I'm heading out to the query trenches again with a brand-new shiny project, my YA mystery Perfect Enemies. This time I have the good fortune to have critique partners to beta-read my work! I met these lovely ladies through a contest earlier this year.
One of my partners wrote a glowing letter that I treasure. (the other is still reading) She got it! She loves exactly what I was striving for - vivid characterization and the MC's YA voice. *hugs* My mystery is "perfectly eerie but fun." Yes!
By now, I should know that this business is so incredibly subjective. But it's still difficult to "subject" your darling to rejection. It's all too easy for self-doubt--about writing ability, the project, even your bio--to creep in.
So, here's a shout-out to CPs everywhere! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
P.S. in other news, I now have contracts for three adult mysteries through Annie's. Fun.
Mystery, history, art, music, and romance - the fiction of Elizabeth Penney
Showing posts with label Thursday's Children. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thursday's Children. Show all posts
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Thursday's Children - Inspired by Nature
I thought I'd focus this week on a positive source of inspiration: Nature. At least I find it so, because there are many majestic and breath-taking spots on this planet of ours. The photo above is Profile Lake in Franconia Notch, NH. Franconia Notch is right up there on my list with Acadia National Park and the white beaches and palms of the Gulf Coast.
I've been an avid nature fan all my life, ever since my mother kicked us outside to roam the woods and fields of rural Maine. We took occasional trips to the Maine coast and mountains, too. My artist's eye and poet's heart finds peace, joy, and nurture in the sights, scents, and sounds of the outdoors.
When I discovered that during the 1800s, traveling artists visited our nation's (and Europe's) famous beauty spots to work, I was inspired to write my Canvas & Corset series. In the White Mountains of NH, for example, we had many "grand" hotels that housed visitors seeking the peace and inspiration of nature and God--while providing three sumptuous meals per day, social events, and sporting excursions. Sigh. They knew how to take vacations during those days--all summer!
Several of these hotels remain. Here are two in the Whites: Mountainview Grand and Mount Washington Hotel
I love the contrast of a luxurious resort set down in wilderness. I also appreciate the philosophy of the late Victorian period that recognized the power of our great landscapes to inspire. This era gave birth to many conservation movements. The Sierra Club, the Appalachian Mountain Club, Acadia National Park, Yellowstone--all these were started by wealthy and/or cultured nature-lovers who recognized something worth preserving for future generations.
In my books, I hope to convey the beauty and power of these landscapes, providing the reader with a mini-vacation of their own. That's my particular challenge.
How about you? Are you inspired by nature?
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Thursday's Children: Inspired by History - Part 3 - Immersion
In earlier blogs I wrote about world-building and the research needed to create work that effectively evokes another place and time.
Inspired by a fellow Thursday's Children blogger, Kate Frost, I decided to talk about immersion. That is when you actually go to the location you are writing about. The first question is, what's left from the period of your story? If you're really lucky, there will be historic buildings to visit. Some cities and towns even have whole districts that remain mostly untouched. Sometimes you will have to content yourself with ruins or even just open space. But even that minimal experience can work for you. I will explain.
One of my first practice books in my 1890s series involved a old hotel that burned in 1922. Now the site is a ski-area parking lot. Fortunately the land surrounding is part of a state park, a gorgeous one.
My main character is an artist and this spot has long been a destination for them. To experience the site the way my character did meant I had to ignore the sound of traffic. When Emily stayed there, the only sounds were wind in the trees, birds, and horse-drawn carriages arriving. Oh, and the defunct train whistling its arrival.
I spent quite a bit of time wandering around the park during the same calendar month she was there--July. I experienced the weather: temperature, wind, the light, the slant and feel of the sun. The smell of the fresh mountain air. I listened to the birds and identified them. I also identified the weeds and other wild flowers growing along the lakeside path.
I stood in the parking lot where the hotel was and looked at the view. What did she see from her windows?
During this time, I kept a weather diary that recorded daily temps and events, special notes (the sunset was gold and pink). All these details helped me write tactile details into the story.
I urge you to walk in your character's steps. It really makes a difference in bringing a story to life, both as a writer and a reader.
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Inspired by a fellow Thursday's Children blogger, Kate Frost, I decided to talk about immersion. That is when you actually go to the location you are writing about. The first question is, what's left from the period of your story? If you're really lucky, there will be historic buildings to visit. Some cities and towns even have whole districts that remain mostly untouched. Sometimes you will have to content yourself with ruins or even just open space. But even that minimal experience can work for you. I will explain.
One of my first practice books in my 1890s series involved a old hotel that burned in 1922. Now the site is a ski-area parking lot. Fortunately the land surrounding is part of a state park, a gorgeous one.
My main character is an artist and this spot has long been a destination for them. To experience the site the way my character did meant I had to ignore the sound of traffic. When Emily stayed there, the only sounds were wind in the trees, birds, and horse-drawn carriages arriving. Oh, and the defunct train whistling its arrival.
I spent quite a bit of time wandering around the park during the same calendar month she was there--July. I experienced the weather: temperature, wind, the light, the slant and feel of the sun. The smell of the fresh mountain air. I listened to the birds and identified them. I also identified the weeds and other wild flowers growing along the lakeside path.
