Ghosts are my passageway to history by Julie Howard

By definition, ghosts are from the past. And the opportunity to write about history is why I enjoy ghosts so much. Those specters don’t want to be dead in my era; they’d much rather be alive in theirs. I happily follow them to the past every chance I get.

With three paranormal books published, I’ve learned a few things about dipping into the past. Setting characters in historical times brings a few sometimes-complicated twists to a plot. Here are the top five lessons I’ve learned about chasing ghosts into the past:

 

1.     Get the history right.

In House of Seven Spirits, my ghost-chasing character, Jillian, travels to Australia’s Outback to find out what happened to a family of seven who disappeared without a trace in the 19^th century. I had to do quite a bit of research on everything from how roads were made at this time to what materials were used to build houses in the remote Outback. A medical emergency plays a key role in one scene from the past and I found myself fascinated with old cures and herbs. The better the historical accuracy, the more real the story will feel. If a reader catches an error, it ruins that suspension of disbelief necessary for fiction.

2.     Consider how language has changed.

In my most recent release, Spirit in Time, 21^st century woman Jillian ends up time traveling back to 19^th century California. She uses words like “okay” and  expressions such as “I blew it,” which would have been puzzling to people of this era. Nearly every chapter, I found myself researching the etymology of certain words to make sure they were appropriate. Even if a word existed in a previous time doesn’t mean it was used in a similar manner.

3.     Tread gently upon real historical characters.

One of the enjoyable parts of reading historical fiction is stumbling upon real (famous) people. An avid fan of 19^thcentury California history, I wanted Jillian to meet some of the real people of the time. The most notable example is the mansion she lives in briefly, built by the very real E.B. Crocker, who was a well-known abolitionist lawyer and California Supreme Court Justice. She meets E.B. Crocker, but his youngest daughter, Amy, is the one with a starring role in the book as a young girl. The real Amy, who would change her name to Aimee, became a wealthy heiress and flamboyant character of the Gilded Age. She also wrote a memoir claiming she saw ghosts in the mansion – perfect for my ghost-hunting fictional character. I was careful, though, not to take too many liberties with these historical characters. They are best showcased as the people they were.

4.     Build a world that doesn’t exist anymore.

In my mind, I start with a blank canvas and then paint in the setting piece by piece. I start with the terrain and then add buildings as they would have appeared at the time. Drop back more than a hundred years and so much is different, it’s easier to start over this way. Our modern world and towns are built with automobiles in mind, telephone poles and cell towers dot the landscape, and suburbs sprawl out from city centers. While trains enabled the transport of many goods, people were unlikely to have eaten produce out of season, for instance, except among the wealthier set. Clothing and hair styles, too, are an obvious way to create a bygone world.

5.     Have fun.

Time travel always conjures up the clashes of centuries. In Spirited Quest, a ghost watches more than a century pass by in a hotel she inhabits. The Lady of the Deerbourne, as she is called, isn’t a bit judgmental though. Instead, she finds the shifting of time and fashions amusing and inevitable. As a writer, I have fun jumping into different eras with my characters, and hope readers have fun with the stories too.

Here’s a bit about Spirit in Time:

 

Time travel isn't real. It can't be real. But ghost-blogger Jillian Winchester discovers otherwise when an enigmatic spirit conveys her to 1872 to do his bidding. 

Jillian finds herself employed as a maid in Sacramento, in an elegant mansion with a famous painting. The artwork reveals another mystery: Why does the man within look exactly like her boyfriend, Mason Chandler? 

Morality and sin live side by side, not only in the picture, but also within her. As her transgressions escalate, she races the clock to find the man in the painting, and hunt down a spirit with a disconcerting gift. 

But will time be her friend or foe?

 

        And a peek inside Spirit in Time:

 

“Are you a ghost?” A young girl stood where the guard had been only minutes before. She spoke matter- of-factly, her dark eyes alive with curiosity. 

The house was still whole, she was alive, and the world hadn’t ended. Jillian scanned the room for damage, then blinked. This must be a dream. The long dining table—bare just moments ago—was now laid for a meal. Glasses sat upright, forks and spoons lined up in perfect order, and a tall flower arrangement appeared unscathed. A crystal chandelier above the table remained perfectly still. 

The guard and Asian man were nowhere in sight. 

The girl, dressed neatly in a calf-length white pinafore embellished with pink ribbons, didn’t appear rattled by the cataclysmic jolt. 

“What happened?” Jillian asked, still crouched on her knees. “Are you okay?” 

