and returned to England. Simpson then moved to Lachine.

1835: Chief Factor Alexander Christie approved the building of a new Fort Garry -- right back at the Forks. Dubbed "Upper Fort Garry," the new fort featured a 15-foot stone wall and stone towers (or bastions) at the corners. A provincial park in the center of Winnipeg honors this location. 

The northern, older, and downriver location was now called "Lower Fort Garry."

As my characters have traveled to both Lower and Upper Fort Garry, I can now refer to them properly in my story. 

But which Fort Garry was nicknamed 'Fort Stone'? I'm guessing Upper Fort Garry, but I could be wrong. 

And I was! Stone Fort is the nickname of Lower Fort Garry. I discovered this as Treaty 1 between Queen Victoria and First Nation governments was signed at Lower Fort Garry in 1871. The treaty is named after Stone Fort. Yippee!  

But given the amount of stone used at Upper Fort Garry, the nickname could have been used here as well, yes?

Upper Fort Garry 1871 from Souvenir Postcard

Now to move on to my next two questions: Where were Richard Lane and Mary (Marie) McDermott (McDermot) married?  And, were HBC's annual council meetings held at York Factory or Moose Factory? Or did they use both locations? Aargh! Revision!  I'm going to write a scene or two instead.

Much more lovely information on the tangled history of Red River and the Hudson's Bay Company is available on Jean Hall's encyclopedic resource: Provisional Government of Assiniboia. Time to warm up my tea and write.

IWSG: Old Stories, New Stories

Have you ever pulled out a really old story and reworked it? What happened?

That's the question being asked this month by Insecure Writer's Support Group, an online writer's support group that encourages us to share our writing experiences with a monthly blog post. So jump right in, if you're so inclined.

Right now I'm editing Section 04 of five sections for my current work in progress, Rivers of Stone, a historical novel set in 1840s Canada. Each day right now, the words are humming right along. My heroine goes from one pickle to the next. I still have to resolve the ending: a) very sad, b) happy for now, or c) happy ever after. The reality is that not all stories end well. I've written two endings, with a third on its way! By about May, I hope to send the edited draft off to beta readers.

What's next? I'm already thinking about what's next. Should I pull out an old story? I have a few sort of cooking on the back burner. I'd love to know which one YOU might want to read. 

1) GRANNY VAMPIRE AND THE KISS OF . . . Here, Granny is dumped in a retirement home to find herself surrounded by a bevy of supernormal characters -- on staff. How does she protect herself and her new friends? (on deck: about 15 pages)

2) SPACE STATION DARK . . . Rowena's mother, hungry for drugs, sold her to a space station at age 9. Not sure how she can survive, Rowena, now 16, tries to hide her special skill: She changes color with extreme emotion and wonders what other skills she might have. At least until she meets and is attracted to Daglynd, a rough space hunter who collects people like her. (already have about a paragraph)

3) IN SEARCH OF UNICORNS . . . Dawn, a curator at a medieval museum in New York, tracks a set of unicorn tapestries to France to unravel the mystery behind their origin. Along the way, she travels to Stirling Castle in Scotland and falls in love with the man who holds the original cartoons for the unicorn tapestries now housed at the Museum of Middle Ages in Paris. (currently about 20 pages)

4) MOTHERS DON'T DIE . . . This really is an old story, left in a drawer for the last decade. A family goes camping in the wilds of eastern Washington to discover a dead body while out on a walk. Hubby leaves wife and daughter at the campground to go for the police. When he returns with the police, their tent is empty, and the body is gone. What happened? Can this family be reunited? (about 60K words)

This was fun. I was surprised to see how many choices are possible, some old, some new.

One issue that remains: As an OTA (older than average) writer, I'm not so sure how many projects I can work on and successfully complete. . . and I didn't list any of the spinoff novels for my historical fiction series involving various members of the McDonnell clan (including one set during the suffragette era in England). Does anyone else worry about running out of stamina?

Meanwhile, may all your writing goals for the coming month be met. I think spring just might be on its way!

Flowering Cherry, Manito Park, Spokane 

IWSG: Do writers read?

How has being a writer changed your experience as a reader?

That's the question being asked this month by Insecure Writer's Support Group, an online writer's support group that encourages us to share our writing experiences with a monthly blog post.

So, what I notice most when I'm reading is what strategies the writer uses -- and how effective they are. For me, it doesn't matter what genre I'm reading. Does the story (its characters, plot, setting, conflict, style, and, yes, even theme) pull me into an authentic experience?

Do I care about grammar and punctuation? Only if any errors distract me from the story. Who really cares about a missing comma or two? But 5-10 errors a page (even in an e-book), kills my interest in reading a particular story, for it makes me wonder what else the writer has overlooked.

