Yay for Land! The Homestead Act

1860 Homestead

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Go West, young man - go West!

On May 20, 1862 (148 years ago), the Homestead Act was signed by President Lincoln. Basically, anybody who wanted it was entitled to up to 160 acres of land outside the original 13 colonies. It was like somebody handed everyone on the East coast a farm and told them to go get it. Wow!

As you can see in the above photograph of a pioneering family, going West was happening before the Homestead Act. But, this was a gigantic helping hand. Kind of like Massachusetts having state-run health care, and then President Obama signing the healthcare bill earlier this spring. It was a major leap forward towards Western expansion and the eventual settlement of the entire country.
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Daniel Stuart, in my novel "Daniel's Garden", is enchanted by that dream of going West. Don't all young men feel the hot-blood call of adventure? he wonders to himself as his mother and brother make other plans for him. But, by the end of the story, Daniel has become a soldier and his dream of heading West has faded.

Or has it?

I was resting in bed the other night, playing a computer game, when all of a sudden an idea for a sequel dropped into my head. So, I began jotting down notes for the tentatively titled: "Daniel's Return." Daniel's dream of going West becomes rekindled once he hears of the Homestead Act. Yet ... what about being a soldier? It's 1863 and the Civil War is far from over. He's got to stay and fight. He made a promise, too. I can't wait to dive deeper into his motivations. What choice does he make and why?
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Young men today still feel that hot-blood call of adventure: just look at the reality shows about Ice Road Truckers and Axe Men up in Alaska. Some take to the sea, to fight in Whale Wars or haul in seafood in Deadliest Catch. When teenagers have the world at their feet, these dreams tempt them with ideas of glory, money, and excitement. I love writing about that magical age of young adulthood, since it is such a pivotal time.
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Let's pretend we're 18 and it's 1862. The Homestead Act is now law, signed by the President. I say we hitch our horses, pack up our stuff, and go West. It sounds thrilling, doesn't it? For Daniel, and for thousands of others, it was. It truly was.

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An 1890's Bicycle Movie

Take a look at this fellow! One of Edison's famous early movies, this short clip is not even a minute long.

My jaw dropped when I saw this, not because of its age but because it seems so ... modern. I've seen dozens of boys on bikes doing the same thing this guy was doing 110 years ago: riding backwards, trying the 'bike hop,' hopping off and on as fast as possible, spinning the front, and even doing some beginning wheelies. That's awesome!

Enjoy!

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Victorian Verisimilitude

London, circa 1880's

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Victorian what?

Verisimilitude, in a literary sense, is the art of conveying a sense of time and place through details, character, gestures, plot twists, and settings. It's the lovely balance between making your reader feel like they're reading a textbook versus a finely crafted story.

When verisimilitude is NOT present in the story, a jarring detail or off-putting aspect makes you wrinkle your nose and say: "Hmm, that wouldn't have happened." Or: "She zipped up her dress? Zippers weren't invented yet."

That kind of thing.

Striving for verisimilitude in historical fiction is like paying attention to every piece of hay in a haystack. It gets tiring sometimes, but fact-checking is really important. Once that cliched non-factual needle has been found, however, then it needs to be either thrown out of the story or altered to fit the time period.
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Some aspects of Victorian verisimilitude would include:
1. The exact smell of city streets.
2. How to wind a pocket-watch.
3. How long it took to travel three miles by carriage.
4. What a rich person expected to pay for a tailored dress.
5. The exact prices for things: food, liquor, transportation.
6. Some famous people weren't famous in their lifetime. Nobody would have recognized van Gogh or Emily Dickinson if they were walking down the street.
7. Household cures for a cold, arthritis, headaches, a sore back, aching muscles, and other common ailments.
8. Popular songs and where someone would have heard them.
9. Characters who don't know how to read or write; literacy rates were lower.
10. Slang and vernacular for different areas of the country.
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The more funny, strange, and accurate details you have in your historical fiction, the more alive that world becomes. Dickens was a master at evoking the world of Victorian London. Here's his description of London fog:

"Fog everywhere. Fog up the river, where it flows among green aits and meadows; fog down the river, where it rolls defiled among the tiers of shipping and the waterside pollutions of a great (and dirty) city. Fog on the Essex marshes, fog on the Kentish heights. Fog creeping into the cabooses of collier-brigs; fog lying out on the yards, and hovering in the rigging of great ships; fog drooping on the gunwales of barges and small boats. Fog in the eyes and throats of ancient Greenwich pensioners, wheezing by the firesides of their wards; fog in the stem and bowl of the afternoon pipe of the wrathful skipper, down in his close cabin; fog cruelly pinching the toes and fingers of his shivering little ’prentice boy on deck. Chance people on the bridges peeping over the parapets into a nether sky of fog, with fog all round them, as if they were up in a balloon, and hanging in the misty clouds."
~ Bleak House, Chapter 1
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Now that's Victorian verisimilitude!

