Reviewing My Observations

A new blog,

A new year,

A new opportunity to write, to learn and hopefully to make a difference.

I originally chose the title josobservations because I envisioned this blog to be about a wide variety of issues, not just about reading and writing (although those are my favorite subjects).

There are so many things I want to write about and so little time. I get frustrated. However, when trying to decide what to write about for this blog, I decided to review my past blogging history and see if I accomplished this. Some topics explored were:

Books: Tolstoy and the Purple Chair by Tina Sankovitch

The Extreme Novelist by Kathryn Johnson

The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

The Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande

The Great Detective by Zack Dundas

Last One Home by Debbie Macomber

Why We Write, edited by Meredith Maran

Unthink, rediscover your creative genius by erik wahl

Write Small, Stylize: A Slightly Obsessive History of Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style by Mark Garvey

Spunk & Bite: A writer’s guide to punchier, more engaging language & style by Arthur Plotnik

Perfect Bound by Katherine Pickett

What Price Eden by Dean Minnich

Christmas Carroll by Carroll County Writers

Author Tom Glenn

Writers have featured prominently in my blogs: John Steinbeck, Jeanne Adams, Tom Glenn, Dani Pettrey, Lucia St Clair Robson, Loree Lough, Doug Norton, D L Wilson, Julie Castillo, Lois Szymanski, Laura Bowers, Michele “Wojo” Wojciechowski, Mona Kirby, Fernando Quijano, B. Morrison, Jack Downs, Kerry Peresta, P J Wetzel, Betsy Riley, Alix Moore, Ally Machate and others.

 Other Topics included art featuring Jeffrey Kent, funny Christmas songs, and poetry in a blog about flying and my chapbook blog.

My writer friends and I enjoy sharing information about writing and promoting other writers. So, many of my blogs are about communication, such as writing prompts, how to get ideas, publicity and promotion, local, state and national writing groups, writing conferences, book festivals and challenges such as Nanowrimo.

Joelle Jarvis and Kerry Peresta at an
author event

Looking back, there is plenty of variety and there will be more in the future. I plan to discuss more books. Since I love to read and there are so many good books, this gives me an excuse to read even more. I think my blogs have improved and hopefully that trend will continue.

I want to write more about social issues, education, and interesting people and want to add more humor to my writing.

One of the main reasons I loved being a reporter was because of the variety. Now, this blog gives me the opportunity to write about books, events and interesting people. I find, hope you will find these interesting and enjoyable.

I welcome questions, comments and suggestions for future blogs. 

Gathering evidence, disposing of bodies

Last week’s meeting of the Carroll County Chapter of Maryland Writers’ Association was not for the faint of heart. There was plenty of gore as Jeanne Adams spoke on “How Do Mystery Writers Gather Evidence and Dispose of Bodies?”

With a light, yet respectful tone, she talked about what happens to bodies (remains) in different situations and how writers can use this knowledge to extend their plot timeline and make sure they are using correct information in their story.

Adams is a member of the Mystery Writers of America and had worked in the funeral home and cemetery business for 13 years. She is familiar with funeral procedures and how the personal feelings of family members can affect these procedures. Emotions are high. A minor disagreement can result in fisticuffs in the hallway, she said.

CCMWA President Joelle Jarvis
and Jeanne Adams hold attendion
getting poster at the Finksburg location
of the Carroll County Library

She discussed what agencies would be involved in different situations, such as murders, industrial accidents, natural disasters or terrorist attacks.

“There is always an investigation,” she said.

Writers need details. For forensics, police procedures, etc.You can seek information from people who work in the fields, such as forensic experts, crime scene technicians and morticians.

She once called on a former colleague to ask if she could use a certain type of bomb to start a fire and blow up a house. As first, there was silence and then her colleague said “Let me get back to you on that.”

He did return her call later after refreshing his memory of who she was and what she did – write books. He gave her some advice that changed what she was going to write.

