Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Man with a Gun
Since Captain Hellion mentioned she thinks we should do more writing prompts, I thought we could obey indulge her this week.
I saw a quote on Twitter recently, attributed to Raymond Chandler, and I knew it was a perfect writing prompt for this bloodthirsty lot. I confess I am too lazy to research to see if he's actually the one who said it. It's possible somebody else said it, because, as I also saw on Twitter:
For our purposes, however, the fact that it's attributed to Mr. Chandler is good enough. So here goes:
Lots of intriguing possibilities there. What kind of man is he? Is he used to carrying a gun or is this his first time? What room is he entering? Is he trying to save somebody? Or maybe he's a Hottie being chased by a crowd of wanton women, and he stole their weapon, just to be on the safe side. Could be he's carrying a gun because he dropped his ice pick. What has happened before this point in time? What is he hoping to accomplish?
This is the beauty of a writing prompt. There are so many forks in the writing path, and you get to decide where to go. At least until the character begins to speak up and tell you what they're going to do. Until that point, though, you get to set the parameters. You set up the scenario for the characters, and they bring their personality and quirks into play, and the story goes from there.
I think the primary benefit of a writing prompt is you aren't emotionally invested in a particular outcome. The characters haven't had a chance to wrap you around their fingers, so you don't fall prey to their wants and needs, or your own heightened expectations (both of which can stall out your story). You have the freedom of trying something without fear of failure, because it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. You're just flexing your writing muscles.
So let's get to plotting, or pantsing, depending on your orientation. Share your "man with a gun" stories.
And in an effort to keep the motivation level jacked up, I will pick one random person to receive a copy of The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman. I was doing some book excavating this weekend, and realized I have more than one copy of this (ahem), so I'm happy to share the wealth with one lucky person.
I saw a quote on Twitter recently, attributed to Raymond Chandler, and I knew it was a perfect writing prompt for this bloodthirsty lot. I confess I am too lazy to research to see if he's actually the one who said it. It's possible somebody else said it, because, as I also saw on Twitter:
The problem with quotes from the internet is that you never know if they are genuine - Abraham Lincoln
For our purposes, however, the fact that it's attributed to Mr. Chandler is good enough. So here goes:
When in doubt, have a man come through the door with a gun in his hand.
Lots of intriguing possibilities there. What kind of man is he? Is he used to carrying a gun or is this his first time? What room is he entering? Is he trying to save somebody? Or maybe he's a Hottie being chased by a crowd of wanton women, and he stole their weapon, just to be on the safe side. Could be he's carrying a gun because he dropped his ice pick. What has happened before this point in time? What is he hoping to accomplish?This is the beauty of a writing prompt. There are so many forks in the writing path, and you get to decide where to go. At least until the character begins to speak up and tell you what they're going to do. Until that point, though, you get to set the parameters. You set up the scenario for the characters, and they bring their personality and quirks into play, and the story goes from there.
I think the primary benefit of a writing prompt is you aren't emotionally invested in a particular outcome. The characters haven't had a chance to wrap you around their fingers, so you don't fall prey to their wants and needs, or your own heightened expectations (both of which can stall out your story). You have the freedom of trying something without fear of failure, because it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. You're just flexing your writing muscles.
So let's get to plotting, or pantsing, depending on your orientation. Share your "man with a gun" stories.
And in an effort to keep the motivation level jacked up, I will pick one random person to receive a copy of The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman. I was doing some book excavating this weekend, and realized I have more than one copy of this (ahem), so I'm happy to share the wealth with one lucky person.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Sitting 'Round the Campfire with Jana DeLeon
*Camera comes up on a darkened deck – a match in Bo’sun’s hand the only light around*
Alright, people, gather ‘round. *Bo’sun tosses the match into a fire pit, sending a blue burst of flame straight up* Good thing we moved that mast out of the way. You heard the orders, everyone make a circle around the fire. Don’t be hogging the marshmallows and by all that’s holy, don’t get yer rum too close to the fire.
Today we’re talking ghosts, spookies, and all things that go bump in the night. Raise yer mugs and give a warm welcome to our special guest, the Deadly pirate herself, Jana DeLeon!
One of the things writers hear most often is "write what you know." Now, that doesn't mean your heroine has to be the best toilet scrubber in the country or have the county-fair winning recipe for meatloaf just because you do. It just means you should take your life experiences - your emotions - and pour them into the characters to give them depth.
