Category: Writing

Posts in which we talk about the writing craft and process

As the World Turns

Updated on January 28, 2013 by Laurie Bishop

Speaking of Trafalgar, I can’t believe it has been 200 years. I haven’t really been thinking of the Regency as being so long ago–no idea why. But time does slip away. I’ve noticed more and more that events I lived through are being seen as old history by my younger friends. I am old enough to critique costumes and attitudes of the sixties if anyone wants to reenact the time. I even have a clue about the 5o’s, although from a very short perspective. 😉

I still have this thing about artificially faded jeans. They bug me. Worn jeans should be truly worn. I had pairs that were worn tissue thin in the knees, and when they ripped, I patched them. And wear patterns were very distinctive. Wear occurred in the knees primarily, to a lesser extent in the derriere. Men wore the imprint of their wallets in their rear pockets. Pronounced wear did not occur on the thighs and some other odd areas where mechanically faded and worn jeans make them (keeping in mind that I grew up in northern New York, not ranching country). And…worn jeans did not take on that brownish tinge unless the owner didn’t wash them regularly! Whenever I see worn jeans in stores with that “tea stained” look, I automatically think they look as though the owner wasn’t clean.

You tie-dyed your own T-shirts. You wore the same pair of Hurache sandals until they were falling apart. The Peace Symbol meant something. No one was trying to be a fashion statement unless you were square, and then you dressed like Jackie Kennedy or Twiggy (women!) or if you were male, your hair was very short and you wore glasses with the black plastic rims.

The idea that rock groups would age was funny. Remember that bar scene in Star Wars with the gray-haired rock band? That was hilarious when the movie was new.

I don’t know why I am saying all this–I’m just trying, I think, to show how we look through a distorted lens when we look back. We can’t truly know how people of a time looked or acted or felt or spoke. We can only do as much research as we can and be careful of our sources, especially if the source is another historian’s work or a movie of the time. Diaries, on the other hand, are more helpful…and not enough people write on paper these days! I worry that all the electronic evidence will be lost, and generations from now people will be struggling to understand what this time was all about.

Comments?

And by the way, back to the subject of Trafalgar, I thought I’d provide this link to Nelson’s Navy–Life in the 18th Century Royal Navy. Great Britain’s Channel 4 has some great history pages.
http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/nelson.html

Be sure to check out the Georgian Underworld too, by the way…
http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/G/georgian_underworld/index.html

Laurie

Posted in Research, Writing | Tagged Trafalgar | 6 Replies

You’ve Got the Look

Updated on January 27, 2013 by megan

I am certain I have mentioned it before, but it’s been weighing on my mind lately, so I thought I’d share my mind weight with you all.

You’re welcome.

I cannot write without having an image in my head of both the hero and the heroine–real people, always actors, and with some of what I perceive to be their characteristics.

Fine. Good. For Hero of My Heart (Loveswept, 4/13), the actors were Clive Owen and Maggie Gyllenhaal (in certain photos; at other times, not so much). For The Hero’s Return, I originally pictured Sean Bean (as Sharpe) and Rachel Weisz. I was even able to find a picture of them together, although of course Sean is a bit longer in the tooth than Rachel.

But through the course of writing the book, the way I’ve pictured him in my head is changing–now he looks more like Richard Armitage in MI-5. Yes. Another dark-haired Brit, like Clive. At least Richard has blue eyes, not green.

So I feel like a heel, tossing Sean like an old shoe because someone dishier (to me) comes along. But the hero just isn’t acting like Sean anymore (like I know what he’s like and everything!), and he is rather than Lucas North from MI-5 (at least the episodes I watched).

It’s a silly writer problem, but I won’t be able to continue forward on the book until I figure it out absolutely, and stick with my choice.

I’m at 50,000 words now, easing up to 85K, I think.

Do you picture people as you are reading or writing?

Megan

Posted in Writing | Tagged gorgeous men, Heroes | 6 Replies

Anachronism vs. Anomaly

Updated on January 26, 2013 by megan

I am currently writing a fluffy historical, sometimes called a wallpaper historical–this is the kind of book where the period is there for mere decoration (hence the wallpaper comment), and period experts will rightly say, “That could never happen in the Regency!”

And usually, I cock an eyebrow when a heroine of any time decides to have sex without considering protection, or the consequences, no matter what time period it is.

But in this book, my hero and heroine will not be going all the way until I’ve figured out how to make it work, in any context (not so much the act itself; I do know how that works).

