As we continue our look at various authors and their writing process, today we welcome Andrea Downing, author of the new book, Loveland. Andrea, you write
historical fiction. How do you combine your research with your writing
process? Did you fully research the time period first?
First let me say thanks so much for asking
me to join in this discussion, Rebecca. Like most writers, I’m always anxious to
get underway on my next project so I tend to view research with some
trepidation, though that’s not to say I don’t enjoy it. When writing Loveland, I first
had to get the voices of the people and their language correct, so I read a
load of memoirs of the period first.
However, once I had started the book, I was still doing research. I’m a member of the Center for Fiction here
in NYC so I went down there and made use of their many resources, getting the
historical background for the time period as to what was happening in the
country at large. I didn’t fit in many
historical events because they weren’t pertinent to the story, but it certainly
gave me a feel for the time. Finally, I
took a trip out to the Loveland area in Colorado so my descriptive passages and
place names could be correct. So, to
answer your question, no, I didn’t fully
research the time period first.
How do you come up with your characters? Do you develop
them first or do you come up with a plot first?
In Loveland, Lady Alex and Jesse
were fully formed before a single word was written. With my present 3 other books, the MO was
different for each one. I was on a ranch
in NV and a young cowboy said to me that he thought his name was perfect for a
western character in a book: Dylan Kane.
I was looking for something to write for The Wild Rose Press ‘Lawmen and
Outlaws’ series and Dylan just became the lawman and Lawless Love
evolved from there. For my forthcoming
story Dearest Darling for the ‘Love Letters’ series, I had the
plot idea first. And for the forthcoming
novel, Dances of the Heart, I have absolutely no idea where
that all came from—those people just walked in off the street and wrote it
themselves.
Do you fully outline your story before you start writing?
In Loveland, Lady Alex and Jesse
were fully formed before a single word was written. With my present 3 other books, the MO was
different for each one. I was on a ranch
in NV and a young cowboy said to me that he thought his name was perfect for a
western character in a book: Dylan Kane.
I was looking for something to write for The Wild Rose Press ‘Lawmen and
Outlaws’ series and Dylan just became the lawman and Lawless Love
evolved from there. For my forthcoming
story Dearest Darling for the ‘Love Letters’ series, I had the
plot idea first. And for the forthcoming
novel, Dances of the Heart, I have absolutely no idea where
that all came from—those people just walked in off the street and wrote it
themselves. Do you fully outline your story before you start writing?
No, though I’ll probably have to
outline my WIP as it’s fairly complicated.
I did once do an outline for a book which I wrote but that ms is still
‘under the bed.’
How do you keep your stories true to your time period?
To me, language is the absolute must. I work with the etymological dictionary and check as much as I can. Nothing takes me out of a story quicker than a glaring anachronism, especially a linguistic anachronism. To be describing a character from the 1800s and talking about the hero’s “abs” or the heroine ”accessorizing” an outfit just drives me up the wall. Of course, it is a matter of knowing what words to look up in the etymological dictionary and no one is perfect. That’s where having a great editor comes in!
What made you want to write historical fiction?
How do you keep your stories true to your time period?
To me, language is the absolute must. I work with the etymological dictionary and check as much as I can. Nothing takes me out of a story quicker than a glaring anachronism, especially a linguistic anachronism. To be describing a character from the 1800s and talking about the hero’s “abs” or the heroine ”accessorizing” an outfit just drives me up the wall. Of course, it is a matter of knowing what words to look up in the etymological dictionary and no one is perfect. That’s where having a great editor comes in!
What made you want to write historical fiction?
I grew up on a diet of television westerns
and I think that era has always fascinated me.
People had a whole different set of standards, some of them better than
today’s and, of course, some of them a lot worse—especially if you consider
their treatment of minorities and their total disregard for preserving the
world around them. But I like to think
of feisty women having to fight for what they want and men with a code of honor
they struggle to live by.
What advice would you give beginning writers who are interested in writing historical fiction?
Do your research so you know what you’re doing. Writing historical fiction is not just a matter of putting two characters in a different time setting; their actions and reactions, their language, their movement, their vision of the world at large---all of it would be different than today’s.
What advice would you give beginning writers who are interested in writing historical fiction?
Do your research so you know what you’re doing. Writing historical fiction is not just a matter of putting two characters in a different time setting; their actions and reactions, their language, their movement, their vision of the world at large---all of it would be different than today’s.
Thank you, Andrea, for giving us insight on how a historical author approaches the writing process when there is research necessary to make a story more realistic. What about you? How do you research for your time period books or for stories that require research?