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New England Homesteads

American Homestead, Currier & Ives Print 1840's

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The new story I'm working on begins on a homestead farm in Maine in 1868, three years after the Civil War. I'm researching farm life to give my heroine an authentic place to live.

New England farms followed pretty much the same basic self-sufficient format: a large white Colonial farmhouse two or three stories tall, a barn for horses, cows, and sheep, several outbuildings like a chicken coop or piggery, a huge kitchen garden, and various structures like garden sheds, woodsheds, toolsheds, and fences.

Farm life required common sense, practicality, and ingenuity. I'm convinced that even though he didn't like rural living, Lincoln's character wouldn't have been forged in quite the same way had he not grown up in the frontier. Certain things had to be done, or the consequences - starvation, attack, hypothermia, disease - were too severe. It's pretty pointless to make excuses when your very survival is at stake!
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Many old homesteads exist around Maine and New England. Some are still working farms, while others have been converted to museums or single-family homes. The Longfellow House in Portland, where I give tours, used to be a homestead right in the center of the city.

Although the homestead setting in my new story only occupies a few chapters, it was the basic style of home living for thousands of families in New England in the 19th century. The average Victorian was a farmer, knew how to grow his/her own food in a kitchen garden, could ride a horse, and possessed various skills like how to shoot a gun, work with tools, sew, cook, and cobble together the necessary little inventions needed to run their farm.
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I spent time on a farm when I was younger. I remember building a duckling cage out of chicken wire, securing a fence the pigs kept digging up, shooing the resident tom turkey out of the buildings, cleaning the chicken coop (the most disgusting place on a farm), making friends with the huge draft horses, and putting a tarp up during a terrific rainstorm.

While I consider myself a city girl, since I love the hustle-bustle-lots-to-do urban energy, it's fun to take a look at how my great-great-grandmothers lived. And then stand in awe of what they did ... just to keep the home fires burning.

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The Victorians and 'The Secret'

The Magician, by Alexandre Fragonard

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Are you a fan of 'The Secret'? Have you heard of the Law of Attraction?

One of the hottest modern topics, the law of attraction simply states that what you think about you bring about. This tantalizing concept can be used to great effect when combined with intense desires about the things you want - like money, fame, your dream home, excellent health, and even a soulmate.

While philosophers and thinkers have talked about the law of attraction through the ages, the Victorians and Edwardians really nailed the concept and put it into concrete plans for the average person to follow. The Victorians were interested in Spiritualism to communicate with their passed loves ones, so the spiritual ideas behind what became known as New Thought came from that (also, after Darwin rocked the religious world, new theories popped up about how to view God).

I had no idea that the law of attraction way of thinking was first shaped and formed into New Thought philosophy, but as soon as I found out I began to read extensively about it. It's interesting that New Thought is never mentioned in history books, since it is so relevant to today. I just love it when I come across something from the 19th century that is truly applicable to modern life.
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While running under various names like the Mind-cure movement and occasionally linked to Transcendentalism, New Thought is by itself quite different. Some of its tenets are:

Man becomes what he thinks about.
Divinely attuned thought is a force for good.
All disease is mental in origin.
Right thinking has a healing effect.

The mind is the core of human reality: its generator, if you will.
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The turn of the century brought famous writers and contributors to New Thought: Wallace D. Wattles (The Science of Getting Rich), Napoleon Hill (Think and Grow Rich), James Allen (As a Man Thinketh), Dorothea Brande (Wake up and Live), Charles Fillmore (The Twelve Powers of Man), Charles F. Haanel (The Master Key System), and Elizabeth Towne (Experiences in Self-Healing).

Take a look at their works to learn more ... many are in the public domain and can be found at Google Books or Project Gutenberg.
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So, decades before Rhonda Byrne came across 'The Secret' and popularized it for millions of readers, the Victorians and Edwardians not only knew of the law of attraction, they created an entire movement out of it.

No wonder they were so successful!

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Timeline of Victorian Fashion

Timeline of Historical Fashion - click to enlarge

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While quite blase about modern fashion (another pair of jeans, yay), 19th century women's clothes absolutely fascinate me. So many layers, such personal and unbelieveably feminine touches. Lace, ruffles, pearls, embroidery, flounces, sweeps, tucks, and all manner of accoutrements. They wore more clothes in one day than I'd wear in two weeks. It was extraordinary.

I'll talk more about fashion as this blog goes on, but right now I'm going to give a brief overview ... so that when you're watching Pride and Prejudice you'll understand why you'll never see a hoop skirt, or an Empire waist dress during the Civil War, or a bustle skirt on Titanic.
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Regency (1800 - 1820-ish)
The first thing I think of when I think Regency is Empire Waist. The dresses gathered beneath the bust, falling right to the floor. Women wore really high-waisted long corsets underneath, tightly ringleted hair, and wide bonnets. Lots of sheer materials and cottons, a bit more risque than anything else in the 19th century. Look at Jane Austen and Napoleonic films for Regency style.