I’ve always loved a good ghost story – tales around the campfire, slumber parties with a bunch of giggling junior-high girls, the creepy, fun stuff of childhood. When I started writing I never thought about writing a ghost. After all, I write contemporary romance and most people don't believe in haunts and spooks. But I was determined to find a way, and booked a stay at the most haunted hotel in Texas.
I checked in on a Sunday afternoon, and the clerk handed me a key to my room and a code for re-entry into the hotel after five p.m., since there was no hotel staff onsite after that time. Then she added that I should feel free to walk around, sit on the balconies, etc. because as I was the only person currently staying in the hotel, I wouldn’t have to worry about disturbing anyone else. I couldn’t believe it – all alone in a haunted hotel! It was the kind of stuff those campfire tales were made of, and I could hardly wait for the sun to go down.
I’d like to tell you I saw a ghost, but unfortunately it wasn’t to be. Of course, you have to take into account that I sleep like, well, the dead, and then there’s that whole snoring issue. Heck, for all I know there were five ghosts playing poker and singing karaoke. But I didn’t let my lack of real-life experience put a damper on my story. I just did what any good writer does – I made it all up.
My first books to feature a ghost make up the Ghost-in-Law series with interfering, maddening ghost, Helena Henry. I had to work a bit to get a ghost in a contemporary humor story, but my editor went for it and three books featured the meddling Helena and her many escapades creating trouble for heroines and heroes alike.
One of the most valuable things a writer can do to sustain a writing career is to diversify. I'd been reading the Harlequin Intrigue line forever and loved it, so that's what I tried next. And guess what's contained in my first book - you got it, a ghost! Intrigue was a totally different writing experience as the format is almost half the length of a single title book and there's no humor. So I wrote a "gothic-lite," complete with a spooky, old mansion deep in the Louisiana bayous.
The Intrigue releases this week and is entitled THE SECRET OF CYPRIERE BAYOU. If you like your ghosts with a side-dish of laughter, the entire Ghost-in-Law series (Trouble in Mudbug, Mischief in Mudbug, Showdown in Mudbug) is available in e-book format.
I'm still holding out hope to one day see a ghost, but in the meantime, I'll have to get my fix with books and movies. And of course, deciding what to scare people with next.
Now it’s your turn. What scares you? Have you ever seen a ghost? If not, do you believe in them or is it all a bunch of bunk? Chime in for your chance to creep away with your own copy of Jana’s latest release, THE SECRET OF CYPRIERE BAYOU.
Alright, people, gather ‘round. *Bo’sun tosses the match into a fire pit, sending a blue burst of flame straight up* Good thing we moved that mast out of the way. You heard the orders, everyone make a circle around the fire. Don’t be hogging the marshmallows and by all that’s holy, don’t get yer rum too close to the fire.Today we’re talking ghosts, spookies, and all things that go bump in the night. Raise yer mugs and give a warm welcome to our special guest, the Deadly pirate herself, Jana DeLeon!
One of the things writers hear most often is "write what you know." Now, that doesn't mean your heroine has to be the best toilet scrubber in the country or have the county-fair winning recipe for meatloaf just because you do. It just means you should take your life experiences - your emotions - and pour them into the characters to give them depth.
I’ve always loved a good ghost story – tales around the campfire, slumber parties with a bunch of giggling junior-high girls, the creepy, fun stuff of childhood. When I started writing I never thought about writing a ghost. After all, I write contemporary romance and most people don't believe in haunts and spooks. But I was determined to find a way, and booked a stay at the most haunted hotel in Texas.
I checked in on a Sunday afternoon, and the clerk handed me a key to my room and a code for re-entry into the hotel after five p.m., since there was no hotel staff onsite after that time. Then she added that I should feel free to walk around, sit on the balconies, etc. because as I was the only person currently staying in the hotel, I wouldn’t have to worry about disturbing anyone else. I couldn’t believe it – all alone in a haunted hotel! It was the kind of stuff those campfire tales were made of, and I could hardly wait for the sun to go down. I’d like to tell you I saw a ghost, but unfortunately it wasn’t to be. Of course, you have to take into account that I sleep like, well, the dead, and then there’s that whole snoring issue. Heck, for all I know there were five ghosts playing poker and singing karaoke. But I didn’t let my lack of real-life experience put a damper on my story. I just did what any good writer does – I made it all up.
