Kathryn Fitzmaurice’s A DIAMOND IN THE DESERT: Interview & Giveaway
Several months ago, I was lucky enough to get an ARC of Kathryn Fitzmaurice’s newest novel, A Diamond in the Desert. You know those moments, when someone sends you a copy of their book, and you know you want to read it, but you’re thinking…what if? What if you don’t like it? What if it […]
“Historical” Voice: Are We Letting it Go?
I’m writing my historical YA in first person, present tense. I made a conscious choice to do this, way back when, because I am not fond of the dense, slow voice and pacing that can be one of the markers of historical fiction. I hoped present tense might let me get to more immediacy in […]
Historical Fiction: The History Part
I think I’ve told the story here of how I started writing historical fiction. I was reading a nonfiction book about the 1913 Suffrage March in Washington, D.C. I read a scene about the march and knew, instantly, that I wanted to write a hero who was part of that scene. Of course, that turned […]
YA Historical Fiction Challenge: Flashbacks in Jacqueline Davies’ LOST (One Spoiler)
I have a thing about flashbacks. Actually, I have a thing about not liking them. Usually. In most cases. I blogged a bit here about making sure they have a function, that they aren’t simply a fallback safety-net when we can’t figure out a better way to weave stuff in. As a reader, though, I […]
Following a Research Path & Arriving at Story
I’m thinking, not even too optimistically, that I’m going to be ready to start the second draft of my WIP somewhere on or about 1/1/11. Sounds auspicious, right? I feel like I’ve got a handle on most of the characters–on what they want and, a bit, about how that’s going to weave into, conflict with […]
The YA Historical Fiction Challenge–I’m In!
Last week, Joyce Moyer Hostetter at The Three R’s—Reading, ‘Riting and Research posted about the 2011 YA Historical Fiction Challenge. Sab Horande at YA Bliss is hosting the challenge, and you can read all about it here and sign up to participate. Basically, the challenge is to read 5, 10, or 15 historical fiction novels […]
Monday Method: This is My Brain on Research
Thought I’d just give you a (not-too-scary) glimpse into my favorite research technique these days. And not just favorite because it involves a comfy couch and books. Remember, this is the research I’m doing to help figure out my characters, what they want (which means figuring out what is possible, probable, and/or dream-worthy in 1911), […]
Thoughts on History and Historical Fiction
So many times, as I sit down with a history book these days, one I’m reading for WIP research, I get this mixed feeling of… Wow, things were really different back then. Wow, has anything changed? Okay, maybe this is because I’m reading a lot about things like women’s roles in society, working women getting […]
Two Steps Forward, One Step Somewhere
Here’s what I’ve decided it’s like to write historical fiction. You go along, sort of researching and writing together, at slightly more than a snail’s pace–or so it feels. So you put the researching aside for a while, because you want to just GO for that flow-of-words feeling, even when you know the flow is […]
Historical Fiction: Keeping the Background from Taking Over the Foreground
I just thought of two historical novels I need to go back and reread, and they’re both by Rita Mae Brown. The first is High Hearts–a Civil War Novel, and the second is Dolley–novel about Dolley Madison. I read both these books while I was living in Charlottesville, Virginia, and both–especially High Hearts–blew me away. […]
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