To report on my own progress for this last month is a bit of a challenge. We've been on the road. That means long hours of driving, and laptop and sewing machine in the car as we head south, scooting away from winter's snow. We've had a leisurely trip down the coast of Oregon (once we were past that foot of snow dumped in Portland overnight earlier in the month), and on past the rainy redwoods along the California coast. 

I did finish the draft of Section 03 for my wip, Rivers of Stone, a top goal for this month, but once we reached Phoenix (think a beautiful sunny day and 61 F), we got news that my husband's 96-year-old mother was very ill. So we've flown north, arriving here in Philadelphia, just in time to spend a few precious days with her before her passing. Death can be transformative for those who remain, changing irrevocably relationships and our sense of the past, as we relive and cherish memories.

I hope the coming month is a good one for you -- may each day be sunny and may you find many good words to read and to write.

Manito Park, early spring 

IWSG: Writing is like quilting is like . . .

After working on goals for the coming year, I've come to the conclusion that writing is a bit like quilting.  You gather the foundation materials, reflect on an appropriate pattern, and then begin to build the quilt/story, changing/revising as the pieces come together. Heaven help us all, if we have to start ripping.

My goals for 2017 are simple: Finish Rivers of Stone.

I'm about 50% through revisions before sending out to beta readers. This story stretches over five years, so I hope I've learned how to manage some gaps between years without filling in every single detail. 

Here's a snippet from Rivers of Stone as Catriona, still disguised as a boy and some 3,000 miles from her husband, Dougal, winters over at Red River in 1840's Upper Manitoba during the fur trade era:

Cat glanced at the three men huddled by the fireplace and nodded. "I'll work in the kitchen." She slid the letter from Dougal into her belt and pushed the front door open, stepping out into the swirling snow. The cold bit her nose, but the air smelled so good after the closeness of the trading post. She hurried along the side of the log cabin to the back and froze to a stop.

A skinny wolf swayed in front of her. He lifted his head and stared at her. He sniffed at his right front paw caught in a small steel trap and looked at her again.

Cat backed up until she could feel the logs of the store behind her.

The wolf flopped on the ground, put his head down, and inched toward her, dragging the trap with him.

He can’t hunt with that thing on his foot, thought Cat. She took a tentative step towards him, putting her hand out slowly. "Hush, now."

The wolf nosed the ground and tilted his head away from her.

Cat crouched down and pried the trap apart. The wolf's foot slithered out. For a moment they looked at each other. The wolf leaped up and bolted into the woods.

Finished quillow top (January 2017)

Meanwhile, real life intercedes. We leave this Sunday for a three-month road trip south. Yes, I have my laptop, backup, and some research files. I'm taking one of those mini-desks that fit on my lap (in case there's no workable desk). 

No, we don't have an itinerary. We will drive south out of the Inland Northwest, until the snow vanishes. 

Yes, I'm taking my sewing machine. And, yes, I did finish the quillow top (a quilt that folds up into a pillow) for Allen before we leave (You can click the image to see a larger size).

For writers participating in IWSG (Insecure Writers' Support Group), how are you doing? Are your 2017 goals and resolutions mapped out? 

Are you ready like me to believe that any large goal can be achieved if we just identify the needed steps and work on them steadily?

A Surprising Bounty of Books . . .

Part of my to-be-read books

Interested in the fur trading era in Canada and the Great Pacific Nor'West?

This week's mail brought a surprising bounty of books to mull over.

The first pairing of books takes me sideways to Manitoba's historic Red River, which flows through the middle of Winnipeg today. Carol Matas wrote Footsteps in the Snow, The Red River Diary of Isobel Scott, Rupert's Land, 1815, for the Dear Canada series. Technically, this is a little before the 1840s, but captures beautifully those impressions of a young girl who's just arrived from England with her family to start life anew.

Anthony Dalton's River Rough, River Smooth: Adventures on Manitoba's Historic Hayes River, presents travel notes of his modern recreation of traveling by York boat from Norway House to Hudson's Bay on the Hayes River. The River runs north, which means Dalton had a wild ride downstream over and/or around some 45 rapids for about 375 miles. While well over 100 years has passed between Dalton's journey and my novel, his book helps me visualize more completely what it might have been like to live on the river.

But my characters traveled upstream, from York Factory to Norway House, making portage as needed. Folks in my writer's group said this feat was impossible. But those oarsmen really did pole through shallow marsh, bugged by clouds of mosquitoes, and paddle like crazy against the current, that is in the late summer, after the annual ship from England had landed, and before the Hayes shut down, frozen solid.