My first books to feature a ghost make up the Ghost-in-Law series with interfering, maddening ghost, Helena Henry. I had to work a bit to get a ghost in a contemporary humor story, but my editor went for it and three books featured the meddling Helena and her many escapades creating trouble for heroines and heroes alike.
One of the most valuable things a writer can do to sustain a writing career is to diversify. I'd been reading the Harlequin Intrigue line forever and loved it, so that's what I tried next. And guess what's contained in my first book - you got it, a ghost! Intrigue was a totally different writing experience as the format is almost half the length of a single title book and there's no humor. So I wrote a "gothic-lite," complete with a spooky, old mansion deep in the Louisiana bayous.
The Intrigue releases this week and is entitled THE SECRET OF CYPRIERE BAYOU. If you like your ghosts with a side-dish of laughter, the entire Ghost-in-Law series (Trouble in Mudbug, Mischief in Mudbug, Showdown in Mudbug) is available in e-book format.I'm still holding out hope to one day see a ghost, but in the meantime, I'll have to get my fix with books and movies. And of course, deciding what to scare people with next.
Now it’s your turn. What scares you? Have you ever seen a ghost? If not, do you believe in them or is it all a bunch of bunk? Chime in for your chance to creep away with your own copy of Jana’s latest release, THE SECRET OF CYPRIERE BAYOU.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Hellion's Household Handbook for Writing
I renewed my apartment for a third year; I like my place. Plus I hate moving. The packing, the unpacking, the finding a new place, the finding idiots to help me move—it’s exhausting. I tend to stay in one place and enjoy it for a long, long time. In the last couple years, I’ve acquired some apartment living knowledge that I didn’t have before at the farm. It vaguely applies to writing—so you need to be willing to make some leaps here.
Just because it can go down the garbage disposal doesn’t mean it should. I didn’t know this at the farm; we didn’t have a garbage disposal and we hadn’t had a goat in years. We just had a bucket, chucked in most things, and tossed it over a fence after it built up. Dad is very old school. Anyway, at the new place, there is a garbage disposal in the kitchen. Not a goat, I’ve looked. I was quite excited about the thing; and I’ve shoved all manner of things down it, nearly killing it a couple times. And that’s the thing: just because some stuff fits through the hole into the garbage disposal doesn’t mean it should. In writing, just because you can put it into your novel doesn’t mean you should. You read something that books with flamboyant grandmotherly secondary characters sell, or hot-hot erotica, or plots where the heroine is kidnapped. (I must have read six historicals last year with a kidnapping at some point—did all these writers go to the same meeting?) Don’t just throw everything and the kitchen sink into your WIP just because you can—or worse, because you think you should. You should include it if it truly adds to your story. (This does not apply to Chance since she’s clearly doing well with the kitchen sink mechanism.)
You don’t have to call the apartment manager every time you run into a problem. Clearly there are times to call the apartment manager. Your apartment is on fire, the neighbor has somehow flooded your kitchen, you’ve inadvertently put something unfortunate down the garbage disposal. But sometimes you can jump the gun; sometimes you can fix the problem yourself if you just calm down and think about it. Your lights won’t come on; you check the fuse box and flip the switches back. There’s a snake in your house; trap it and then demand the manager check the place out. You screwed with your dishwasher and possibly broke it again; read the instructions, goof-ass, and see if it will resolve itself. In writing, if you run into a writing problem in your manuscript don’t immediately run to a craft book. Just be still a minute and try to reason it out yourself. Chances are if you allow yourself to start researching in your craft book, it will be 2 hours to 6 months before you feel confident to return to your WIP. There are just occasions where you need to handle it yourself. You know more than you think you do.
Eavesdropping on your neighbor’s 3 a.m. arguments makes good fodder for your novels. Self-explanatory. And it’s not really eavesdropping if they’re screaming at the time.
Vacuuming is the easiest cure for writer’s block. I know, we all know I don’t vacuum anyway. At least not often. But really, any housecleaning chore would work here. Something truly, truly tedious is really the best option. For me, it would be mowing the lawn. Ugh. Awful. I’d rather write a biography of Donald Trump in pig Latin than mow the lawn, and I don’t even really know what pig Latin is. I know we all love writing, especially when we’re in the zone, but much like parenting (or so I’ve heard), you don’t love it so much. You have to think really hard why you got into it in the first place. Sometimes it’s best to think of something worse, like you could have Kate Goslen’s kids, and then you’re really lucky to be doing exactly what you are.