Hoop Era (1830 - 1870)
Queen Victoria ascended to the throne in 1832, ushering in a brand-new era and the fashions started to change into the quintessential mid-Victorian look: wide bell sleeves, a tight corseted waist, and voluminous skirts. An overall look of demureness, with the dress dominating and accentuating the female figure. Hoops were their widest in the Civil War 1860's, with somewhat narrower hoops in the decades previous. Hair was a bit severe, parted in the middle, ringlets and looped braids on either side. Watch Jane Eyre, Civil War movies, and Dickens films for mid-Victorian hoop era fashion.

Bustle Era (1870 - 1885)
A short fashion era but nonetheless popular and very recognizeable. The bustle was a modified caged underskirt that accentuated the bum and pulled the focus of the dress towards the back. Dresses were more confined and closer to the body, allowing for a bit more ease of movement. Heavier materials and brighter colors than ever before. Hair became really elaborate, piled high on top of the head, with tons of ringlets, combs, pins, and ornaments. Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Sweeney Todd, Sherlock Holmes, Moulin Rouge, Alice in Wonderland - take a look at these films for bustle fashion.

Gibson Girl (1890 - 1905)
Another short-lived fashion era, forever popularized in musicals like The Music Man. Gibson girl fashion is all about the sleeves - large leg o' mutton sleeves that poofed around a woman's shoulders. She wore a simple skirt, but the top of her dress was characterized with lace tucks, frills, and flounces. This style of dressing bridges the gap between Victorian and Edwardian, and can be seen in Oscar Wilde film adaptations, The Music Man, and children's stories like Peter Pan and The Wizard of Oz.

Titanic (1910 - 1915)
The shortest-lived of all was the Titanic era, but it was also the most wearable corset-and-dress combination. The Empire waist came back into favor, but the dress was styled differently, with fabric panel overskirts decorating the underskirt. Hemlines became shorter, since women were more mobile than ever before and thousands worked. Ah, but the hats! The crowning glory of the Titanic lady was her hat - a massive brim, with a highly decorated crown of feathers, bows, and flowers. Watch Titanic and any World War I movie to get an idea of Titanic fashion.
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When it comes to men's fashions, little changed through the century. A basic tailored coat, waistcoat, white shirt, trousers, shoes, and hat was what he wore for decades.


How fun, huh? Now you can watch films of the 19th century or research a part of the era and have a basic understanding of how the ladies would be dressed!

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Pioneer Grooming Habits

A Modern-Day Western Re-enactor's Version of a Dressing Table
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The Homestead Act, the building and completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, the discovery of gold in California, the destruction of Southern cities during the Civil War, buying land was cheaper than renting in Boston or New York ... well, that's a lot of reasons to go West!

So, the intrepid pioneers, settlers, dreamers, prospecters, poor immigrants, freed slaves, and adventurers saddled up their horses and hitched oxen to wagons, following the siren call of adventure, cheap land, and independence.

I love the pioneers! Their rugged, simple, land-based style of living can still be seen today in the amazing folks who settle up in Maine's back woods, who head to Alaska, who become modern homesteaders or back-to-the-landers. Mother Earth News and Backwoods Magazine are just two of the many publications who cater to the modern pioneer.

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Ummm ... No Running Water, You Say?

Just one of their many aspects of daily life was how the settlers cleaned and took care of themselves. Contrary to popular belief, Victorians knew that cleanliness was important and tried to bathe several times a week. It just wasn't convenient! 'Hopping in the shower' was a concept many many decades away.

Enlarge the photograph at the top and take a look at the various accoutrements a pioneer, settler, cowboy or ranch hand would need to get ready in the morning:

Wash bowl - made of enamelware, tin, or copper, this large bowl held enough water for a daily face-wash and shave.

Mirror - how precious these were! A simple mirror framed in wood was hung on the side of the wagon or inside their cabin or sod house.

Razor and Strop - have you ever tried shaving with a straight razor? Now that's a dying art. No wonder beards were popular in the 1800's.

Shaving brush, soap dish, and cake soap - you can still find these today through specialty men's supply stores. Bristles were squirrel or boar.

Facial tonics - basically their equivalent of aftershave and cologne. Simple cologne could be made by soaking pine needles in alcohol.

Toothbrush and tooth powder - mix a little baking soda with water to form a paste for brushing your teeth. It's surprisingly effective.

Towels - one of man's humblest and best inventions. Towels used to be sold in absolutely enormous sheets, and were cut according to how the person needed it. Also, there was no differentiation between bath towels, hand towels, or wash cloths. It was all the same material. And always white! Colored towels were not invented yet. Must have made it easier to coordinate the bathroom.