The second pair of books are a bit more academic: Daniel Francis and Toby Morantz wrote Partners in Furs: A History of the Fur Trade in Eastern James Bay 1600-1870 (McGill-Queen's University Press, 1983). And Richard I. Ruggles wrote A Country So Interesting: The Hudson's Bay Company and Two Centuries of Mapping, 1670-1870 (also McGill-Queen's University Press, 1991). Both books present fascinating stories, collections of maps, photos, and drawings of the fur trade era. Both are drool-worthy.

A final surprise this week: Earlier this year, I joined an informal book exchange. We were to send our favorite, most treasured books to the next name on the list. I did send my book off, a collection of poetry by Mary Olliver, but heard nothing and received nothing -- until this week. Mailed from England in May, these two books are both ones I've never read: G. K. Chesterton's Father Brown (tiny, tiny print), and Alexander McCall Smith's The Cleverness of Ladies (part of the series, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, (much larger print),set in Botswana.

My to-be-read stack of books is close to toppling over with these new additions, but luckily I have time and energy enough to read, and hubby's a bookworm too. I still remember the time we took my aunt to a bookstore with us. She vowed she would never, ever again go to a bookstore with us for "we spent far too long."

May you be blessed in the coming year with books that enrich your reading.

Writing with the kindness of strangers . . .

A cold snap is coming. Temperatures down to the 20's starting later this week. Naturally, then, I'm writing about a rugged trek south from York Factory in the summer of 1843. 

Due to the kindness of a writer I've met online, I've got maps spread over my writing desk. And I'm reading journal notes of a survey team of roughly that era to figure out which river the Fur Brigade Express took from York Factory to the infamous Red River Settlement (now Winnipeg), and exactly what my feisty heroine experienced.

The conditions were deplorable for a typical working day. Sails only worked for a little while on the narrow, shallow Hayes River, its route south from York Factory bending through the marsh in a convoluted, twisted S-shape. The oarsmen used long poles to move the York boats forward, stopping frequently to use ropes to brutally haul the boats further south when the water was too shallow. Four men traded off every one-and-a-half hour shifts, grateful to be back in the boat for a breather from hauling those 30-foot long, fully loaded York boats along slippery, muddy banks, where footing was precarious. 

Where did those maps come from? Nancy Marguerite Anderson kindly shared her research with me. She's working on a sequel to The Pathfinder: A. C. Anderson's Journeys in the West, a well-written and fascinating account of her ancestor, a fur trader and map-maker who also worked for the Hudson's Bay Company and traveled widely in Canada and the Pacific Northwest. If you are drawn to history of roughly 1831-1884, her book is well-peppered with insights, anecdotes, maps, and photographs as we follow the exploits and life of this young fur trader. Nancy's blog, An Accidental Historian, is also a fabulous resource as she comments on her ongoing research.

Fort Garry, 1884 (Wikipedia)

Translating research into story is challenging and fun. I'm constantly asking how does this new information support and drive my story forward. Should the new 'stuff' be pulled into dialogue or backstory? What nasty twist can I add so my heroine and various characters 'suffer'? What does she learn? How does this change or affect her quest? And what is the structure of this section, how does it support the overall story goal?

My original optimistic hope was to finish Rivers of Stone by year-end. I can report the overall progress is good. Major sections of the book are taking shape, and the draft is now about 95K. But I do see much revision in the section I'm working on, with at least one more round of revising the full manuscript before I can leap up from my writing desk and say, "It's done!"  Next step? Ready for beta readers.

May your winter be a mild one, and if you are writing, may your writing go well.

IWSG: Writing with Focus

We're on the road just now, at least until the elections are over, and I'm packing my relatively new travel computer, a massive 15" laptop. Too big. Too heavy. But, oh, does it have memory -- and speed. The Toshiba's a definite first choice over that cute mini HP netbook that can hardly take a semicolon before the memory flashes full. 

So I completely forgot about IWSG (Insecure Writers' Support Group) this month! Ouch! Two days late. Too many distractions. So on the first Wednesday of each month, participating writers share their challenges and current thoughts about writing.

My thoughts take me to FOCUS. As I think back over the last month, I can see real progress in taming an unwieldy first draft of about 90K. The draft is now divided into four workable sections, and I have a breathable outline for each section. Those plot holes look more like muddy puddles instead of bottomless pits. And there are far fewer plot holes!

My motivating mantra? End each writing session with a FOCUS QUESTION that emphasizes the story. Far too often, I end up writing about the story, editing, and researching. But by pushing any reading/research outside my writing time (early morning well before anyone else is up), I'm finally, finally telling the rest of the story.

I'm not writing with NaNoWriMo this year (too much), but you might like a daily writing blank sheet at 750words.com  I love this site! This morning's research/reading led me to a hanging in 1845. It's so much fun when the words flow, the research meshes with the story, and the characters come alive.  May your own writing go well. Why not stop by to see what other IWSG writers are up to -- some 260 of us? Or join us!