Be careful of being misunderstood. She mentioned something she read recently - Don’t judge me by my web searches. I am a writer, not a serial killer.

She gave details about body disposal including embalming, funeral services, cremation and storage. Writers need to know these details to find ways to increase time for their investigation. Can there be delays in the regular procedures. How can someone steal a body or make a murder appear to be a natural death?

Does the killer bury the body deep in a forest or have it go through the morgue so he/she can collect life insurance or inherit property. There must be a signed death certificate giving the cause of death.

“Funerals are for the living, not the dead,” she said. Despite last requests, the body becomes the property of the next of kin and could be cremated within 48 hours.

If you are a mystery or suspense writer, check out her blog,https:// www.jeanneadams.com. If you can go to one of her presentations it is worth it. I learned a lot more than I needed, but it was eye-opening.

Do you know the difference between an autopsy and a necropsy? Do you know the difference between a coffin and a casket or what a “Full Post” is? Jeanne Adams gives the details and if you don’t have them correct in your story you will lose credibility.

Loree Lough, Smart Plotting

Author Loree Lough shared information recently on Smart Plotting (or how to avoid the dreaded sagging middle) at a writers’ meeting I attended recently.

She is a bestselling and award winning author of 105 books and more than 5,000.000 fiction and non-fiction books in circulation, as well as 72 short stories and more than 2,500 articles in print.

The main suggestion I found helpful was that to fill in the middle, you want to start the ending. Give readers hints as to what is coming. Since I am more of a pantser, (writing without a detailed outline), I sometimes do not have a clear picture of the ending so get hung up in the middle of my story. So I found her approach interesting.

Sophia Prunty had a chance to speak to author Loree Lough
at a recent writers' meeting.

Cliffhangers are important, she said, because you want at the end of each chapter to have the reader ask “And then what happens?”

She gave everyone copies of a blank Plot Timeline. You can add to it or change it as needed, she said. Using a similar timeline will help you keep track of important details about your hero and heroine, your theme, the season, setting and time period of your story. The Plot Timeline is useful for short stories, scripts and even non-fiction, as well as novels.

The timeline has spaces for chapter information and scenes within each chapter. Plus, she uses tags or symbols to indicate if a scene is a happy one, sad, spiritual, love or exciting. This gives you the opportunity to see if you are including enough of what you planned at a quick glance. As you are reviewing, you can make sure you did not leave something important out.

She gave an example of one of her earlier stories where she had introduced the people who had raised an orphaned girl, but forget to have them later at the girl’s wedding or explain why they weren’t there. So she had to rework the ending.

In Scene One, you want to introduce the character, the season and setting and start the action. You do not want to put everything into that first chapter.

“Jerk their chain. Pump it up,” she said. Readers want more than just a good story. You must have emotion in everything. They want to feel, to understand. Stories are a form of entertainment.

Think of your reader when you are writing, she said. Inform and entertain the reader. In a mystery, there should be sufficient clues that the mystery could be solved but also red herrings to throw people off the track.

If you have writer’s block, do some freestyle writing, Loree suggested. Prompts are good for this. A short period of just writing quickly will help you get back to your novel or short story. We often offer a writing prompt for our critique group and it amazing how many different approaches there are to the same prompt.

This is an early book by
Loree Lough who has had
more than 100 books published

Teen Sophia Prunty, who came to the meeting with her grandmother Betty Houck, was pleased with the presentation. “It was fun and very informative. She knew what she was talking about,” she said. “She used examples from her own stories and showed how the process worked for her.”

Sophia is writing a coming-of-age story about teenagers and discussed some of it with Loree, who asked questions and mentioned how the story could go in different directions and how she could give information about her characters by what they did or their reaction to events instead of just saying it.

“It was really good. She used the timeline as a skeleton. Filled that in first and then worked around it.” Sophia said. “She went to the second step in the planning process.”