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Every day you wash your face, comb your hair, brush your teeth, and try to smell good.

That, at least, doesn't change!

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The Victorian Classicism Painters

Flaming June, by Lord Frederick Leighton 1896

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Leighton was one of the pivotal artistic figures of the Victorian era. A British artist, he was friends with the Pre-Raphaelite painters, although his predominant forte was classical paintings.

Like this lovely lady.

Click on the painting to enlarge it. Now, sit back from your computer and let this extraordinary piece sit on your screen. What do you feel? I always feel instantly relaxed and demure when I view classicism paintings from Leighton, John William Godward, and others. The smooth marble, the exotic trees like lemon, olive, and fig, and the extraordinarily detailed drapes of the lovely ladies.

Classical painting, with sujects from Greek and Roman mythology, began much earlier but continued in popularity throughout the 19th century. I'm not surprised, given that a proper Victorian education included learning Latin and Greek. Thus, almost every educated person was deeply familiar with Greek and Roman mythology.

With the rise of Cubism and Picasso and post-modernism in the late Edwardian era, Classical painting fell out of favor and is only now just starting to creep back into the limelight. I for one find these types of paintings, especially Flaming June, to be ideal non-landscape pieces for your home. They certainly transport the viewer to another place and time.

When I look at a 19th century painting - even if its subject is not the Victorians - the aura of the century pops out in full color, washing over me with voluptuous and detailed style. Even Impressionism features the softness of living in the 1800's that modern art and paintings don't capture.

Learn more about Classicism painting and view Classical painters at:
Art Renewal
Classicism

Dolce Far Niente (Sweet Nothings), by John William Godward 

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The Economics of Slavery

"Am I Not a Man and a Brother?" - famous engraving circulated around the North in the 1850's

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Although I researched slavery for "Daniel's Garden," except for the inclusion of an Emancipation Proclamation celebration in January 1863, I included very little about this extremely important aspect of the Civil War. My story was more about the inner conflict of a Union Army soldier and the squabbles between his friends and members of his own regiment, rather than the overarching division between North and South.

However, the more I've thought about it since completing the story, the more I've realized that slavery was an integral 'peculiar institution' in the North, possibly even as much as the South.

Why?

One word: MONEY.

Without going into scads of detail (although you're certainly welcome to do so), the North turned a (mostly) blind eye to the practice of slavery because its low prices enabled them to buy inexpensive goods like tobacco, cotton, and rice - all from mass-production on Southern plantations. This was especially pertinent in the textile mills of Lowell, Massachusetts, where those millions of yearly pounds of harvested cotton were turned into clothes. Think of that - scarcely twenty miles outside of Boston, land of patriotism, Northern businessmen are smiling on their way to the bank. All because of slavery.

If they're getting cheap stuff they need, why would these businessmen truly care about abolition? I'm not surprised if they became part of the 'Know Nothing' party or were Copperheads (Southern sympathizers). Why wouldn't they be? Money talks.

And money talked louder than freeing the slaves.

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Fast forward to today. 2010: world of no slavery - right? Well, when you look at the MONEY a different story emerges. Where do we (in both North and South) find cheap goods? In our big-box stores. Yes, gold ole Wal-Mart is the king of cheap goods for the masses. Who profits from these cheap goods? The ones who provide them.

Who doesn't profit? Why, the workers in the (less wealthy) countries where we get these goods.

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Following the money trail of slavery casts a cold, critical, and necessary eye on the entire subject. You cannot study American slavery without looking at its economic implications, both in the North and the South. BOTH profited from the mass harvesting/production of cheap goods. It happens today: cheap mass goods brought about by even cheaper mass labor. So, the money talked louder than whether it's right to own a human being. But others in the 1860's argued that human rights are worth more than money.

Yes, they are. But money still talks. And its siren call of low prices can be difficult to resist.

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The Cotton Gin - More Influential Than Its Humble Appearance Suggests

Eli Whitney's 1790's invention was insanely influential towards the rising of King Cotton in the South. I also think that if it weren't for this machine, slavery wouldn't have been so widespread - since this little engine made it so cheap to process cotton. I can think of few other technological inventions (the car, the internet, the telephone, cheap oil) that have shaped American history so much.

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Bookshelf Blogging

Hello there, dearies! I hope you enjoyed the 5-Post Guide to Writing a Novel. I shall stick it up at the top of the page on the link-bar in case any would-be historical fiction (or romantic fiction or science fiction) readers drop by and would like to know the secrets (or, rather, the steps) to novel writing!

I apologize for the many switcheroos I've given to this blog in the past two weeks. Rest assured I am happy with the current layout and it will stay this way. Take a look along each of the two sides to see some Victorian places and people that made the century so extraordinary.

