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Becky Levine on Research & Finding your Story in the Details

I’ve mentioned before how much I love Becky Levine’s book, The Writing & Critique Group Survival Guide. If you just joined a group, if you’re thinking of starting your own group, or if you’re wondering why the writing group you’re in works (or doesn’t), you should read this book.
Becky Levine’s expertise stretches well beyond writing groups. She’s an editor and freelance writer who also writes picture books and young adult fiction. When she speaks, I pay attention. Not long ago, she posted on Facebook about one of her current projects, a historical fiction, and I asked if she’d be willing to stop by and talk about research for such a project. I’m thrilled and honored she said yes.
Welcome, Becky!
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When Christi asked me if I’d write a guest post about research in historical fiction, my first reaction was pretty much: “But I SO haven’t figured that out yet.” Then I remembered that a lot of my favorite posts are ones where I sort of think things through, so I checked with Christi if that would work. Luckily (?!), she said, “Yes.”

The first thing you should know is that I am a fan of historical fiction that does not cover the page with heavy layers of historical detail. I much prefer books that use as few words as possible and still manage to give me a strong sense of time and place. (For some examples, see Sherrie L. Smith’s Flygirl, Joyce Moyer Hostetter’s Healing Water, and Kathryn Fitzmaurice’s A Diamond in the Desert.) Basically, I want more story than history.

The second thing you should know is that writing a historical-fiction novel that stays light on details does not, as far as I can tell, cut down the amount of research you have to do. Obviously, you can’t know which details are the perfect ones until you’ve found them. Which, on some days, makes me sigh.

Because, honestly, I have a love-hate relationship with research.

I love falling in love with my world. My current WIP is set in 1910ish Chicago, with threads of Hull-House, a possible cameo from Jane Addams, and questions about carving out a life in America as the daughter of immigrants, especially an immigrant mother who lives in constant fear of that world out there. Let me tell you, Chicago at the turn of the last century was an amazing place. If something was happening in America, it was happening in Chicago. And, probably, it was happening at Hull-House. Change was thick in the air, and, yet, when I stand at a distance and look at 1912 and 2012, it seems to me that too little has changed.

Which Way?What’s the hate part? Okay, hate is probably too strong a word. Confusion? Lost-in-the-maze-itis? A strong feeling of Not-in-Kansas, anymore? Research can be a matter of looking for one specific fact that you’re sure you need to know. (Should I tell you how many pages I read trying to figure out whether, if you went to Hull-House, you knocked on the door or just walked in?) It can be a process of reading an entire book about one narrow subject. (Hey, I’ve got a great read for you on how electricity came to Chicago!) It can be trips to the library, browsing through their catalog, tapping your neighbor’s shoulder, and asking them if they can think up another keyword for your search on hospitals in 1910. (Forget cellphones: how did you get hold of an ambulance before there was at least a payphone on every corner?) There are days, truly, that the research is overwhelming.

So why do it? Because you never know what you’re going to find. (That’s the love and the hate part!) I’ve read several books on Hull-House and Jane Addams, and the details I can choose from are plenty. Hopefully I’ll use the right ones. They’re not, however, the most important thing I’ve learned from all that reading. What is? The feeling of the settlement house, the sense of women who really cared; who pushed their own limits to find a job where they could be useful; who made sacrifices so they could surround themselves with like-minded, intelligent, creative thinkers. The sense of a place where, if you did knock on that door, someone was going to open it, draw you inside, put you to work, and give you a home. A better one than the one you’d left behind.

So you turn pages, you browse the Internet, you read letters and diaries, you talk to people at museums. Gradually, piece-by-piece, you come to an understanding of the world you’re writing about. An understanding that I think, I hope, will seep into the pages of your story and create that feeling of a distinct, unique world. Without burying your reader in detail after detail after detail.

Yes, it’s important for me to know the facts about what happens at the Hull-House door. It’s even more important for me, and my reader, to feel the energy and excitement that was going on behind it. And research—whether you love it, hate it, or (most likely) both—is the path to it all.

Becky Levine is a writer living in California’s Santa Cruz mountains. She’s currently working on a young-adult historical novel, as well as her first picture book. Becky is the author of The Writing & Critique Group Survival Guide (Writer’s Digest, 2010) and works part-time as a grant writer for a local art and history museum.

*Blog photo credits: Dru Bloomfield on flickr.com and Cohdra on morgueFile.com

 

 

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Guest Post: Alvina Lopez on Writing Fiction

Please welcome my guest blogger today, Alvina Lopez.

The Golden Rule of Writing Fiction

People much smarter than I amEvery writer has their own set of rules and philosophies that governs their writing style and work ethic. For some writers, consistency in their schedule is key: these are the disciplined writers that work every day based on a very specific schedule. Other writers thrive on spontaneity, writing their work whenever they’re seized by erratic bursts of creativity. Most writers work under some hybrid of these two extremes, tempering methodical practice with sudden energetic jolts of inspiration. I tend to approach fiction and professional content with the same hybrid approach. I have a firm schedule that keeps my writing on track, but I’m also prone to write outside of my schedule when the mood seizes me.

There’s only one “rule” that governs my writing when I work on fiction. It’s a deceptively simple rule: write what you know. It’s a mantra that I repeat whenever I get too deep in the woods of the unknown, a gentle reminder that writing from a point of familiarity isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It might seem obvious, but your strongest writing occurs when you draw from personal experiences and well-researched material.