Sophia said she is trying the National Novel Writing Month challenge (Nanowrimo) for the first time, but is behind because of school and other activities. “But at least I have some of the writing done, more than I would have if I had not tried to do this. I will continue to write more.”

Joelle Jarvis, who is president of the Carroll County Chapter Maryland Writers’ Association, is also participating in Nanowrimo, along with several of the other 17 writers at the meeting. For more information about this annual writing challenge check out www.nanowrimo.com.

Loree’s blog can be found at theloughdown@blogspot.com and she can be found on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Nanowrimo 2015

November is Nanowrimo

The goal of Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month) is to write 50,000 words in 30 days.

No Plot? No Problem!, A Low-stress, High-velocity Guide to Writing A Novel in 30 Days was written by Chris Baty, founder of Nanowrimo. He started the program in 1999 with 21 people. By 2004 it was up to 25,000 participants and in 2014 it increased to 325,142 participants.

“Writing for quantity rather than quality, I discovered, had the strange effect of bringing about both,” Baty wrote. “The roar of adrenaline drowned out the self-critical voices.”

What you need is a deadline, he said. Writing 50,000 words in 30 days means you write an average of 1,667 words a day. This gives you permission to make mistakes. First drafts are always rough.

Through Nanowrimo, he found four revelations:

     1. Enlightenment is overrated. Write sooner rather than later. You don’t have to wait until you are          older.

     2. Being busy is good for your writing.

     3. Plot happens. “Plot is simply the movement of your characters through time and over the course          of your book.”

     4. Writing for its own sake has surprising rewards.

He recommends keeping setting simple in the beginning. You can add more detail later. Also, don’t judge while you are writing, nor self-edit. Write all you can while you are excited. Don’t worry about getting it right…” he said. “That will come in the revisions…your goal is just to get it written.”

Another book that may help determined writers is Book in a Month, the fool-proof system for writing a novel in 30 days, by Victoria Lynn Schmidt, Ph.D.

Besides giving tips, he also provides worksheets for you to use as you, such as story tracker, Writing Time Tracker, At a Glance Outline Sheet and Character Story Sketch.

Like Baty, she stresses that “You cannot write and rewrite at the same time if you want to finish a book in 30 days.”

Participating in Nanowrimo is a great incentive to write that novel you’ve been dreaming about. It gives you a goal, a deadline and at the end of the month, you will have a rough draft of a novel. That is a huge accomplishment.

Even if you don’t write 50,000 words, you have the start of a book, plus you have practiced your writing skills which will help you in the future. After the 30 days, take a break. Let life get back to normal before you start editing.

For those who feel they need a little more time, but are serious about writing a novel, I recommend The Extreme Novelist: The No-Time-to-Write Method for Drafting Your Novel in 8 Weeks  By Kathryn Johnson. Check out my blog about this book under January 2015.

Besides becoming part of the Nanowrimo community, you can receive writing tips, a format to keep track of your accomplishments and encouragement from published writers. How much you want to participate is up to you.

For more information check out the website, www.nanowrimo.org.

The Immortal Detective, Sherlock Holmes

I recently enjoyed The Great Detective, The Amazing Rise and Immortal Life of Sherlock Holmes by journalist Zach Dundas.

He writes about the many incarnations of Sherlock Holmes through the years including as a mouse and pig. The great detective is as popular today as he was in the 1800s.

An avid Sherlockian, the author often mentions how so many people treat Sherlock Holmes as a real person, living in a real place.

Of course he, and we know that the stories were fiction, sprung from the mind of Arthur Conan Doyle and that there really wasn’t a 22B Baker Street. However, Dundas often treats the stories as being real as he searches for places mentioned in the mysteries. He definitely seemed to enjoy his research, often taking his family along with him.

Dundas writes about movies and actors who brought the characters to life. There were many more than the ones we are familiar with: Basil Rathbone, Jeremy Brett, Robert Downey Jr., Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s life was exciting and he often used the methods of observation he had  used by his consulting detective. He was a physician in the Boar War, he sailed on a whaling ship while in college, later was a ship’s physician to Africa, had a medical practice, pursued advanced degrees and he was a writer. 