Do you have any tips or analogies? What household chore do you threaten yourself with in order to get your pages? What’s the best thing you’ve ever heard in a neighbor’s argument? (Or relative’s…or friend’s—I’m not picky.)
Just because it can go down the garbage disposal doesn’t mean it should. I didn’t know this at the farm; we didn’t have a garbage disposal and we hadn’t had a goat in years. We just had a bucket, chucked in most things, and tossed it over a fence after it built up. Dad is very old school. Anyway, at the new place, there is a garbage disposal in the kitchen. Not a goat, I’ve looked. I was quite excited about the thing; and I’ve shoved all manner of things down it, nearly killing it a couple times. And that’s the thing: just because some stuff fits through the hole into the garbage disposal doesn’t mean it should. In writing, just because you can put it into your novel doesn’t mean you should. You read something that books with flamboyant grandmotherly secondary characters sell, or hot-hot erotica, or plots where the heroine is kidnapped. (I must have read six historicals last year with a kidnapping at some point—did all these writers go to the same meeting?) Don’t just throw everything and the kitchen sink into your WIP just because you can—or worse, because you think you should. You should include it if it truly adds to your story. (This does not apply to Chance since she’s clearly doing well with the kitchen sink mechanism.)
You don’t have to call the apartment manager every time you run into a problem. Clearly there are times to call the apartment manager. Your apartment is on fire, the neighbor has somehow flooded your kitchen, you’ve inadvertently put something unfortunate down the garbage disposal. But sometimes you can jump the gun; sometimes you can fix the problem yourself if you just calm down and think about it. Your lights won’t come on; you check the fuse box and flip the switches back. There’s a snake in your house; trap it and then demand the manager check the place out. You screwed with your dishwasher and possibly broke it again; read the instructions, goof-ass, and see if it will resolve itself. In writing, if you run into a writing problem in your manuscript don’t immediately run to a craft book. Just be still a minute and try to reason it out yourself. Chances are if you allow yourself to start researching in your craft book, it will be 2 hours to 6 months before you feel confident to return to your WIP. There are just occasions where you need to handle it yourself. You know more than you think you do.
Eavesdropping on your neighbor’s 3 a.m. arguments makes good fodder for your novels. Self-explanatory. And it’s not really eavesdropping if they’re screaming at the time.
Vacuuming is the easiest cure for writer’s block. I know, we all know I don’t vacuum anyway. At least not often. But really, any housecleaning chore would work here. Something truly, truly tedious is really the best option. For me, it would be mowing the lawn. Ugh. Awful. I’d rather write a biography of Donald Trump in pig Latin than mow the lawn, and I don’t even really know what pig Latin is. I know we all love writing, especially when we’re in the zone, but much like parenting (or so I’ve heard), you don’t love it so much. You have to think really hard why you got into it in the first place. Sometimes it’s best to think of something worse, like you could have Kate Goslen’s kids, and then you’re really lucky to be doing exactly what you are.
Do you have any tips or analogies? What household chore do you threaten yourself with in order to get your pages? What’s the best thing you’ve ever heard in a neighbor’s argument? (Or relative’s…or friend’s—I’m not picky.)
Saturday, March 5, 2011
March Madness and Some Changes
We’ve been talking writing, reading, and Romance (among other things) here on The Revenge for a few years now. And we’ve been bringing you Hotties every weekend along the way. Now, we’re thinking of changing things up.
As you’d expect from writing pirates, we have no idea what “changing things up” means just yet. Could mean posting a writing prompt every Sunday, which I think would be a blast. Or maybe we’ll start a Pirate Reading Club. Then again, we might just do nothing at all on Sundays, it’s hard to tell. We would never forsake the Hotties completely, they just won't have the whole spotlight every weekend.
But for today, we’re talking March Madness.
Before you freak and think I mean we’re going to talk college basketball, do not panic. No baskets or brackets will be involved in this March Madness. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be winners.
Historical writer and former guest pirate on this ship, Ashley March, has undertaken her own version of March Madness. Every day this month, one Historical author and one Romance blog will be featured on Ashley’s blog. Chat with your favorite authors, find some new authors to add to your shelves, and check out various ports of call around Romancelandia that are all about the books we love and the writers who write them.
Next Sunday, we’ll be the feature blog along with Historical author Sara Lindsey. In conjunction, we’ll revisit Ashley’s guest appearance here on the ship. Make sure you check in every day on Ashley’s blog for your chance to win one of more than 40 prizes up for grabs. This my kind of March Madness.