For the past six or eight months, this blog has followed a fun format - I've posted a lovely painting or antique photograph, then written poetry or prose about it.

Now I'm going to shift focus a bit and talk more about what truly inspires me - the 19th century. It was one of the most exciting periods in history, when major social, political, economic, and personal changes were taking place.

This blog will serve as a bookshelf - as if you were browsing a library in the Victorian section and happened to glance at a chapter in an old book. It will be a cabinet of curious things that catch my fancy, and one of my greatest loves is Victorian art, so plenty of that will still be here. But there will also be information about the 19th century ... as I see it.

So don't think I'm going to turn textbook-dry on you! That's not my style. I'm too fanciful for that. No, this will be a look at the Victorians/Edwardians as a writer sees them: what things about them are intriguing enough to inspire me, to make me obsessed, and to ultimately make me want to capture the essence of the time in my stories and booklets.

Oh, and if you haven't seen it yet, check out my new Victoria's Bouquet Poetry Booklet on the sidebar. It includes some of my poems, as well as those from Dickinson, Tennyson, Browning, and Longfellow.

So thank you again for sticking by me through the past month, and now let's look at the incredible Victorian era!

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Novel Writing in 5 Posts - Day 5!

Whew! We've reached the end! Take a look at Post 1, Post 2, Post 3, and Post 4. Now .... for the final post!

Post #5: Hello World!

Where do you send your finished story? You send it to an editor to publish it. If it’s a novel, send it to a book editor. If it’s a short story, send it to a magazine editor. For publication, put the story into the proper submission guidelines, print it out, and mail it. If it’s rejected, send it to another publisher.

Title: ___________________________
Genre: _________________________
Submitted To:
Place #1:
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Date: __________________
Place #2:
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Date: __________________
Place #3:
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Date: __________________
Published By: _______________________________
Date: __________________
Paid: __________________

There’s a lot of emphasis on goals. Make a goal for this or a goal for that. What is the writer’s goal? Finish the story and get the story published. Don’t let goal-setting complicate writing. Just finish and publish the story.

There is no magic moment when a writer ‘feels’ like a writer. But you can develop the same habits as a professional author. Write for an hour every day. Say no to things that distract you from writing. Create a writing space with a desk, files, computer, printer, and paper. Have a blog and update it every day. Read books. Read writing magazines. Join a writer’s group. Attend writers’ conferences. Market yourself with business cards and conversations with other writers. Submit a lot. Try online social networking. Learn.  Practice.

WARNING!

Before you tuck these pages away, remember this: Writing IS simple and this guide WORKS. But it can also be boring. Slogging through the boring-ness is part of the writing is hard myth. Many paths in life are simple and boring, but they work. The trick is: do not get discouraged by the boring-ness.

Writing is work, but it is good work. You have the potential to touch thousands of lives. Your own life will certainly be touched. Now that IS magic!

Just keep writing.

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pssst - you can get this entire 5-Post writing guide in a handy format PLUS two worksheets filled with forms for creating, rewriting, and submitting stories! Click to purchase!

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Novel Writing in 5 Posts - Day 4

We're getting there! Read Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3 if you haven't already .... now for Day 4:

Post #4: The Third Lap

You've learned everything about the four fiction ingredients – character, plot, setting, and obstacles. Now we come to the actual writing part.

When I was in high school I ran track, and my favorite race was the mile. It was four times around the track, and the third lap was always the hardest. On the third lap, I started to get tired and my calves started to burn. I slogged through, the finish line still far away.

Writing your rough draft is like that third lap. It's the nitty-gritty, slogging-through-the-swamp part. This is the part that scares many would-be writers away.

Just remember: it's okay to write badly. It's okay to write really badly. My rough drafts are always terrible. I never let anyone see them, not even my husband. Do NOT show your rough draft to anyone, and don't talk much about it, either. Talking and showing delay and sometimes kill new stories. Keep the freshness going.

I use two Microsoft Word files when I write. One file is reserved for the main story. The other is called the Speed Pad, and that's where I dash off a new scene. When it's done, I cut and paste it into the main story. I also jot notes in the Speed Pad for future chapters.

Once the main story's rough draft is finished, I change the Speed Pad to Editing. Then I copy the first chapter, paste it into the Editing file, and edit. Once I've edited it, I stick it back in the main story and proceed to chapter two. Repeat until the story is done.

This simple process works really well. I'm constantly creating or editing material, I'm not going back over material that's already written, and when the story's done, it's DONE.

When your edited story is done, then print it out, pick two people, and have them read it. Bring a notebook and jot down their critiques. If you agree, go back and tweak. Spend no more than one week tweaking – or you'll be stuck there forever. After tweaking, print it out again and submit.