But my heroine will be doing some heavy petting, so to speak, prior to making a commitment to the hero. I don’t think this is anachronistic behavior; I do believe that human beings of any time did things they perhaps should not. I prefer to think of it that my heroine is extraordinary in any time, although in this period she is an anomaly, particularly as a young aristocrat. Young ladies generally did not do such things. But my heroine, in specific, is.

Perhaps it’s justifying what I’m writing, perhaps it’s just looking at the time through my 21st century eyes, but I am okay with it. The characters are having fun figuring themselves, and each other out, and that shouldn’t be anomalous, no matter when it happens.

Meanwhile, I am glad I have something warm to write when it is so cold outside! Hope everyone is bundled up, sitting at home with a good book and a great cup of tea.

Megan

Posted in Regency, Writing | Tagged Megan | 12 Replies

Decisions

Updated on January 23, 2013 by Elena Greene

I just reached the 70,000 word point in my balloonist story and it occurred to me that I might actually finish this thing sometime in the not distant future!

This is the story that called to me most strongly when I started writing again after the crisis of my husband’s stroke. Since it was a time of creative recovery, I decided to just enjoy the process and not worry about what I was going to do with the result. The industry was (and still is) changing a lot and once the work was finished, I could think about whether to return to traditional publishing or go indie with it. I was happy that there would be options.

Now that the time for a decision is getting closer, I’m reviewing those options more closely. I don’t think there’s one clear answer at this point that works for every writer. I think there are a lot of factors that work into that decision and would never criticize anyone else’s choices. I just have to decide what seems best for this story.

There are good reasons to try the traditional publishing route, leaving self-publishing as a fall back. It’s still a very meaningful accomplishment to get through the gates of traditional publishing. I suspect that for many readers, it’s one potential predictor of quality that helps them with purchasing choices. Traditionally published books have been professionally edited. Traditional publishing is still the way to get into brick-and-mortar bookstores. Traditionally published books are eligible for established contests, like RWA’s RITA. It’s easier to get professional reviews for traditionally published books.

On the other hand, my balloonist story might do better as an indie book. For one thing, it is a bit out of the normal stream and lacks some of the elements that seem very common right now. No duke, no courtesan—again, no criticism against duke/courtesan stories, this just isn’t one. Yet I believe in this story and think there is a potential audience for it. The modest success I’ve achieved independently publishing my reissues may help. Perhaps the readers who enjoyed these reissues will take a chance on a new story?

This book will also go through my talented and long-suffering critique partners, as my other books have done. Said talented and long-suffering critique partners have tended to leave little for my professional editors to do. So I think the quality of writing would not suffer if I go indie.

For those readers who prefer a paper book, I would plan to have a Print on Demand version available. It is easier to price ebooks competitively, but I would still strive for that with a POD version. Lastly, I have enjoyed the indie process. Managing the business end was a little scary at first, but now I enjoy having the immediate visibility into my sales, the ability to develop my own strategies, and greater control over cover art.

Of course, this is my decision to make, but I am interested in what you think. How do you think readers make their buying decisions when looking at traditionally published versus indie books? Am I asking myself the right questions?

Elena
www.elenagreene.com
www.facebook.com/ElenaGreene

Posted in Risky Book Talk, Writing | Tagged indie publishing, traditional publishing | 7 Replies

Mischief-Making And Risk-Taking

Updated on January 23, 2013 by megan

It’s Mischief Night, and it got me to thinking about making mischief and taking risks. In my personal life, I am the dullest person imaginable: never caused my parents any stress (at least, I don’t think so–they were usually causing me stress), never pulled an all-nighter, never had a wild period. And no, the purple hair does not count as a wild period.

Which, I guess, is why I write fiction. In fiction, I get to create all kinds of mischief, from heroines disguising their true motives to heroes going determinedly after what they want, to villains not playing fair. After all, how much fun would it be to read about characters who do exactly what they’re supposed to? Not much fun at all. Boring, in fact.

So I like my characters, whether I’m writing or reading them, to be a little bit wild. Mischievous. Risky. If I could be a character from Regency fiction, I’d probably pick Jessica Trent from Lord Of Scoundrels. Actually, I’d probably be happy being any one of Loretta Chase’s heroines: tough, no-nonsense women who are uncharacteristically flummoxed by the hero. Yum.

Who would you like to make mischief as?

Posted in Reading, Writing | Tagged heroines, Megan, mischief | 4 Replies