I stood in the parking lot where the hotel was and looked at the view. What did she see from her windows?
During this time, I kept a weather diary that recorded daily temps and events, special notes (the sunset was gold and pink). All these details helped me write tactile details into the story.
I urge you to walk in your character's steps. It really makes a difference in bringing a story to life, both as a writer and a reader.
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Thursday, April 4, 2013
Thursday's Chldren: Inspired by History: Part 2, Building the Iceberg
Last week I wrote about historical fiction as a form of world-building. I promised to share my research "secrets" so here we go.
First, I believe that if you want to write believable, textured historical fiction, you need to do a LOT of research. It's like an iceberg--only a little is visible but there's a whole lot behind it. Otherwise your story will feel flimsy, like the historical detail was grafted onto your plot.
Just as the best emotional scenes are written when you FEEL the emotion, the best historical settings are lived vicariously in your head. They are as vivid as if you got into a time machine and now you're there.
That said, where do you go for information? I set my fiction in real places, which makes it a little easier. If your town or city is fictional, use a real one as a template. First I'll share some general resources then I'll talk about the variety of information I used in one book. A general rule is that you need as much contemporary source material as you can find. This means contemporary to the period you are writing about.
An incredible site is the Library of Congress's American Memory. Here you will find photographs, books, playbills, songs, magazines, and oral histories. These are organized by topic and geography and can be searched across collections. Another awesome site is Cornell's Making of America. This has, for instance, back copies of Harper's Magazine, which has lengthy travelogue-type articles. Very useful if you want to find out how a setting appeared to eyewitnesses. If you're a Victorian-era buff, then The Victorian Web is a great index of rich source material. Project Gutenberg has usefully digitized thousands of many classic texts. You can search by location. In addition, local and college libraries may have collections of vintage books and other publications relating to your subject or location. Online catalogs make it easy to determine what they have before taking a trip.
I like to read novels written during the period (should there be any) as well as women's magazines because these inform the sensibilities, word choices, and attitudes of the day.
And don't forget the old standby, Roget's Thesaurus! I have several, with my oldest printed somewhere in the 1880s. It's falling apart but incredibly useful. If a word isn't in there--don't use it! The Oxford Dictionary is a good source to find out when a word was first used. Heavy reading in your period helps a lot with word choice. When I'm immersed in my setting, often the "right" dialogue and descriptive words come to me. A little spooky but it works.
I'll use Last Summer in Eden as my example. It is set in 1929, in a real town, Bethlehem, NH. I lived there, which made research much easier. Many of the old buildings were still around, including my house, which I used in the book. :)
Contemporary source materials included oral histories; a directory of the region and towns that included resident names and businesses; 1920s novels including F. Scott; reprints of Sears catalogs; tourism brochures and books for the White Mountains; local newspaper archives; the historical society's photographs and printed materials (brochures, events, menus); maps (the old insurance ones are super since they show buildings); old magazines; and my trusty thesaurus.
In addition, I referred to history books that covered the 1920s, the White Mountains and grand hotels, Prohibition, anti-Semitism, and bootlegging. I also researched arcane information like the history of the washing machine (they used to be gas powered!) online.
It takes a lot of work to build an iceberg. But as the writer, you get to practically live in the period you're writing about. It's a blast. Happy researching!
First, I believe that if you want to write believable, textured historical fiction, you need to do a LOT of research. It's like an iceberg--only a little is visible but there's a whole lot behind it. Otherwise your story will feel flimsy, like the historical detail was grafted onto your plot.
Just as the best emotional scenes are written when you FEEL the emotion, the best historical settings are lived vicariously in your head. They are as vivid as if you got into a time machine and now you're there.
That said, where do you go for information? I set my fiction in real places, which makes it a little easier. If your town or city is fictional, use a real one as a template. First I'll share some general resources then I'll talk about the variety of information I used in one book. A general rule is that you need as much contemporary source material as you can find. This means contemporary to the period you are writing about.
An incredible site is the Library of Congress's American Memory. Here you will find photographs, books, playbills, songs, magazines, and oral histories. These are organized by topic and geography and can be searched across collections. Another awesome site is Cornell's Making of America. This has, for instance, back copies of Harper's Magazine, which has lengthy travelogue-type articles. Very useful if you want to find out how a setting appeared to eyewitnesses. If you're a Victorian-era buff, then The Victorian Web is a great index of rich source material. Project Gutenberg has usefully digitized thousands of many classic texts. You can search by location. In addition, local and college libraries may have collections of vintage books and other publications relating to your subject or location. Online catalogs make it easy to determine what they have before taking a trip.
I like to read novels written during the period (should there be any) as well as women's magazines because these inform the sensibilities, word choices, and attitudes of the day.
And don't forget the old standby, Roget's Thesaurus! I have several, with my oldest printed somewhere in the 1880s. It's falling apart but incredibly useful. If a word isn't in there--don't use it! The Oxford Dictionary is a good source to find out when a word was first used. Heavy reading in your period helps a lot with word choice. When I'm immersed in my setting, often the "right" dialogue and descriptive words come to me. A little spooky but it works.
