tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891357660491030570.post8392840842693268239..comments2014-03-24T20:30:53.135-07:00Comments on Write That Novel: Research and the Writing ProcessBecky Martinezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14257623823523374841noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891357660491030570.post-7826958601880936542014-02-28T07:54:27.317-08:002014-02-28T07:54:27.317-08:00Thanks for your reply. That goes back to what I s...Thanks for your reply. That goes back to what I said below trying to do 60s language--so much of it is absorbed into our cannon of everyday language one would have to think really hard to know to look it up. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891357660491030570.post-20444311743258939052014-02-28T00:22:06.201-08:002014-02-28T00:22:06.201-08:00It's like your point about knowing which word ...It's like your point about knowing which word to look up - the 'unknown unknown' if you like. Some things are just in our culture and we 'know' them. For example, oranges in England at Christmas were a surprise for my editor. And quite right - where did they come from? We can't even grow them in the summer (the answer is they were imported from Seville and Tangiers and available all year round to wealthy Victorians.) It's a fascinating process. I'm loving it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891357660491030570.post-46903537831226853432014-02-25T13:10:14.549-08:002014-02-25T13:10:14.549-08:00Well, I sympathize with you there. My daughter re...Well, I sympathize with you there. My daughter recently asked me 'what were the slang words when you were growing up?' she referred to the '60s and, you know, I couldn't think of a dang word except maybe "cool," and that was actually from the late 50s. The trouble is, all those words have been absorbed into our language now. You're really going to need the etymological for that one!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891357660491030570.post-3769379281685553932014-02-25T07:29:20.751-08:002014-02-25T07:29:20.751-08:00My first novel was a late 1800s western while the ...My first novel was a late 1800s western while the current one is set in 1969, another kind of history. I lived through it of course and we had a language all our own but it is hard to remember. I'm mining other people's memoirs to see what they wrote at the time.Ceremonies of Distinction readingshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02396914837268000083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891357660491030570.post-80509413512172084722014-02-24T17:52:48.254-08:002014-02-24T17:52:48.254-08:00It's been a great visit, Rebecca. Thanks so m...It's been a great visit, Rebecca. Thanks so much for having me here today and I, too, enjoyed everyone's comments. It's reassuring to know other writers agree with me, too! Thanks again!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891357660491030570.post-58868943075898094982014-02-24T17:42:17.819-08:002014-02-24T17:42:17.819-08:00Andi, thanks for taking time to answer everyone an...Andi, thanks for taking time to answer everyone and these have been great comments. I totally agree with not just learning the language but also taking those trips to the museum to see first hand the clothes of the period or even simple things like household items. It helps you as a writer to see things better through the eyes of your characters. Rebecca Gracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05695799921876885230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891357660491030570.post-62666560433592257832014-02-24T12:10:37.444-08:002014-02-24T12:10:37.444-08:00I think most writers are weighed down under their ...I think most writers are weighed down under their TBR piles. If it isn't other author's books, it's research books or books to make us better writers, along with books we just bloody well want to read! But I'm glad to know I'm part of yours as you are of mine. Thanks!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891357660491030570.post-67366823851031912322014-02-24T11:49:34.782-08:002014-02-24T11:49:34.782-08:00Andi, I enjoyed your comments, especially about th...Andi, I enjoyed your comments, especially about the language of the day. That is my pet peeve as well. As you know I enjoyed Loveland a lot and have your other writings on the TBR stack. And is it ever a stack. Good to read something from you here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891357660491030570.post-4664851868804149232014-02-24T10:30:05.895-08:002014-02-24T10:30:05.895-08:00Arletta, I LOVE picking up or just looking at hist...Arletta, I LOVE picking up or just looking at historical artifacts and thinking about who might have owned them, what they were like, where they went with them. Having a sense of the past, a feel for it, is certainly a necessity to writing historical novels. Thanks so much for coming by.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891357660491030570.post-48770450178990042522014-02-24T10:24:55.558-08:002014-02-24T10:24:55.558-08:00Glad to find another person who seems to be strict...Glad to find another person who seems to be strict on the linguistic side, Ashantay. And thanks for your kind comment about my books!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891357660491030570.post-23752447528674860292014-02-24T10:21:51.360-08:002014-02-24T10:21:51.360-08:00Great post, Andi,
One of my favorite research tool...Great post, Andi,<br />One of my favorite research tools is to visit local museums to gather facts and artifacts: a visit to Hull House as a character did in 1899, a party dress, a lady's gun from the Cody Museum, table-top sewing machine, etc. In Bisbee,AZ I came across a story about the Josephine who inspired my first book and incorporated it into my story. Rich in material, these visits are fun, too. Thanks Andi...and the NYC Center for Fiction sounds wonderful! ArlettaArletta Dawdyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08838394408448357652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891357660491030570.post-72320686545581113962014-02-24T10:21:06.920-08:002014-02-24T10:21:06.920-08:00We'll have to compare dictionaries sometime, A...We'll have to compare dictionaries sometime, Alice. Thanks for your commentAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891357660491030570.post-44570715985408000632014-02-24T10:08:05.885-08:002014-02-24T10:08:05.885-08:00I enjoy reading historical stories and also dislik...I enjoy reading historical stories and also dislike linguistic anachromisms. I understand they can sneak into print, but when it happens, I make a point not to read that author again. (NOT a problem with your books.) Thanks for the insight into your writing and research process.Ashantayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16122891967983778466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891357660491030570.post-2193492903218862852014-02-24T09:42:05.402-08:002014-02-24T09:42:05.402-08:00Great post! As an historical writer, I agree with ...Great post! As an historical writer, I agree with everything here. I immerse myself in the research so that my stories are authentic to the time period I'm writing about. And I'm cognizant of the language of the time, too -- I have a lot of dictionaries surrounding me while I write :) Thanks for sharing this info, Andrea! Alice Tregohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07490361561870785904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891357660491030570.post-62096442508312412092014-02-24T07:33:13.291-08:002014-02-24T07:33:13.291-08:00Thanks, Marilyn. Let's hope my editor thinks ...Thanks, Marilyn. Let's hope my editor thinks I'm thorough too! ;-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891357660491030570.post-49223353439066175202014-02-24T07:31:58.040-08:002014-02-24T07:31:58.040-08:00What an interesting comment! I'm wondering wh...What an interesting comment! I'm wondering why you say, 'having an editor in THE U.S. is making you check your facts? Wouldn't a U.K. editor make you check your facts as well?? Thanks so much for stopping by.Andrea Downinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11553961600937196102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891357660491030570.post-60451472879061174212014-02-24T07:26:03.909-08:002014-02-24T07:26:03.909-08:00Andrea,
What a great interview. Thank you for your...Andrea,<br />What a great interview. Thank you for your insights into how you research. You are really thorough. Good luck with the new book.Marilyn Baronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09714909614698968955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5891357660491030570.post-29276992265395085852014-02-24T07:16:30.005-08:002014-02-24T07:16:30.005-08:00Hi, I really enjoyed this, especially as I also wr...Hi, I really enjoyed this, especially as I also write historical fiction for the Wild Rose Press; in my case, set in Victorian England. Having an editor in the U.S. is really making me check my facts! Totally agree it's about understanding the culture and language of the time - also about relating that to how we feel these days. Some of the things I've discovered about attitudes to children in those days would be quite unacceptable today. PS I love westerns - we just have nothing like that in England.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com