As for The Revenge this week, Tune in Tuesday for special guest Jana DeLeon, talking haunted hotels and her new Harlequin Intrigue release, THE SECRET OF CYPRIERE BAYOU.
As you’d expect from writing pirates, we have no idea what “changing things up” means just yet. Could mean posting a writing prompt every Sunday, which I think would be a blast. Or maybe we’ll start a Pirate Reading Club. Then again, we might just do nothing at all on Sundays, it’s hard to tell. We would never forsake the Hotties completely, they just won't have the whole spotlight every weekend.
But for today, we’re talking March Madness.
Before you freak and think I mean we’re going to talk college basketball, do not panic. No baskets or brackets will be involved in this March Madness. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be winners.Historical writer and former guest pirate on this ship, Ashley March, has undertaken her own version of March Madness. Every day this month, one Historical author and one Romance blog will be featured on Ashley’s blog. Chat with your favorite authors, find some new authors to add to your shelves, and check out various ports of call around Romancelandia that are all about the books we love and the writers who write them.
Next Sunday, we’ll be the feature blog along with Historical author Sara Lindsey. In conjunction, we’ll revisit Ashley’s guest appearance here on the ship. Make sure you check in every day on Ashley’s blog for your chance to win one of more than 40 prizes up for grabs. This my kind of March Madness.
As for The Revenge this week, Tune in Tuesday for special guest Jana DeLeon, talking haunted hotels and her new Harlequin Intrigue release, THE SECRET OF CYPRIERE BAYOU.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Talking ANY WICKED THING with Margaret Rowe
The Revenge is happy to welcome back one of our favorite split-personality authors. Hellie and I have been watching this lady kick butt and write books since long before she landed a contract. Since reaching publication last year, it’s been full steam ahead, churning out sexy Historicals faster than this ship goes through rum! Today, she’s bringing sexy to the ship, I give you, Margaret Rowe!Hey, Pirates! It’s delightful to be back aboard the ship to cruise the treacherous romance seas. I’m going on a real cruise myself next week and can’t wait. However, the closest to water my Any Wicked Thing characters come is when the hero Sebastian Goddard, Duke of Roxbury surprises the heroine Frederica Wells in the bathtub.
“
Ah! Here you are.”It was too late to scream or reach for the towel or lather up or pull her hair down from its knot to cover her breasts. Sebastian made himself at home on the little bench, sitting atop her towel with finality. Frederica tried to keep her poise, covering herself and wishing she had at least one more arm. “What are you doing here, Your Grace?”
“I’m giving myself a tour of the castle, as no one was available to show me around. You keep everyone busy as bees here, Freddie. Orienting myself, as it were. See?” He held up a little leather diary. “I’m making a map, taking notes. Trying to discern what rooms need my attention. Anticipating your every need.”
His voice was smooth as caramel. He was not talking about cleaning, the wretch.
“As you can see, I’m bathing, your grace. It does not suit me at all to have company as I do so. I expressly forbade you to seek me out earlier. Did you forget?”
“I was hardly expecting to discover this charming little room, or you in it in so charming a fashion.” He gazed around, taking stock of the neatly stacked cakes of soap, the oils and unguents on the shelves. A mixture of floral and herbal scents hung in the steamy air. His citrus cream would be right at home with the remedies Frederica had concocted for the household with Mrs. Holloway and Alice. “You’re a kind of apothecary, aren’t you? Scholarship, athleticism and now science. What a wonder you are, Freddie. It doesn’t surprise me that a schemer like you can conquer any task you put your mind to.”
“Sebastian, I am naked,” she ground out.
He smiled wolfishly at her. “Yes, I do see that, and I thank heaven for it. Makes me wonder what I’ve done to deserve such a treat.”
Sebastian is dependably wicked throughout Any Wicked Thing, but Freddie finds a way to tame him as he teaches her body to fulfill his every need. I loved writing the sensual journey of medieval scholar Freddie and tortured duke Sebastian, and hope that readers will make themselves at home in Goddard Castle as sparks fly. For more AWT excerpts, please check my websites www.margaretrowe.net/books and www.maggierobinson.net/blog.
Here’s a super-simple way for a chance to win a copy of Any Wicked Thing today. Do you prefer baths or showers? I’m a bath girl, and my husband just came home with bubble bath called Dirty Girl. He knows me so well.