Most people remember him as a writer, as the creator of the great detective Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick Watson. But he also wrote numerous non-fiction books which he felt were far better than his mysteries.

Sherlock says “my mind rebels at stagnation… I abhor the dull routine of existence,” so did Sir Arthur's mind. He had trouble sitting still.

Even early parodies only increased the popularity of the famous sleuth and his friend, assistant and chronicler Doctor John Watson.

Dundas write “The moral of A Study in Scarlet may be that sometimes we John Watsons of the world just need to let life’s brilliant chaos do its work.”

He writes of Sherlockian sub-cultures, and fan clubs. One of the earliest was started in Baltimore by Rhodes Scholar Christopher Morley. He wrote everything – novels, essays, and poems. By the time he was 36, he’d written more than 20 books. He worked for newspapers, started magazines, staged plays, edited anthologies and later became a radio personality.

He also started The Baker Street Irregulars in 1934. That organization continues today, along with many others. He gives references to other books on Sherlock Holmes, movies, illustrators and fan groups.

Holmes and Watson were fictional characters, but the stories captured the world’s imagination. Sir Arthur's stories are known for their great characters and settings. I had read most of the stories years ago. Today I find no problem with watching an old Sherlock Holmes movie, then moving on to “Elementary” or (my favorite) “Sherlock.”

“The mass media made this discovery in the 19^th century...,” Dundas quotes Judith Flanders. “The great discovery is that crime is fun. If it’s not happening to you, it can be wildly entertaining and it sells. Most importantly, it sells.”

The Boys in the Boat

Recently I read the One Maryland One Book for 2015, The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown. After a slightly slow start, I couldn’t put it down.

One Maryland One Book (OMOB) is a program of the Maryland Humanities Council, designed to encourage people to read and discuss the same book. I ‘ve read all of them except the first. I will list them near the end of this blog.

As the cover of The Boys in the Boat states, it’s about “Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.” This is interesting, but it’s about so much more.

These nine Americans are young college students, mostly poor working-class-boys living in the state of Washington during the depression. They stunned the world by beating the best of the world’s rowing teams.

At the beginning of the book, Brown went into the impact of the depression on the northwest and growing unrest around the world. This did help me understand what the boys and the universities were going through at that time. We also see what is happening in Germany, as Adolph Hitler arms his nation, gains control of the press and tries to wipe the Jewish population off the face of the earth.

Brown takes us through the boy’s live before and during the four years at the University of Washington. He also helps us get to know their coaches and the boat builder. all dedicated to doing their best.

He moves us back and forth between these people and events, from the boys freshman year to their victory, and a little beyond. He explores the adversity, determination, friendship, and developing trust of the boys that gradually leads to their working so well together that they could defeat the wealthier schools in the East and England, and eventually Hitler’s special team and boat.

Hitler planned to use the Olympics to portray Germany as a civilized, modern state. This illusion would give him more time to prepare his military and squelch rumors of what was really happening in his country.

This victory was a beacon of hope during the depression and Brown gives us plenty of detail to help us understand the training and dedication that led up to this event and what this victory meant to America.

Throughout the state there are many discussions and programs planned around this book at various libraries, high schools, colleges, museums, bookstores, and community and senior centers.

Brown also will be at the Baltimore Book Festival on Sunday, September 27 from 2:30 to 3:30 pm at the Literary Salon.

For more information about Brown or the book, check out http://www.mdhc.org/programs/one-maryland-one-book/ and the OMOB Facebook page.

