Just Ginger

Historical writers tend to love history and are often lured off the research track by fascinating historical tidbits. Frequently, the lure isn’t germane to the story being written. Which is why I find writing some type of outline or synopsis a great help once I’ve gained a feel for the historical period. This does not have to be a polished, submission level outline/synopsis. This is for your eyes only and can be as sloppy as you want. Probably the most important first step is establishing a time line. Why read about what happened in 1858 when your story takes place in 1812? Listing the basic elements of your story is another important step. In my November 19, 2019 blog I write about the essential story ingredients such as character, motivation, conflict, goals, etc. You can be as thorough here as you want. This is for your eyes only and can be as vague or detailed as you like. It’s easy to expand a word with a question mark into a sentence which eventually becomes a paragraph and the...

Inspiration for a historical story can be triggered by a multitude of sources. Be it a sentence in a book, a personal experience, a dream, a podcast–the list is endless for source material. Today’s writer of historical can tap into a wide variety of autobiographies and biographies, historical nonfiction, and print or online magazines. Period films, movies, and documentaries are another favorite source. You never know what nugget of information will become the trigger for a story. If you enjoy history, inspiration never runs dry. The idea for my first published book, Stealing Destiny (aka Tennessee Waltz ) came from an item I ran across while reading about the Civil War. A Yankee officer had commandeered a horse from a woman in Virginia. After the war he wrote to her that the horse survived the war and was doing well. I thought the woman in Virginia, one of the most fought over states in the war, needed that horse more than he did. I decided to send my heroine after her horse. With a t...

“Never write a historical novel as your first book.” I read this piece of writing advice in my first how-to-write fiction book. Youth and an undergraduate degree in history made me discard the advice. I spent the next two years writing a 900 page tome about Roman Britain set in 60 A. D. Gladiator it was not.  By the time, I wrote “The End,” the advice made sense. A novice historical romance writer is giving herself two difficult new skills to master: the craft of writing and the creation of a different time period.  The beginning writer of a contemporary story worries only about learning the craft of writing, because she can draw upon a store of shared contemporary images when she creates her setting. For example, the word “McDonald’s” puts the reader in a fast-food restaurant replete with smells.  Life isn’t as simple for the writer of historical novels. You don’t have this store of contemporary images and if your story is set before 1827, you can’t use the w...

Flashbacks are events that happened before your primary story began. You insert them in the scene in such a way as to flesh out the story, being careful not to slow the pace of the story, lose the reader’s interest, or create confusion.  I recently read a novel set in World War II Paris. The book chronicles the lives of two women during the Nazi occupation of Paris. It is told almost completely in flashbacks. I guess they’re flashbacks since there’s no real timeline. The story begins in 1943, but the subsequent chapters bounce between 1939 and 1945 (when the Allies free Paris from Nazi rule). Not only does the story bounce around in time, it bounces between the two heroines.  Does this type of story telling slow the flow of the story? Does it lose reader’s interest? Does it create confusion. Honestly, I’d have to say yes to all three.  Still, many readers enjoyed the story and it has received good reviews. Some readers didn’t stick with it and voiced their dislike o...

Sometimes, we don’t know the exact word we want so we look it up online. While online dictionaries are a great resource, I’ve noticed they sometimes offer the briefest of definitions. Not so long ago, I was reading a book that used the word recognizance when the writer meant reconnaissance. I’m not sure if the writer didn’t know the meaning of the two words, or if an editor changed it and the author didn’t notice the change, or if they were both unaware.   Recognizance and reconnaissance both stem from a French word “reconoissance" which means recognition, but they have completely different meanings. Recognizance has to do with the court system. When someone is arrested, a judge may are may not set a bond. If no bond is set, the person is released on his or her own recognizance. Basically, the judge has decided you are trustworthy and will appear in court when called. There will be a penalty if you don't keep your word and appear in court, but the judge believes you will. This...

I was listening to National Public Radio (NPR) one day when a man began recounting an incident in his life that led to a group of teens beating him up. I didn’t listen to the complete story because I couldn’t get past the beginning. Here’s how he set it up: It was midnight.  It was Brooklyn, NY  He was walking home alone.  He was talking on the phone with his friend.  He was wearing earbuds.  He was in a deserted industrial area. There were so many things wrong with this story. Rather than think, poor guy, he got beat up. I thought what were you thinking? Of course, you got beat up. Let’s step back from his story for a moment . I worked on ten Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) handbooks–writing, editing, and proofreading chapters. One topic the FAA hit again and again was situational awareness. What is situational awareness, you ask? Pretty much what you think it is: being aware of the situation around you. Being aware of what is happening...

In the writing world you’re either a “pantser” or a “plotter.” Pantser derives from the well-known idiom “to fly by the seat of your pants.” It dates from the early days of aviation when pilots had little to guide them during a flight. Aviation was a new frontier, pilots didn’t have any instruments or even good weather reports to rely on when they flew. Plotters are as the name implies. Writers who figure out the plot in advance of writing the story. Plotters favor spreadsheets, story grids, and  in depth character charts. Pop psychology says we have two hemispheres in our brain. The left hemisphere is the rational or logical side, while the right hemisphere is the creative or offbeat side. Plotter side versus Pantser side. The writers who outline and plot every scene in their novel (left hemisphere writers) and those who go blindly forth and just write, molding a story as they go (right hemisphere writers). Plotter, Pantser, or Hybrid Obviously, the fact that I have steps ...