Passing the Historical Test - Revisited
I wrote a blog about this a few years ago but I'm back in the same place so I'm revisiting the idea.
*******
I'm in the minority on the boat--writing a historical--so I thought perhaps it was time I stop shirking my duties and start representing (er, representin’?) with some historical appropriate bloggage. So, I'm going to tackle a subject that we chat about a lot around here. How much accuracy is really necessary for a historical to pass the “historical” test?But to do that, I have to wonder at the importance of having a "historical test" in the first place.
*Gunner Marnee clears her throat and attempts to look sheepish*. I'm writing a Regency novel and, while I have done some research, I haven’t been killing myself with research or gotten myself all twisted up over it.
*The Captain sashays to her feet, fumbling around for an empty rum bottle to throw at her gunner. As all of the bottles still have some rum left in them, she settles her hands on her hips and scowls fiercely*. Not stressing about research?! What sort of half-ass approach to writing are you pulling around here?
*Her gunner gives a cheeky grin*. I’m a PIRATE. I’m relying on wit and sass.
*The crew grumbles a bit, but can’t find any fault to GM’s logic. They fall silent as the gunner continues.*
Personally, I think it’s more important to focus on the characters, the plot, and the chemistry of the story. I assume that I’ll start pulling it apart for historical inaccuracies later. I’ll deal with the colors of petticoats, fabric types for nightgowns, and all that other craziness later.
Now, there are some in the historical writing world (and the historical reading world) who find historical inaccuracies--how things looked, whether a word existed back then, whether people brushed their teeth or not--a cause for teeth gnashing and fist waving but, personally, I think many writers go wrong when they focus on THAT stuff instead of the elements of their story. When writers get caught up in describing gas lighting for pages and pages (when it began, how they installed it, what it looked like, etc) they lose track of what their characters are doing. That can make a reader (THIS reader anyway) stop reading.
Some writers and readers lament the influx of the "contemporary-feeling" heroine and hero into historicals. As if the characters spend a healthy amount of time burning their bras, cursing about the glass ceiling, and reading Gloria Steinem or Betty Friedan.
Personally, I think a lot more is made of these issues than I find necessary.
*The Captain does grab the nearest rum bottle now, without regard to the inch of liquid still left in it. Chance hurries forward to pacify her but more likely attempting to save the booze. Bo'sun and DRD watch the proceedings as if such occurrences happen aboard the RWR all the time. (They do, you say?) Gunner scurries behind a
nearby cannon, ducking before she continues.*
In fact, the characters I love from historical novels are characters that have primarily been made up by romance authors. The reformed rake, the bluestocking who finds someone to love her for her mind, and the governess who gets the lord all feel like the stuff of fantasy. From what I know of history, these sorts of things didn’t happen in reality. At least they didn’t happen often.
I did a report in grad school about medical care (or lack thereof) for women and it made my feminist sensibilities howl in protest. Feisty women who attempted to rebel could easily find their ways into insane asylums. Women were not permitted their own property. Nothing about that is romantic to me. I don't want to read a novel where a woman would get sent away because she disagreed with the hero about what they should have for breakfast.
That said, you might be wondering why I bother writing in a historical setting at all.
For one, I like the tension inherent in male/female relationships back then. If people were caught in compromising situations, they had to get married. Unmarried sex was more risky without the advances we have today in birth control. In contemporary novels, the stakes don’t feel as high to me and the situations don’t feel as dire.
I also like that I’ll never REALLY know what it was like back then. It lets me make parts of it up, though admittedly not all. In order to give historical romances their historical flare I admit that there needs to be enough accuracy to convince the reader that it could have happened. But, I’m not convinced it has to be completely authentic. Leave out the excrement floating in the streets, please. And because my characters are destined to have a contemporary feel (as I would argue most historical heroes and heroines do in recent historicals because of authorial bias), I approach my writing more as if I’m writing fantasy and that historical detail needs only to give it authenticity.
In the end, I hope my characters keep my readers reading and that said readers don’t even notice they are missing out on all the historic details. Or that a word didn't exist until the 1820s and my novel is set in 1813.
What do you think about historical details in novels? Do you think they should be as authentic as possible or are the post-modern historicals ok by you? What historical inaccuracies are you tolerant of and which ones bother you? If you write historical, why and why not some other genre? If you don’t write historical, how comes why not?