“You don’t belong here. Mother will be angry.” 

Even though the floor had ceased to shake, the roiling continued in her head. Might this very real looking girl be a spirit? Most apparitions wavered in some manner, their appearances paler and less there than the tangible world around them. This child appeared solid in every way, from the tips of her shiny chestnut hair to the toes of her lace-up black shoes. 

 

 

 

You Can Use Real Disaster to Create a Disaster in Your Story; or, My Neighborhood has Literally Gone to Hell by Elizabeth Alsobrooks

I guess we all know about disasters, whether on the personal, community, national or global level. They certainly make enough movies about them, even having a category for them: disaster movies. Writers need to use disasters of some sort, some degree, some length, with various outcomes and reactions, in their stories. This can be the point where the character(s) reaches that no way out, this can’t possibly end well moment.

There have been so many global disasters this year, from the pandemic, to looting and burning of entire city blocks, and more localized disasters like the one I’m dealing with right here at home, a wildfire that continues to burn and endanger the lives of wildlife and community after community in various ready, set, go stages of evacuation, with an ever-growing number of personnel from multiple states engaged in trying to get it back under control for over two weeks of what they predict will be four before it’s contained.

An actual disaster, even an internal one, can be more than a single plot point. It may be an underlying  theme. It can certainly be used to show the moral fiber of characters, by how they react to it, what they think about it, or the way it affects themselves or others.      

   

Though useful this can be tricky, too. Writing to a broad audience, most authors do not want to become embroiled in politics or controversial current events. That does not mean you can completely ignore a major event taking place on a global or national scale, and especially not within a community or family unit.

Write your Way out of the Corner by L. A. Kelley

You’re cruising along nicely, enjoying the literary scenery; characters jell, plots flow smoothly, descriptions create the mood of the proper time and place. Suddenly, and for no apparent reason, you swerve. Ideas fall part and that engrossing manuscript that flowed along so neatly is now one hot mess. Don’t throw out your fictional baby with the literary bathwater. You’ve only reached a snag on the road to publication. Sometimes coming to a dead stop is necessary to get thoughts in order. In general, weakness occur in two places; character or plot issues. One method to get back on track is called the W5. It asks basic questions about character and plot and can help guide your thoughts.

Character Issues

Who

If you want to round out your hero or heroine (H/H) consider how they interact with others. Who is directly affected by their actions? Only the H/H? What about friends? Family Members? Are they really important to the story or just window dressing? If they don’t advance the plot, what good are they? Too many clutter a plot and slow down the action. Secondary characters should have a specific purpose (so should the H/H.) If Joe the Coffee Shop guy’s only function is to give the heroine her cup of coffee in the morning than delete Joe the Coffee Shop guy and have her brew her own.

Are you clear on the strengths and weakness of the H/H? Every human has both, and both should appear somewhere in the story or else you have a caricature and not a person. How do these strength or weaknesses help the H/H agenda and move the plot along. How do they hinder? Who makes the decisions in the story? If one character is always leading, then the others are probably too weak and ineffective. 

Where?

Where is the most tension between the main characters? Is it a personality conflict or conflict of ideals?  How can they be resolved? Should one convince the other or is a combination of both the best pathway to success. Can the H/H get help from others? Do these characters have an alternate function or are they only there to feed information to the H/H? If so, they may not be important and the information they distribute can be found in another way.

Plot Issues

What?

What is both the best and worst case scenario for this story? Think of at least three steps necessary for your H/H to achieve. What is the least and most important one of them? In most stories, the objective is obvious, but if your plot feels a little lackluster consider one alternative or a hidden agenda. This is the way people act in real life. They aren’t ruled by single motives alone.

When?

Is the action well-paced? Will a reader feel rising tension beginning with the first chapter and have a satisfying letdown at the end? Novels don’t have only one climatic point, but a series of smaller ones, some more important than others. They lead up to the denouement or final resolution. Does the H/H take action at the right time? A writer can’t keep a reader on an emotional high throughout an entire novel. There has to be some downtime, too, to flesh out the story. Lastly, when will the H/H know they succeeded? Will it be at the denouement or shortly thereafter with a final resolution?

Why?

Have you considered the why of this story? Why must it be told? (“To score a publishing contract” is not the right answer.) The story should be told because it’s enjoyable or enlightening. Have you conveyed to the reader sympathy for the characters so that they care about the resolution? What about the characters? Are the reasons for their actions clear? Are obstacles placed in the path of the story’s resolution or are you merely throwing barriers in the H/H’s way to make the story longer. Each barrier should have a logical reason behind it and a different resolution.