7-Step Writing Recipe
1. Create story ingredients
2. Write rough draft
3. Put story away for two weeks
4. Rewrite
5. Have two others read your work
6. Tweak
7. Send it in

Oh, and a few words about ‘writer’s block.’ I don’t get writer’s block. I used to, but that’s because I wrote slowly. Not any more! Now I write as fast as I can. My rough drafts are written really quickly and really badly. A strange way to write stories, but it's simple and it works!

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Novel Writing in 5 Posts - Day 3

Read Day 2 and Day 1 to get caught up ... now for Day 3!

Post #3: Not in Kansas Anymore

Settings, the third ingredient, are extremely important. Plunge your reader into the story by breathing life into your settings. Who can forget Wonderland, Narnia, Hogwarts Castle, or Oz?

Beef up your settings with vivid sensory details: sights, smells, tastes, touches, and sounds. Close your eyes, pretend you're there, and let your imagination run wild!

Stories feature two major settings: the Ordinary World and the Extraordinary World. The Ordinary World is where the story starts. The Main Character enters the Extraordinary World because their driving desire leads them there. The Extraordinary World ‘promises’ them what they want, though they will have to fight for it.

Examples:
Kansas / Oz
The Dursleys / Hogwarts School

Stories feature plenty of obstacles, the fourth and final ingredient. This is down-and-dirty conflict, the harder the better! Without obstacles, stories would be pretty boring. Obstacles come in three major forms: Self, Man, Nature. Self Obstacles are internal or spiritual, like conflicting feelings. Man Obstacles are with other people, either singly or in groups. Nature Obstacles are animals, creatures, and landscapes, like weather or a dragon. As the story progresses, the obstacles get harder and harder. The hardest obstacle of all is the final clash between Main Character and Villain, called the climax.

Joe’s Obstacles:
·Self - feels guilty for conning
·Man - fights against family members, cops, and other con artists
·Nature - has to do a con in a horrible rainstorm

Let’s put our ingredients together in a story recipe. A pie recipe lists the ingredients, then the steps to create a pie. A story recipe lists the four fiction ingredients and creates a novel. Fill in the story recipe at the back of this guide, and refer it while writing.

Now, you've probably noticed that each author you read has a unique style. Lewis Carroll, Charles Dickens, and Ernest Hemingway are distinctly different. Writing style comes from YOUR unique identity! Let your personality come through in your story. Are you funny? Cynical? Romantic? Wacky? Don't try to sound like someone else. Just be yourself.

Describe people, places and things exactly as they appear in your imagination. When writing dialogue, write the way people talk. Each person has their own patterns of speech. Read your writing out loud and listen to yourself. I ‘talk’ my way through my story as I’m writing it. Practice your dialogue with a partner. It's got to sound REAL.

Use the simplest, most powerful words. “Omit needless words” is my favorite Strunk & White rule. Delete boring parts and anything that meanders from the central story. State the obvious. Be stupidly clear. Entertain your reader with interesting, concise language. Pretty simple!

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Novel Writing in 5 Posts - Day 2

Read Post One to get caught up. Now ... on to Post 2!

Post #2: Easy as Pie!

When baking a pie, you first assemble the ingredients, then follow the recipe. Writing stories is similar. There are four major ingredients – character, plot, setting, and obstacles. Then you combine those ingredients, add the time it takes to write, and create a novel.

You can summarize any story in one sentence: the Main Character fights for what they want while encountering obstacles in different settings. By the end of this guide, you can write your story in one sentence.

Start with character. If your reader doesn't care about your character, your story won't be read. Simple! The Main Character needs two things: a unique identity and a driving desire. The unique identity is comprised of physical characteristics, personality quirks, and juicy details. The driving desire is what the character wants that ‘drives’ the story.

Example:
Joe is a single father of two boys, living in a poor area of a big city.
He wants to help his starving family.
Problem: He’s illiterate.
He secretly wants to be a superhero in a comic book.
He loves spy movies, chocolate ice cream, dogs, and good wine.
He hates his boss at his factory job and wants out.

Villains are created the same way, but with a twist. Their driving desire opposes the Main Character’s desire. If the Main Character wants money, the Villain prevents them from getting money. If the Main Character wants freedom, the Villain traps them.

Minor characters add help, comic relief, or more obstacles. They can be a best friend, an employee, a coworker, a family member, or strangers in a city. Ron and Hermione are Harry Potter’s Helpers. Villains can have Helpers, too. The Death-Eaters are Voldemort's Helpers. Villain Helpers provide more obstacles for the Main Character.

The second ingredient is plot. Plot is cause and effect. The Main Character causes something to happen, which creates effects. And on and on. The golden rule of plot? THINGS GET WORSE. The Main Character's wants and problems drive the story.

Example:
Joe wants money to help his starving family. Problem: he’s illiterate.
What could Joe do?
·Ask somebody to teach him to read.
·Pretend he knows how to read while seeking a better job.
·Become a con artist.