P.S. I used a similar image when I wrote the first version of this post three or so years ago. I find it made me nostalgic.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Hear Me Roar
Influences this week: New Music! Eyes Set to Kill
It’s no big secret that I travel a lot between my current hometown and Phoenix. I spend a lot of the time between cities reading and people watching and eavesdropping on conversations between loved ones separated by the distance between them. I like to travel. I like being on my own, in my own little world and constantly surrounded by the unknown that comes to me each time I leave.
I do not like things out of my control.
I have a righteous sense of control. Willpower of steel. A temper kept under lock and key that could ice over the seventh level of hell when unleashed. But like all people, I can only be kept in check for so long before I completely lose all my senses and go ape shit.
I’ve gotten better over the years with flying. The ability to let someone else take the reins over my life and get me from point A to point B was slow going. I have no desire to fly myself anywhere, and seeing as how I lack the funds to purchase my own plane right this moment, would have no use for said license. But, I keenly keep my eyes peeled for suspicious activity. Suspicious flying methods. Suspicious people. Everyone is the enemy. I’m aware this is a character flaw in my personality. I like character flaws. It makes a person, ie: character, unique. It helps people relate to one another. I take this opportunity to learn about other people’s flaws in times of panic. Times of struggle. Times of weakness. Because really, who likes to allow others to control their destiny? No one. And you rarely see flaws and weaknesses in one’s character until pivotal points in a character’s life. You see the image they’d like to project into society. As writers, we write the characters we’d like to see in society. The bad guys we’d like to see dead and brought to justice. New worlds created and expanded upon. And love stories that beg for extra attention. That’s what we do. It’s what we enjoy. My writer’s sense of mind comes alive when I hear one side of a conversation. Or I see a crystal rainbow reflect and dance around inside my car. Imagination is what keeps writers typing.
Imagination is what gets my mind into trouble.
I spent a miserable night traveling back from Phoenix last Saturday night. I’m used to layovers and delayed flights and late planes and DB’s who bring nasty smelling food onto the plane and sit right in front of me. It’s a part of the whole travel experience. What I don’t enjoy is circling an airport until the plane nearly runs out of fuel. Planes that nearly land on top of one another. Planes that go to airports that are closed and leave us out on the runway while we refuel and try to de-ice enough to get back in the air. And airlines who are pricks and treat you with no respect, nor care that they are the cause you missed your flight 3 hours ago. Not to mention lost your luggage that they made you gate check and try to tell you it’s already at your final destination when you were in Milwaukee when the flight you missed was headed to St. Louis.
I’m here to tell you that in those instances, even people with little to no imagination can start dreaming up some pretty crude scenarios on how the night is going to end. You can see it in their eyes. You can read it in their body language. You can hear it in their voices when they get on their cell phones after the Captain has addressed the whole cabin. I imagined my whole world ending in a field of flames, set in the backdrop of windblown snow. People jumping out of the plane, on fire, as their skin melted right from the bones, fingers reaching for me as I stood in the middle of the carnage with Death shadowing over me.
So, with that said, I’d like to have an Evil Twin moment with American Airlines.
Dear American Airlines,
I put up with your attitude with smile, because normally I’d ice pick you and leave you bleeding out where you fell.
I put up with the extra two hour plane ride going out to Phoenix because I can understand wanting to hover over Tijuana for hookers and blow before you end your night.
I put up with you telling me you have to gate check my carry on suitcase because our flight was 30 minutes late getting into the gate. Most like the pilot was getting air head and lost track of time when he couldn’t keep it up.
And I put up with the creepy flight attendant hitting on me because I sat in the aisle seat and look like I might be a good time.
But. When you circle around an airport for 3 hours until you almost run out of fuel, try to land me on top of other aircraft landing on the runway, take me to an airport in the middle of nowhere frozen tundra land, take three more tries to get us landed, berate me at the gate counter, try to convince me this is all my fault, lose my luggage, give me dead baby chick fetuses in my nasty Mickey D’s and cause my best friend to microwave her panties in an attempt to feel clean again, I say enough is enough. May you rot in hell with your miserable customer service, your self-serving attitudes and piss poor flights and broken seats that have been screwed in one too many times.
I have a special ice pick for you in my own special version of hell I’m saving for you.
Sincerely,
Evil Twin
Do your characters travel and how well do they do in situations where they are forced into something that is completely out of character for them? How do they deal with stress? How do you as the writer and reader deal with stress, either when you’re writing your characters and they won’t cooperate or as a reader when a character does something completely unlike them?