We're still on the road for another week. This afternoon, we're traveling to Sisters, Oregon, to admire mountain vistas and maybe visit a quilt store. Yesterday, we spent hiking at Smith Rock. Yes, my office at home has books, a good computer, and quiet mornings. But when we're on the road, we get to explore . . . 

Smith Rock Vista
near Redmond, Oregon (November 2016)

#21 Abandonment

The suitcases await by the door,
and I'm in the process
of abandoning the familiar, 
leaving behind those comfortable
necessaries I cannot take with me.
Even for a two week trip,
I'll miss these accessories  
that give structure to each day,
the sewing machine, three bookcases,
that cushioned chair, my comforter. 
Well, the laptop travels, as does 
a journal with blank pages,
for I would not leave behind my words.
What is this trip but another journey
of letting go?

Japanese Gardens at Manito Park (October 2015)

Another poem for OctPoWriMo. Visit HERE to see what others have written.

#20 Tucson Mermaid

Arizona Cap Canal (Wikipedia)

Tucson is an ordinary town of artsy suburbs --
if you look past the saguaro dotting the rolling, dry hills,
ancient guardians that lift spiny arms to the sky.
At night, the lights of baked adobe houses measure
blocks of homes, while stars pierce the sky,
white pinholes. My sister saw a mermaid once
who swam in the canal. This could be no ordinary
mermaid to be drawn to the desert.
Maybe my sister followed a dusty trail
along the cement waterway to discover
a fan-shaped shell, where no shell should be.
Geologists remind us of a long ago inland sea;
perhaps this mermaid searches for her family,
lost in the desert, but stubborn,
like some I know who seek comfort inside
those pretty beige adobe houses.
Outside gray wolves howl, no respite for the mermaid.
Maybe she rests near the saguaro at night,
venturing out along the canal,
searching and singing even today.

Arizona Canal near Scottsdale
(Wikipedia)

I discovered that Tucson celebrates the monsoon season in mid-August with 'Return of the Mermaids,' a community parade complete with mermaids of every description. So OctPoWriMo's prompt for today was 'fantastical'. See what others have written HERE.

#19 When September becomes October . . .

October view out our apartment

When September becomes October,
on its way to November
with gray, endless days, do we
settle down with comforters, safe
behind locked doors
to watch the television flicker?
Or do we go out,
walk along that well-known path
down past the watershed,
that little lake where the last of the ducks gather,
a few Canada geese stop on their way south,
the wind fresh with a bite 
of winter to come?

I've been sick with an early winter cold this last week, with not enough energy to even write a little poem, but I do have a renewed appreciation for each day of health and energy that, alas, we all take for granted far too much. Happy to be back and now maybe too far behind this OctPoWriMo's month of poetry challenge. But at least I'm writing, and here in eastern Washington, even when it rains, the sun comes out.

Check out what others are writing for OctPoWriMo HERE. Today's prompt was 'fantastical' so maybe I shall return and write a little more.

#18 The quilt show is over

I'm still recovering.
Last Sunday, the quilt show ended.
I wandered past some 600 quilts, 
with sore feet, a few quilts
decorated with ribbons,
and there,
hung casually among the others,
a quilt that made me stop. 
Someone's vision,
a turquoise bear, raven,
turtle, salmon,
a howling wolf,
with traditionally patched bear paw
blocks, all sacred spirit carriers
of past and present and future,
balanced in a dreamscape of white.
I wonder what creative journey
brought this quilt
to this place
for me to admire,
moved nearly to tears.

"Turquoise Bear" by Butch Bovan
Washington State Quilters 2016 Quilt Show
(click to see larger image)

What an amazing quilt. Stop by OctPoWriMo hosted by Poets on the Page to catch up on what others have written HERE. 

#17 You are savory . . .

You are sometimes hot 
and sometimes sweet, 
the mist from the chiles I cooked 
lingering, pricking my eyes with tears,
a tangerine fresh picked eased the sting.
Together we ate crunchy fried grasshoppers in Turkey,
fresh goat cheese in Greece, the chunks
white and smelly, 
and used chopsticks in Canada
to dip chicken toes 
in a red-yellow Chinese gravy.
We watched a young man 
on the beach in Rio  
work a machete
to open up a coconut, the milk
unexpectedly warm.
Bring out the suitcases. 
I want to savor each day with you.

Here are two pictures from that trip to South America. In most families, when one rattles the suitcase, the other might say, "Not this summer, dear." But in our family, when the suitcase comes out, we both pack.

Allen with the mermaid at Rio de Janiero, Brazil

Sampling Coconut milk in Rio

One day behind, so I'm still playing catchup to write a poem a day for OctPoWriMo. Why not amble over HERE to see what others are writing!