Now you’re back on track. Put on that writing cap and get to work. The story awaits.

L. A. Kelley writes science fiction and fantasy adventures with humor, romance, and a touch of sass. She kills off characters with abandon if they don't mind.

Write What You Know

Write What You Know or Some Reasonable Facsimile 

by Sophia Kimble

In honor of this being November 1st....the first day of NaNoWriMo (National November Writing Month) where you write a novel in a month, I thought I'd give a little tip to help you through the month.

“Write what you know.”

You’ve probably heard that before if you’ve read anything on how to write a novel. I know I had when I opened my first document and stared at the blank page before me, pondering what I would write. But quite frankly, I like to think I know a lot of stuff, so just what was I going to write about?

I’ve always had a love of the paranormal, both in reading and real life. I soak up those shows on the supernatural like a dehydrated woman with a glass of water in the Saharan Desert. I pour through novels with any kind of spookiness going on, so I knew I wanted to write about something otherworldly, but what?

While the majority of people have not experienced anything of the supernatural variety, they have seen, read, or heard of stories that happened to someone. Even if you haven’t personally experienced anything, somewhere in your subconscious is an experience, either real or imagined, you can tweak, change, and alter to make your own.

Have you ever been scared because you heard strange clunks and bangs upstairs that had no apparent source? Like the time it sounded like my cat was jumping from the counter onto the hardwood, except she was curled up next to me. Was there a logical explanation for the strange noises? Probably. It was only one degree outside, so my rational brain tells my spooky side it’s the difference in the heat of the house and the cold outside causing the house to make these noises, but…

The prone to Stephen King-ism side of me, was already turning it into a scene in my next book.

I think when all those people tell a writer to “write what you know” they don’t necessarily mean write things exactly as you know them. Draw on your experiences:

*How you felt when you heard that inexplicable noise. (Frozen in place, gaze glued to the ceiling, listening intently for any other strange noises, checking to see if the cat is concerned.)

*What your body did when you watched that slasher movie when the soundtrack ratcheted up to DEFCON one as the stupid girl just had to look under the bed and you knew something bad would happen. (Pulled the blanket up to your chin, knees drawn up to your chest, heart pounding.)

* What happened after you read that Stephen King novel. (Avoided stepping on the drain in the shower for months, looked into storm drains while walking down the street, and developed an irrational fear of clowns.)

*How you reacted when you were alone in the house and felt someone watching you. (Goosebumps raced across your skin, your throat tightened and you imagined ghost-like fingers wrapped around your neck, squeezing if you turned around.)

You get the idea. Take all the experiences and remember how you felt, what your body did physically, how it affected you long term. Weave these traits and reactions into your characters. This will make them fully realized, three dimensional characters that readers can relate to because they’ve also either personally experienced something paranormal/strange or have done it via proxy (movies, books, ect.) and they’ll remember what they felt.

Cheat them of this whole experience through your characters and they won’t be very forgiving.

If you write otherworldly novels, be sure to give the reader WHAT THEY KNOW and they’ll love you for it, and keep coming back for more.

But remember, whatever you do, write something...it can always be tweaked, added to, changed later. 

Happy NaNoWriMo

Once more into the fray, dear friends... NaNoWriMo tips!

It's once again that time of year - when writers tear their hair out and twist their guts into knots over the challenge that is NaNoWriMo... but first, a refresher for those poor souls who don't know what this is!

National Novel Writing Month is exactly that - a writing challenge for anyone who wishes to take it up. All you need to do is write 50,000 words between November 1st and November 31st and you win... well, nothing but bragging rights but it's a wonderful way to jumpstart that novel you've been wanting to write. It's an exercise that thousands have joined in over the years and has its own website where you can meet others in your area and be inspired and encouraged to Get It Done.

I've done this challenge and won twice - this year I'll be passing because it doesn't fall into the right time for my writing. I've got one book in edits (Tales from the Edge, book 3!) and waiting to hear on another big project and can't dedicate myself to a whole new book but I do encourage those of you who can to give it a try.

Why? Because it's a great way to teach yourself to get that Butt In Chair and get writing! 50K words is approximately 1613 words a day... ah, but don't get all smug thinking that it's an easy goal to meet! Let me toss some issues out there before you settle down for what you think is going to be an easy run...

First that's SEVEN days a week. No days off for church, work, shopping... did you notice that Thanksgiving is in there? AND Black Friday? Hmm... so you're still going to slam down 1600 words a day while stuffing that turkey or waiting in line for that great sale?