It’s no big secret that I travel a lot between my current hometown and Phoenix. I spend a lot of the time between cities reading and people watching and eavesdropping on conversations between loved ones separated by the distance between them. I like to travel. I like being on my own, in my own little world and constantly surrounded by the unknown that comes to me each time I leave.
I do not like things out of my control.
I have a righteous sense of control. Willpower of steel. A temper kept under lock and key that could ice over the seventh level of hell when unleashed. But like all people, I can only be kept in check for so long before I completely lose all my senses and go ape shit.
I’ve gotten better over the years with flying. The ability to let someone else take the reins over my life and get me from point A to point B was slow going. I have no desire to fly myself anywhere, and seeing as how I lack the funds to purchase my own plane right this moment, would have no use for said license. But, I keenly keep my eyes peeled for suspicious activity. Suspicious flying methods. Suspicious people. Everyone is the enemy. I’m aware this is a character flaw in my personality. I like character flaws. It makes a person, ie: character, unique. It helps people relate to one another. I take this opportunity to learn about other people’s flaws in times of panic. Times of struggle. Times of weakness. Because really, who likes to allow others to control their destiny? No one. And you rarely see flaws and weaknesses in one’s character until pivotal points in a character’s life. You see the image they’d like to project into society. As writers, we write the characters we’d like to see in society. The bad guys we’d like to see dead and brought to justice. New worlds created and expanded upon. And love stories that beg for extra attention. That’s what we do. It’s what we enjoy. My writer’s sense of mind comes alive when I hear one side of a conversation. Or I see a crystal rainbow reflect and dance around inside my car. Imagination is what keeps writers typing.
Imagination is what gets my mind into trouble.
I spent a miserable night traveling back from Phoenix last Saturday night. I’m used to layovers and delayed flights and late planes and DB’s who bring nasty smelling food onto the plane and sit right in front of me. It’s a part of the whole travel experience. What I don’t enjoy is circling an airport until the plane nearly runs out of fuel. Planes that nearly land on top of one another. Planes that go to airports that are closed and leave us out on the runway while we refuel and try to de-ice enough to get back in the air. And airlines who are pricks and treat you with no respect, nor care that they are the cause you missed your flight 3 hours ago. Not to mention lost your luggage that they made you gate check and try to tell you it’s already at your final destination when you were in Milwaukee when the flight you missed was headed to St. Louis.
I’m here to tell you that in those instances, even people with little to no imagination can start dreaming up some pretty crude scenarios on how the night is going to end. You can see it in their eyes. You can read it in their body language. You can hear it in their voices when they get on their cell phones after the Captain has addressed the whole cabin. I imagined my whole world ending in a field of flames, set in the backdrop of windblown snow. People jumping out of the plane, on fire, as their skin melted right from the bones, fingers reaching for me as I stood in the middle of the carnage with Death shadowing over me.
So, with that said, I’d like to have an Evil Twin moment with American Airlines.
Dear American Airlines,
I put up with your attitude with smile, because normally I’d ice pick you and leave you bleeding out where you fell.
I put up with the extra two hour plane ride going out to Phoenix because I can understand wanting to hover over Tijuana for hookers and blow before you end your night.
I put up with you telling me you have to gate check my carry on suitcase because our flight was 30 minutes late getting into the gate. Most like the pilot was getting air head and lost track of time when he couldn’t keep it up.
And I put up with the creepy flight attendant hitting on me because I sat in the aisle seat and look like I might be a good time.
But. When you circle around an airport for 3 hours until you almost run out of fuel, try to land me on top of other aircraft landing on the runway, take me to an airport in the middle of nowhere frozen tundra land, take three more tries to get us landed, berate me at the gate counter, try to convince me this is all my fault, lose my luggage, give me dead baby chick fetuses in my nasty Mickey D’s and cause my best friend to microwave her panties in an attempt to feel clean again, I say enough is enough. May you rot in hell with your miserable customer service, your self-serving attitudes and piss poor flights and broken seats that have been screwed in one too many times.
I have a special ice pick for you in my own special version of hell I’m saving for you.
Sincerely,
Evil Twin
Do your characters travel and how well do they do in situations where they are forced into something that is completely out of character for them? How do they deal with stress? How do you as the writer and reader deal with stress, either when you’re writing your characters and they won’t cooperate or as a reader when a character does something completely unlike them?
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