Aha! Becoming a con artist sounds like a great story. Why? It’s exciting, it is a solution to Joe’s problem, and it naturally involves a lot of smaller actions (called plot points). Villains could be police officers, a Mafia bad guy, or a jealous rival con artist. This is getting juicy!

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Novel Writing in 5 Posts! - Day 1

POST #1: Do you have 10 Minutes?

I'll bet you do! That's how long it takes to read this ultra-simple, ultra-useful guide to writing. I'm not an academic professor, a magician, or a huckster. I just like to tell stories!

The truth is: WRITING IS SIMPLE. It always has been and always will be. It's the myth that writing is hard that complicates things. When I was four, I wrote a story about a Halloween party. Nobody told me writing was hard, and nobody gave me a bunch of short-cuts. I just sat down at a typewriter and typed out a single-page story. It was fun and I've been doing it ever since.

Henry David Thoreau took a journal and pencil to the small cabin he built himself in Concord, Massachusetts. He recorded his life, and when he left the cabin he culled journal entries and rewrote them to create Walden. Now that is simplifying writing!

In this 5-post guide, I've followed Thoreau's example and simplified writing. Whenever you start thinking writing is hard, just reread this guide. Writing is simple and writing is fun. The last two pages of this post series will sum up everything you need to know about writing. Print them out and use them to start stories, work on stories, and finish stories.

The myth that writing is hard comes from the time it takes. “It takes two years to write a novel,” you think. “I just don't have the time.” Well, let's say you watch a half-hour TV show every night. In half an hour, you could write a page. At the end of a year, you'd have 183 pages and at the end of two years 366 pages. If you wrote for an hour a day, you'll finish a novel each December, and if you wrote for two hours a day, you'd have a novel done every six months. Not bad!

Finding half an hour is simple, too. Bring a writing notebook wherever you go. Write on your lunch break. Write on the subway. Write while you're waiting for water to boil. Heck, mute the commercials, and write during your favorite show!

Some people think writers have ‘magical’ talent. Talent is good, just like athletic talent is good. But writing is practice. No writer is perfect, not even Shakespeare. Titus Andronicus is a horrid play! Don't compare yourself to other writers. Just keep writing.

Writers should write what they know, right? Shakespeare wrote for theatre, because that was his world and that’s what he knew. What books do you read over and over? If you had to take your three favorite books to a deserted island, what would they be?
Book 1: __________________________________________
Book 2: __________________________________________
Book 3: __________________________________________

That’s what you know how to write. If you know fantasy, write fantasy. I know the Victorians, so I write about the Victorians. The more I read, the more I know and the better I write. Simple!

Writers perform two actions: reading and writing. I write, then I read what I wrote. I may keep it or I may press ‘delete’ and write it differently. Repeat until story is done. That’s it. Basically.

Hmmm. Well, there’s a little more to it than that. But not much!

.... continued tomorrow in post #2!

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A New Blog!

Hello Ladies and Gents!

I am announcing a new blog I've created:

Fairy Cottage Stories - it features a brand-new story for kids I've been working on this past week. Take a look!

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O'er Ireland

An' away we go me luve and I ...
O'er Ireland's green face we fly

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Shaker Style

These wonderful images of the Shaker settlement in Pleasant Hill, Kentucky, show the simplistic beauty of Shaker Style.

Still popular today, Shaker style grew out of a simplistic and utilitarian philosophy: "Hands to Work. Hearts to God." Founded by Ann Lee in 1787, the Shakers' first settlement was in upstate New York. Named for their shaking dance style during worship, Shakers were a devout religious community that spread throughout the Northeast and as far West as Kentucky.

Shaker men and women (called Brothers and Sisters) lived completely separate lives in their communities. Everybody contributed to the upkeep of their farms and buildings. They sold seeds, wooden boxes, furniture, and other crafts to neighboring cities to earn money. I give tours at the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow House in Portland, and we have original Shaker boxes from the New Gloucester settlement.

Shaker style is characterized by its clean lines, straight forms, and pared-down Colonial aesthetic. Warm wooden furniture with wooden knobs and straight legs, braided rugs, quilts, rope beds, peg racks, ladderback chairs, and an impeccable sense of organization make this a timeless and soothing style.

You can find Shaker style pieces at the following furniture/home decor places:

Sturbridge Yankee Workshop
Shaker Style
Shaker Furniture
Modern Shaker Furniture
Shaker View

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George & Mr. Wacko

I wrote the following story in fifth grade, about a scientific-minded elf and his funny sidekick.

_____________________________

George and Mr. Wacko were two small elves. They had heads of long soft hair and small bodies. George’s hair was red and curly and Mr. Wacko’s hair was straight and white.

George and Mr. Wacko lived in a small hole underneath an enormous oak tree. They had been living there for a very long time. Both of them were getting pretty tired of living in the same place almost all their lives. They wanted to move out of the country and go live in New York City.