I'll use Last Summer in Eden as my example. It is set in 1929, in a real town, Bethlehem, NH. I lived there, which made research much easier. Many of the old buildings were still around, including my house, which I used in the book. :)
Contemporary source materials included oral histories; a directory of the region and towns that included resident names and businesses; 1920s novels including F. Scott; reprints of Sears catalogs; tourism brochures and books for the White Mountains; local newspaper archives; the historical society's photographs and printed materials (brochures, events, menus); maps (the old insurance ones are super since they show buildings); old magazines; and my trusty thesaurus.
In addition, I referred to history books that covered the 1920s, the White Mountains and grand hotels, Prohibition, anti-Semitism, and bootlegging. I also researched arcane information like the history of the washing machine (they used to be gas powered!) online.
It takes a lot of work to build an iceberg. But as the writer, you get to practically live in the period you're writing about. It's a blast. Happy researching!
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Thursday's Children: Inspired by History
I admire writers who create new worlds. What a lot of imagination it takes to develop a setting, civilizations, and technology or magic in addition to all the other components of a story.
I venture to say that the historical fiction writer does something similar. The only difference is that there are usually real artifacts and evidence of that other world--the past.
The truth is, we probably have it easier than people at any time in history. We eat better and have better medical care, for sure. Our houses are solid and climate-controlled. We have lots of gadgets that mean we don't have to draw water from a well and wash clothes by hand or worry about food spoiling. We don't have to go to bed at sunset because candles are handmade and you just burned the last one to a nub.
Why then is the past so fascinating to many of us? Besides the desire to wear sweeping gowns or wield a sword, I think many of us conceive the past as more interesting and romantic yet simpler, with better values. Probably people in other eras felt the same about times previous. Woody Allen's film, Midnight in Paris, makes this point. The MC travels back to the 1920s, which he believes is the perfect period for a writer. A woman he meets there, an artist's model, believes the best period for her is the Belle Epoque, the late 1800s.
I have two favorite periods. One is the 1880s-1910, the grand hotel era. Not only was it an intensely creative time for artists (art is one of my passions), the architecture was incredible (another passion). The wealthy in the so-called Gilded Age had the money, imagination, and taste to create houses and public buildings that were eclectically beautiful and often whimsical. They showed appreciation for Nature's majesty by creating elaborate gardens and many of our national parks. During that period, they believed in important connections between Art, Landscape, and the Divine. Vacations lasted all summer and were spent in lavish, sprawling hotels located in gorgeous spots.
My other favorite period is the 1920s. The Flapper--independent and bold, gorgeous in silk and satin and beads, dancing all night and riding in roadsters with chisel-chinned college men...The 1920s were a seminal time for women. They forged their own path and have never been more drop dead glamorous.
The challenge of writing historical fiction is to place yourself there. To feel, touch, see, and even smell it. To imagine landscapes and towns and cities as they once were. You must create characters true to their time and way of thinking. Research is key, and perhaps in another post, I'll share my secrets regarding digging out facets of the past that will enrich your writing.
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I venture to say that the historical fiction writer does something similar. The only difference is that there are usually real artifacts and evidence of that other world--the past.
The truth is, we probably have it easier than people at any time in history. We eat better and have better medical care, for sure. Our houses are solid and climate-controlled. We have lots of gadgets that mean we don't have to draw water from a well and wash clothes by hand or worry about food spoiling. We don't have to go to bed at sunset because candles are handmade and you just burned the last one to a nub.
Why then is the past so fascinating to many of us? Besides the desire to wear sweeping gowns or wield a sword, I think many of us conceive the past as more interesting and romantic yet simpler, with better values. Probably people in other eras felt the same about times previous. Woody Allen's film, Midnight in Paris, makes this point. The MC travels back to the 1920s, which he believes is the perfect period for a writer. A woman he meets there, an artist's model, believes the best period for her is the Belle Epoque, the late 1800s.
I have two favorite periods. One is the 1880s-1910, the grand hotel era. Not only was it an intensely creative time for artists (art is one of my passions), the architecture was incredible (another passion). The wealthy in the so-called Gilded Age had the money, imagination, and taste to create houses and public buildings that were eclectically beautiful and often whimsical. They showed appreciation for Nature's majesty by creating elaborate gardens and many of our national parks. During that period, they believed in important connections between Art, Landscape, and the Divine. Vacations lasted all summer and were spent in lavish, sprawling hotels located in gorgeous spots.
My other favorite period is the 1920s. The Flapper--independent and bold, gorgeous in silk and satin and beads, dancing all night and riding in roadsters with chisel-chinned college men...The 1920s were a seminal time for women. They forged their own path and have never been more drop dead glamorous.
The challenge of writing historical fiction is to place yourself there. To feel, touch, see, and even smell it. To imagine landscapes and towns and cities as they once were. You must create characters true to their time and way of thinking. Research is key, and perhaps in another post, I'll share my secrets regarding digging out facets of the past that will enrich your writing.
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