Tag Archives: Pursuit of Happiness

Not Just Coincidence

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I never cease to be surprised when things line up in such an amazing way that you know it could not have worked out so well if it was purposely planned.  As a person striving for deepening faith I credit most coincidences as God-incidences.  And that is true as I sought out readers who could peruse my manuscript for historical and technical accChicago's Forgotten Tragedyuracy.

As part of my research, I came across a little gem, Chicago’s Forgotten Tragedy, by Bill Cosgrove.  Though it is primarily an account of the 1910 fire at the Chicago Stockyards that claimed twenty-one firemen, it also includes a wealth of information detailing the history of the Chicago Fire Department.  This was information that all the research I had done had not uncovered.  Being a retired Chicago firefighter, Mr. Cosgrove has extensive knowledge and access to historical content.  Then the thought occurred to me that I should ask him to read my MS and be an expert reader for both the technical side of firefighting and the historical content of the Great Chicago Fire.

You know, as a writer you’re supposed to have a one line summary of your story.  Mine is: It a histocial fiction novel where Backdraft meets Pursuit of Happiness.   As I was researching Mr. Cosgrove to contact him, I learned that he has three other books as well: The Noble Breed, Accident or Arson, and  Robert De Niro and the Fireman.  I also learned that he served as technical director to Robert DeNiro on the movie Backdraft which inspired one of his books (you can probably guess which one).  Did I say Backdraft? Yep, Backdraft!  As in my book is Backdraft meets Pursuit of Happiness!  Holy Toledo I was now very intimidated to ask.  But I sent an email into the mysterious internet world not confident of the outcome.  A few days later I received a voicemail saying that he would love to read through my book.  What??

After he read it he talked me through my book, one major scene at a time.  He was very fond of my book, impressed with my research, and offered minor things to change.  (Thank God I do not have to do a major revision as a result!)  As it turns out, Mr. Cosgrove is also a south side Irish, from a firefighting family.  He, too, lost his father in the line of business.  He was enamored with Mam, my MC’s mother, and how much she reminded him of his own mother.   He said that I really knew the Irish.  I then told him that I’m actually a McDonald myself, though very Americanized, maybe it’s something deep in the blood.  He also honored me by asking his sixth grade grandson (my target reading audience, by the way), to read it.  This young man was not intimidated by the 276 pages to get through.  He enjoyed it as well.

When so many coincidences line up like that, you must know, they are not coincidences.  I will fly high on this praise for a bit and let it give me the confidence to stomp into my next phase: looking for an agent!

Thank you, Mr. Cosgrove.  I hope to send you a polished and published copy of my first edition sometime soon!

 

Research! You Can Do It!

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Students, writers, scientists, journalists, phd candidates, and shoppers all have something in common: RESEARCH.  Whether you are going to get fully into the trenches as you prepare a historical fiction novel or make your contemporary fiction glimmer with realism, research must be done.

There are two arguments I have heard.  The first says write what you know (which for some of us is seemingly limited) and the other says write what you want to know more about.  Yes, that’s the one for me.  As a Chicago native, I was always interested in the mystery of Chicago’s greatest disaster.  That led me to buy my first book on the Great Chicago Fire.  I thought it would be a fascinating setting for a children’s historical novel and that someone should write one.  But as a very busy teacher I certainly didn’t have the time or the know-how to do it.  Time rolled on by about a decade and I became a SAHM (stay at home mom) and my brain felt like was becoming mush.  I picked up another book on the Chicago Fire and wondered if I might be able to write something.  I read and read and read and the truth of the event could not be imagined.  The stories, the oddities, the humanity and lack of it, all stunning.  It’s a story that must somehow be told.  The research was molding the story.

SOURCES

Internet: Who doesn’t start here?  It’s a bit of a black hole and an enormous amount of time can be swallowed by looking for the information you seek.  But it will lead to many other great resources and pearls can be found.  It must all be measured, however, by other sources.  Anybody (ahem) can get online these days and write something!