When I talk about my golden rule of “writing what you know”, I don’t mean that your writing can only be limited to the mundane experiences of your day to day life. There can only be so much fiction about the quiet life and domestic dramas. Writing from a point of familiarity shouldn’t limit your ability; rather, it should provide you with a compass that will help you navigate the wilderness of your imagination. In other words, you can write about outlandish settings and atypical characters, as long as they’re fleshed out in dimensions that you can fully understand.

Let me be more specific. Say that you’re trying to write a fantasy story set in another universe in the distant future. You can (and should) pour all your imagination into describing vibrant alien landscapes, exotic creatures and novel personalities.  But unless these fantastical settings are rooted in some sort of relatable conflict—whose nuances you can fully describe—your story will fall flat. If your tale covers some intergalactic war, be sure that you’re well versed in combat and armed conflicts either on a personal or a scholastic level if you want any of your story to ring true. If your fantasy story features an epic romance, even one between a fictional species, you had best be equipped to talk about the complications of love.

Essentially, to “write what you know” means that you must apply universal truths as you know them or have experienced them to produce fiction that will resonate with the reader. The more familiarity you have with a subject, the sharper and more descriptive your writing will be when you write about it. True, there are some writers out there who don’t need any point of reference in order to write a masterpiece. But for the rest of us, and particularly for those writers just starting out, this golden rule helps navigate the perilous waters of fiction.

Editor’s note: How does “write what you know” fuel your fiction?

Alvina Lopez is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: alvina.lopez @gmail.com.
* photo credit: mpclemens on flickr.com
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Stephen Penner: From Children’s Books to Paranormal

Both social networking and blogging benefit writers in a myriad of ways, creating connections and community. Since signing up and logging on, I’ve met authors and writers who live near or far, some who publish from one end of the spectrum to the other in terms of genre. My guest today, Stephen Penner, is a perfect example of such — the versatile author.

I met Stephen when we both worked on stories for the anthology, The Dead Shoe Society. Stephen coordinated deadlines and acted as the group cheerleader, kick-starting our own NaNoShoeMo in the month of October, with the goal of finishing that 10K short story in 31 days…or else (the “or else” being my threat to myself. Stephen is a very nice fellow). He also wrote a titillating line to his own great story:

Assistant District Attorney David Brunelle looked down and admired his shoes: three-inch, red leather stilettos.

I’m thrilled to host Stephen here to share on his road to publication — one that began with children’s literature and has since branched out into so much more.

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My Writing Journey

First of all, I’d like to thank Christi for giving me an opportunity to share a bit about my writing journey. She and I recently collaborated, each contributing a short story to THE DEAD SHOE SOCIETY anthology, seven very different and very excellent short stories dealing with the unexpected theme of death and shoes. As it turns out, THE DEAD SHOE SOCIETY and my story, “Lady Justice Wears Heels,” are perfectly illustrative of my writing journey and the one thing above all else that’s made it possible: the support and passion of other writers.

Several years ago I wrote a pair of paranormal mystery novels (SCOTTISH RITE and BLOOD RITE). I started the traditional agent querying process, and had a few requests to see the manuscript. But it never got past that stage and my life got busy in other areas. I set those manuscripts aside and figured I might get back to writing in a couple years.

Well, it turned out to be more like six or seven, and rather than an adult mystery, I had written and illustrated a children’s book. Times were starting to change in the publishing industry. Rather than seek an agent, I secured a publisher directly: Nimble Books, a small press in Michigan. They have now published four of my PROFESSOR BARRISTER’S DINOSAUR MYSTERIES books, and number five will be available soon.

This gave me some new motivation in my writing career. I joined Twitter and Facebook and began networking, mostly with other writers. One such writer, Michelle Anderson-Picarella, invited me to contribute to a short story anthology about the Seven Deadly Sins. I was happy to do it and wrote a decidedly un-kid friendly story about Wrath. What was great about that was the feedback I got from the other writers. Not only pointers on how to make it better, but a general acknowledgement that I could write a pretty good story.

Next came THE DEAD SHOE SOCIETY. Again, somehow I got invited to contribute. Again, it was an adult story. And again, I got encouragement and feedback from some very talented writers. Writers like Christi and Jonas Saul; Kate Cornwell and Mark Souza; Lori Gordon and E. Victoria Flynn. Very good writers. And we were going in together on a good book. Jonas and Kate knew a lot about the publishing industry and they were kind enough to share their insights.

In the meantime, I’d been watching the industry continue to change and thinking about those novels I’d written a few years back. In fact, I’d written two more novels between the children’s books (MARS STATION ALPHA and THE GODLING CLUB). So I had four finished novels just sitting on my hard drive. I wanted people to read my books. And I finally believed I was a good enough writer to put them out there and see if anyone wanted to read them.

Well, turns out they did. I’m no John Grisham or Stephen King, but people are buying and reading my books. As an author there’s no better feeling. I’ll be writing more now; my journey is just beginning.

For information on all my books, please visit http://stephenpenner.com

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Thanks, Stephen! Now to you, reader. Are you a writer who’s dedicated to one genre but thinking of another? Maybe you write young adult fiction but have an itch to publish a memoir? Or, you’ve penned a romance novel but are secretly drawn to the challenges of science-fiction. Could it be, you just toss up the story cards and wait to see where they land? Spill it.