Build it, and they will come—Tricia McGill

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Sorry to misquote that phrase from Field of Dreams, but you get the idea. In this case, I am talking about ideas of course. In last month’s post, I talked about the creation of a book in the mind of an author, specifically this author. Right, so the idea is there, the basic plot line is worked out and the story has begun, and is now taking up eighty percent of my daily thoughts—and often night-time ones as well. This to the point when the irritable little chores of life that need doing begin to niggle and annoy. And just why do we need so much sleep? It really bugs me that sleep takes up so much of my time, and I admire and envy those who say they can get by on four hours a night.

All very well to start the building process, but without the ideas, all we are faced with is that empty page to fill. My guess is that every other author out there has as much going on in their brain each day as I do—always chock full of ideas for their stories, even while doing the mundane household chores. I created my next scene this morning while I walked my dogs. Not much else to think about while doing that (which isn’t a chore by the way) except what my characters are going to do in their upcoming scene.

Everything that gets built—from a house to a chicken run—must start with the initial plan or most things would end up a higgledy-piggledy mess. So it is with a book. You have the plot worked out—roughly, the characters beginning to tell you what they want to do or not do. Then you need a time-line to adhere to, especially in historicals or time-travels. It would be absolutely ridiculous to think it will be all right to put your characters in a situation where the time-line hasn’t been worked out, especially if some of your characters have appeared in a previous book. The background is where the crucial building begins—and therefore the research. You garner all the facts and figures, which might take almost as long to do as the writing itself, but is essential. You might end up with three pages of notes on a subject and only need one line from those notes to feature in your book.

One of my all-time favourite reviews was for my Mystic Mountains and read: “The author explains a great deal about the early history of Australia without being pedantic. The historical details are very nicely integrated into the story, and are never intrusive. The author clearly did a lot of research, and the historical accuracy adds to the richness of the tale. The author also points out how crucial New South Wales Governor Lachlan Macquarie was to the development of the democratic Australia that we know today.”

This review meant the world to me as it proved I did my job well, and was thorough in my building process without ramming facts at the reader. I felt as proud as any builder who stands back with a sigh when the project he/she has been working on is finished to their satisfaction.

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We woke up yesterday to what the weather channel called “bitter” cold. To you sir, mission accomplished. The north wind was sliding the icky white stuff under some of the glass entrances in our building. Why on earth would someone exit with -30 temperatures with wind chill.

As I stood looking out the window at the meteorological carnage I thought to myself “bitter is an interesting word.”

It is certain that I am not bitter with the announcer. It’s not his fault that he is disposed for simply reading off the prompter. Wow. I may have to come back to this paragraph and soften the wording. Wait. It seems I no longer want to do that. A little guilt is building. Oh, never mind. I’ll just direct my thoughts back to the word bitter.

Bitter foods have me confused. Brussels sprouts are legendary for their bitter taste. Baffling. I never noticed as I ate them smothered in cranberry sauce. Let’s turn our attention and pallets to one of the great, and apparently bitter, spices. Our friend ginger. Here I’m stopping the literary train. Ginger is our friend. The best cookie. Of course ginger snaps.

Hold this spot for me. I have to run our and buy a bag.

Okay, I’m back. crunch crunch

Now we put this ginger bashing to rest. The greatest meal in the world is obviously crispy ginger beef.  The the texture of the crunchy morsels is magnificent. The blending of the flavour mixture of the fried onions and ginger seasoning blend perfectly.

One wishes there was a beverage that fit the subject and the above mentioned meal.

Ahh. That'll do it.

With A Little Research - Janet Lane Walters #BWLPublishing #Reseaarch #MFRWAuthor #Serial

With a little Research

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How does one write a serial? Actually by chance. What it took was a little research and the memories of how a book report made in third grade combined. The book was Anna Karenina, a book my parents had on their shelves. I’d been reading since I was three or four and the children’s section at the library had been well-explored. In the book report, I speculated on ways she didn’t have to end tragically. The report wasn’t well accepted by my teacher but my father said if I could read and understand no book was out of bounds for me.

Back to the serial story. I have a love of ancient Egypt and have read many books on the history, the archeology, gods and customs. When reading about a time when the kingdom of the Two lands was in turmoil, I came across this passage about the number of men who wanted to become pharaoh. “A battle commander vied for the role. Mermeshu was his name.” This stuck with me for ages. Then I read some books on ESP and there were passages about people who could gain impressions from touching an artifact. Somehow this made me think of Anna Karenina. The ways of a writer’s mind are beyond understanding.

So I started the story with the daughter of an antiques dealer who had this ability to read other lives in the story. I’d only meant to write one novella and received a shock from my imagination. The story didn’t end. Suddenly there were other time periods creeping into my story and I kept finding new times and new places for my hero and heroine as well as other characters to appear in other life times. I also found the modern love story would somehow culminate in a happy ending, sort of like the ones I’d devised for Anna Karenina when I was young.

Now came a little bit of research. Now that isn’t the truth. What is there about research that keeps you looking for one more thing? While working on the segments of the serial, after Egypt, I went to China, Pompeii, early Britain, Switzerland, Japan and Peru. Each of the segments took place at a time of chaos in these lands when something new was occurring or some other event. By the time I finished I had a huge notebook full of facts and I’m sure I could have found more. The Egypt research also helped with another set of books, a trilogy focusing on an alternate Egypt.

So just a little research can go a long, long way.