  • One of my favorite web pages (more can be found on the Chicago Fire page of this website) comes from the Chicago History Museum.

Books: Put that library card to work for you!  There are books written on just about any topic you are interested in learning about.  If your library doesn’t have it, often you can get a hold of it with an interlibrary  loan.   (Just make sure you pick it up in a timely fashion or they will send it right back!)  And there’s always amazon and bookstores if you think it’s a book worth owning, or if you are an active reader that needs to highlight, underline, and write in the margins.  But don’t forget about cookbooks, almanacs, high school yearbooks, and titles that are popular to the locale of your story.

  • One on my bookcase: The Great Chicago Fire in Eye Witness Accounts

Newspapers: Holy Toledo how newspapers have changed over time!  In my review of articles from the Chicago Tribune in 1871 I was taken aback by how full the pages were and the great variety of stories I would happen upon.  Of course there was plenty of news, but there were also vignettes, etiquette lessons, humor.  News then was like news today, have to take it all with a grain of salt, but it definitely allowed me to tune into language and culture.

Interviews: incredibly intimidating for some, but one of the best sources for personal perspectives.  Thanks to Skype and the like, interviewing someone across country is easy.  I certainly had no survivors of the fire I could interview, but I sat down with a fireman, a horse aficionado, and historians for two prominent buildings in my story: The Palmer House and Old St. Pat’s Church.  It’s important to do as much research ahead of the interview as possible so that you can find out what you don’t know and ask educated questions.  Don’t make the person you are interviewing do all the work.  Bring something to the table, they are giving you their time as it is.

Travel: It makes all the difference in the world to go to the location your story will take place.  (If it is an invented setting – of this world – try to go somewhere that has similarities, it will give you a new perspective.)  I have spent many hours at the Chicago History Museum, but also writing on a bench outside of Union Station along the river – the locale of the first 10,000 or so words of my story.  I walked my MC’s neighborhood and got a sense of distance and noise.  I had to transport myself back in time, take away the concrete and highrises.  I’m still thinking about challenging myself to walk the path my MC takes.  I’ll need to do some training first.  I joke that my story is Pursuit of Happiness meets Backdraft.  My poor MC travels (mostly by running) somewhere between 15 and 20 miles over a three day period.  Should I walk in his shoes (minus the fire of course)?

TOOLS: apps that help

This is the first 4 rows of notebooks I have in the stack on research on the Chicago Fire.

This is the first 4 rows of notebooks I have in the stack on research on the Chicago Fire.  From Noteshelf

Noteshelf – by far my favorite app for recording research.  What I like about it: I literally use it like a collection of notebooks.  I can use a stylus or type.    As I researched, it’s hard to know what information I would find out and where it would lead me.  This made it incredibly difficult to organize my notes.  Reorganizing a notebook or stack of notebooks is a cinch.

Nine of the nineteen pages from my notebook on the Lull and Holmes fire.

Nine of the nineteen pages from my notebook on the Lull and Holmes fire.

There are a lot of pen colors, highlighters, and symbols.  There is also a nice variety of notebook covers and types of paper to use.  Every page of a notebook could have different paper if you wanted it to.  Make a stack of a series of notebooks to save space on the shelf.

On one page I can use a variety of colors, writing tools, graphics. From Noteshelf

On one page I can use a variety of colors, writing tools, graphics. From Noteshelf

The only thing that either I haven’t figured out

or isn’t possible is how to copy text or pictures outside of noteshelf into the app.  But that’s why I also list the next two apps.

Evernote – I have used very little, but it does allow me to paste pictures and text from the internet.  For information on how to get organized using Evernote check out this blog by Michael Hyatt.