Suddenly that 1600 words seems a bit more daunting, yes?

The worst thing about NaNoWriMo, in my opinion, is that there's a major holiday smack dab in the middle of it - and if you don't plan for it this speed bump can send you right off the road and into the bushes no matter how much planning you do to complete your novel.

First - OVERWRITE every day! Don't settle for just 1613 words and walk away from your keyboard feeling smug about it. Write, overwrite, keep writing until you don't have any time left. Don't forget this is a first draft and the important thing is to get the words down on the page - there's no restriction here on good grammar, spelling or anything else other than what you make it. Get ahead of the count so that when you DO have those bad days where you end up spending the entire day working on fixing the oven so you can make that pumpkin pie or waiting at the airport for a late flight or trying to grab that great deal for Black Friday and not end up floundering in your wordcount. Get ahead at the start and you'll be prepared for those stumbles that are going to happen no matter what you do.

Don't fret over the phrasing too much - as I said above, this is a First Draft and IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE LOUSY WRITING. Any author who claims their first draft is ready for market is a wee bit loopy to start with. The important thing about NaNoWriMo is for you to get the words down on the page, not prepare it for submission. It's fine for you to go back over the previous day's work and give it a bit of a polish but don't get obsessed with making it perfect out of the gate - that's what December and all of 2015 is for. Get your fingers on the keyboard and get writing and don't fret too much about the spelling or the grammar. It can all be fixed later on.

The only thing you have to worry about and I've gotten trapped in this, is bad planning. Don't wait until after you start the book to have some idea of where your plot is going or what your ending is. You may not know all the bits and details about what happens but know where your characters are going to end up and what's going to happen at the end of the book. Free range writing is fine on your own but when you're committed to 50K words within a single month you don't have time to have your story wander off track.

Finally, and this is important - on November 1st pat yourself on the back no matter whether you've finished your work or not and walk away for a week or two to recover. You can go back and either finish your book or start editing it later on - give yourself that break to recharge the batteries and get a fresh look at your work.

If you intend to pursue publication you need to get that bit of space to go back to your work with a keen eye toward editing - and don't even think about sending it out to agents and publishers until 2015 and months after finishing (and hopefully winning) NaNoWriMo. Your work needs to breathe and you need to refresh your mind and body before beginning the next stage of editing and rewriting to prepare it for submission. Please give yourself that break to recharge your writing batteries and you'll find your work benefits from it.

Me? I've sold two NaNoWriMo books. Blood of the Pride and Blaze of Glory were NaNo novels that I sold after months of rewriting and editing so yes, it can be done. But even if you never sell your book NaNoWriMo is an excellent mental exercise to get your writing skills honed and test your endurance and organizational skills. If you're serious about writing I encourage you to consider this great way to join a huge writing community and have a good time doing it!

And plan for that turkey coma!

;)

I Can't Tell What You're Thinking

I read a book not too long ago that absolutely did not work for me. The reasons were many and varied, but one of them was the fact the book was written in third person. Only, in some parts, you sure could have fooled me.

Example:

Her scent filled his nose, made his lungs ache with every inhale. He shouldn't be here. I knew better than to come. Yet here I am. Crossing the room, he paused beside her chair.

I wouldn't have had an issue if the above snippet was presented this way:

Her scent filled his nose, made his lungs ache with every inhale. He shouldn't be here. I knew better than to come. Yet here I am. Crossing the room, he paused beside her chair.

By placing the thoughts in italics, you can plainly see where our hero stops acting and starts thinking. We've been conditioned to accept that is the norm for thought delivery. We see italics, and we know we're dealing with a series of thoughts.

Without them, you have a jumble of third and first that makes me grind my teeth. I realize it's possible this could be a house style issue, which would be sad, but it doesn't change the fact I'd never seen it before reading that book. I was jarred from the story the first time it happened, and I don't think I ever recovered.

While I've seen the argument that an informed reader should hit those patches and keep sailing, knowing what they are, that's not my issue exactly. I knew what they were, but those sections ripped me from the story and became such an annoyance I almost actively searched for the next slip up.

(Which means the author had lost me. My attention was not on the story.)

As writers, that's the opposite of our job. We're supposed to become invisible. Readers are supposed to enjoy every word on the page without a hitch. When you make someone stop and think, the spell your words had cast is broken. It reminds me of the Wizard of Oz in the sense readers should "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain".

How about y'all? Any recent style changes or other shifts driving you batty?