OMOB 2008:  A Hope In the Unseen by Ron Suskind,

OMOB 2009:  Song Yet Sung by James McBride

OMOB 2010:  Outcasts United by Warren St. John

OMOB 2011:  The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

OMOB 2012:  The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway


OMOB 2013:   King Peggy: An American Secretary, Her Royal Destiny, and the Inspiring Story of How She Changed an African Village 

History and fiction combined

Award-winning author Lucia St. Clair Robson recommended that when you start writing a book, start with a pivotal event. “Think ‘the trouble started when…..”

Robson wrote her first historical novel, Ride the Wind, while working as a public librarian in Anne Arundel County, MD. It earned The Western Writers’ Golden Spur Award for best historical western and made the NY Times and Washington Post bestseller lists.

I heard her speak recently at a meeting of the Carroll County Chapter of the Maryland Writers' Association (MWA). She stressed the importance of thorough research and accuracy throughout her presentation.

You hope your sources are correct. You want to come to a greater truth – to create a reality. You try recreating their whole world, language, clothing, and what is happening around them. She likes to make a map of the area and use pushpins as her characters move.  Moving with them, seeing what they are seeing.

“We put words into dead people’s mouths,” she said, emphasizing the need for empathy, as well as accuracy.

 

Lucia St. Clair Robson signs a
book  for Lois Halley

Robson learned the importance of organizing your research material early in the process. She has developed a detailed system. Each of her projects has a letter. Each source has a number, allowing her to show where she found the information for each book.

However, everyone has to do what works for them, she said.

You may have everything planned and outlined and then a side character may take over or your research may reveal something you didn’t expect. You may be surprised by new information you find. She often is.

Ride the Wind is the story of Cynthia Ann Parker’s life after she was captured at 9 years old during a Comanche raid. 

She's also written eight more historical novels. They are:

Walk in my Soul  includes Cherokee Indians, a young Sam Houston and the Trail of Tears.

Light a Distant Fire - explores the Seminole and Miccosukee Indians as they take up arms against forced removal from their Florida homeland in the mid 19^th century.

Tokaido Road is set in feudal Japan.

Mary's Land is takes place on the Maryland frontier of 1638.

Fearless is about Sarah Bowman who joined Zachary Taylor's forces as a laundress in 1846 and went with them into Mexico. Standing almost six feet tall, she became a familiar figure, riding through the smoke and gunfire of battle to retrieve the wounded.

Ghost Warrior is about Lozen, sometimes called the Apache Joan of Arc, warrior and shaman. It is set in the last half of the nineteenth century.

Shadow Patriots, a Novel of the Revolution. In the American colonies 1776 is a time of critical confrontation on the battlefield and off as people must choose between their king and a new country.

Lona Queen and Lucia St. Clair Robson
talk about writing techniques

Last Train from Cuernavaca includes the 1913 Mexican society and rebel leader, Emiliano Zapata.

Her books also include romance, but she stresses that since love is a vital part of history, she always includes it in her stories, but it’s not the focus of the story.

Besides doing thorough research, Robson said most importantly, write the best story you can to please yourself.

Historical fiction varies widely and includes such books as:

Elizabeth Wein’s Code Name Verity, Kathryn Stockett’s The Help, Christina Baker Kline’s The Orphan  Train, David Laskin’s The Children’s Blizzard, Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, Anita Diamant’s The Red Tent, Ellis Peters's Cadfael Chronicles, Daniel James Brown’s The Boys in the Boat (2015 Maryland One Book), Melanie Benjamin’s The Aviator’s Wife and Mary Ann Shaffer’s The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

I’ve read most of those listed above and others. Historical figures and events become much more real in these books, even knowing that the book is fiction. The author’s imagination lets me think more closely about what people might have been feeling. The details help put me in that time and place.

Historical fiction uses setting as a backdrop to the story, surrounding characters with social conditions and period details. As seen in the short list above, they can focus on war, a specific place during a certain time-period, a murder mystery, special event or historical figure. But all show how society of the time and place affected the characters.

Historic fiction brings facts to life and Lucia St. Clair Robson does this well.

You can learn more about her at luciastclairrobson.com and more about her books at Amazon.com.