Trello – I just discovered this one.  It seems like it will be really great once I get the hang of it.  Positives: You can add other members to a board and they can add things to the research.  Great for projects that are collaborative (ie – co-author, or if you have an assistant – it’s nice to dream, isn’t it?).  You can have checklists, hyperlinks, upload video, moving cards between boards is super simple, the sidebar lets you see what others have done without going hunting.  And it’s free.  The negatives: I haven’t used it enough yet to know.

That’s it for now.  I would love to know other tips for research.  What works for you? Click on the comment link on the META side bar!

Next time, I’m going to take a break from writing about writing and share some interesting goodies from my research bag.

Til then,

Enjoy Playing with Words!

Show, Don’t Tell, using Body Language

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Non-verbal communication makes up the majority of how we express ourselves.  So easy in person.  Such a different beast when trying to make a story come to life on two dimensional pages. 

Body language is intended to communicate emotion in the story without TELLING the emotion.  During my reading of my rough draft and in my first rewrite, I find myself relying on some of the same body language over and over.  I am not sure how many times my characters shrug, nod, furrow their brow, and purse their lips.  SOMEBODY HELP ME!

Learning to write is certainly a steep curve!

Where to turn to first? Well, body language is about the body.  So let’s begin by thinking about body parts and what they can do.  Hair: bounces, falls in the eyes.  Eyebrows: lift, squeeze together, arch.  Lips: purse, curl, press, whistle, pucker.  Shoulders: sag, shrug, raise up to the ear.  Hands: clench, fidget, fold, tap.  Feet: stomp, tap, stand on tippy-toe, shuffle.  What about knees? ears? chest? arms? nose? neck? eyes? stomach? toes?

What else? Well, bodies move.  What are some common movements?  (Stories need to keep the action, so how can we keep our characters moving in non-redundant ways?) walk, sit, look, run.  A thesaurus is a good place to start, right?  But what about what movement implies?  A lean in – we are engaged, a step back – we are considering the big picture when making a decision, doodling – we are thinking, a hand to the forehead – we have forgotten something, annoyed with ourselves.

Writers are said to be voracious readers, keen observers, and compulsive writers.  So, alas, I must assign homework because I am surely not the expert on body language.  Ah! Dang! I said homework!

1.  Take your favorite book down from the shelf.  Skim for use of body language.  Record the author’s words and your incites in your journal.

  • “Papa suddenly crossed the room and put his arms around them both. He kissed the top of each head. . .” – nurturing, reassuring, parental, security
  • “The street soldiers were often young, sometimes ill at ease, and Annemarie remembered how the Giraffe had, for a moment let his harsh pose slip and had smiled at Kirsti.” – a pose can slip, someone can momentarily reveal their true self before wearing their mask once again.
  • “Mama put a hand on Papa’s arm.”  – concern, protective
  • “Annemarie relaxed her clenched fingers of her right hand, which still clutched Ellen’s necklace.  She looked down, and saw that she had imprinted the Star of David into her palm.”  Yes!  SO GOOD!  The picture is painted and I can sense how completely petrified Annemarie was and the relief she now feels.  Bonus- GREAT VERBS: clench, clutch, imprint!

2.  Go on a field trip.  Hooray!  Go to your favorite coffee house, mall, or to be really effective, somewhere similar to a scene in your book.  OBSERVE and RECORD body language.  What is it telling you?  If you can hear the dialogue, how does the body language extend the meaning of the words?

3.  Watch TV! (Didn’t you love it when the teacher said you could watch tv for homework, but then the let down, “Watch the State of the Union.”) Here I am telling you to watch “Lie to Me.”  It is a show that specializes on analyzing body language, especially facial.  Or watch a movie.  I am thinking about watching “Pursuit of Happiness” because my MC is always on the go.  Record the body language that stands out to you and what it communicates.

Sorry to have to give homework, but I have to do it too!  Think about how much our writing will improve if we actually do these things!

So Read! Observe! and Write!

Next time: Effective Dialogue

Til then, Enjoy Playing With Words

Bonus: Three websites I found (though there are certainly more out there).