It was in late May, a perfect time to move. It was either now or next year. George strolled over to where Mr. Wacko was seated on the floor munching an acorn.

“Mr. Wacko,” he began calmly, “its time for us to move.”

“I’m getting a little tired of this hole, anyway. All right, we’ll move as soon as possible.”

So George set off that night in search of something to travel in. He returned three hours later with an enormous helium balloon and a wicker basket.

Mr. Wacko found some string and lashed the two objects together. He then tied it firmly to the ground so it wouldn’t cause problems.

“George!” Mr. Wacko called. “We need another balloon and basket!”

George went out that night to find them. He came back with another balloon and a basket, exactly like the ones before. Mr. Wacko tied them together, so that the miniature hot air balloons were identical.

There wasn’t much furniture in the hole, except a pile of acorns, two small beds, and a hole dug in the ground with water in it.

Mr. Wacko dug some clay from the ground and shaped it into a cup shape. Then he carried it up a little stairway and set it out to dry in the sun.

When it was completely dry, he lugged it back downstairs and filled it to the brim with clear sparkling water. With George’s help, he put it into the first hot air balloon with mud around it to hold it steady. When the mud turned hard, Mr. Wacko put acorns around the cup. In the second basket, he put the two beds and the rest of the acorns. Finally, he added a sign that said ‘Home Sweet Home.’

George came over to help Mr. Wacko carry both balloons outdoors. In about ten minutes, the two balloons were resting on the grass, under the stars.

Mr. Wacko then taught George how to steer the balloon, a not-too-difficult task.

They climbed into the balloons, and leaning over the edge, George and Mr. Wacko bit the string with their sharp teeth. Immediately, the two aircraft shot straight up in the air, but Mr. Wacko was calm, so they weren’t worried.

Mr. Wacko checked his compass and called to George, “Follow me!”

And so they flew, on and on. When dawn came they had left the country and were now in the suburbs.

“We’re landing!” Mr. Wacko called to George.

He steered towards the left and expertly landed the balloon on one of the branches of a monstrous oak tree. He then threw a small rock over the side and climbed out, while George did the exact same thing.

“Look!” cried George. “There’s a hole in the tree!”

“What a coincidence,” Mr. Wacko murmured.

“We can camp there today, and get a fresh start this evening,” George explained.

“That’s a good idea,” agreed Mr. Wacko.

So, he helped his best friend carry the water and the two beds into the hole, and then brought in the balloons, so they wouldn’t be seen.

“I’m tired,” George yawned.

“Me, too,” Mr. Wacko said.

So both of them crawled into their beds and were soon lost in sleep.

* * *

When George woke around 8:00 the next evening, Mr. Wacko was still snoring away. While he slept, George ate his breakfast of an acorn and placed his bed back into the second balloon.

Ten minutes later, Mr. Wacko roused himself and put his bed alongside George’s. He gobbled up his acorn and George helped him carry out the hot air balloons. They climbed in, bit the string and were on their way again.

It took them the rest of the night to reach New York City, but when they saw the skyscrapers, they knew the long trip was worth it.

They circled around Manhattan and saw Central Park, but it had no oak trees. They circled once more, and then George’s sharp eyes spied a scrawny oak tree growing next to a large office building. The two creatures slowly let the air out of the two balloons as they descended down to the tree. In a few minutes they had come to rest on one of the higher branches.

Mr. Wacko decided to save the deflated balloons, so he put them into the first basket. George scouted the whole tree and he announced to Mr. Wacko later that morning he had spied a hole near the very top. He also explained that he had explored it and seen a roomy home, smaller than their previous one, but comfortable.

Mr. Wacko went with George back to the new hole and thought it a very nice place to live in. So he and George pulled the two baskets up to the hole and put them inside. It was nearly nine in the morning when they finally finished fixing up their new place. It was a miracle they weren’t seen by humans, because they were as thick as flies around the streets.

George and Mr. Wacko lived a comfortable life for the rest of the summer, but something happened towards the end of August that made them change their minds about some things.

Now they were running low on acorns, so George had been going out for hours every night to try and find some other food for them. One night, however, he found something more than food.

He was exploring the garbage cans in an old alley when he heard a high-pitched mew. Having never heard nor seen a cat before, he couldn’t tell what it was.

But he could tell where it was coming from, so he followed the sound, wandering all over the alley in his search. He finally squeezed behind the garbage cans, turned a corner, and saw a large cardboard box. He rushed over and peered in, very curious. And there, in the farthest corner was a little orange kitten mewing with all his might. He stopped, however, when he saw George.

“Oh hi,” the kitten said, a little fearful. “My name is Sammy and I was wondering if you knew a place where I can get some fish, ‘cause my mom’s been gone for hours and I’m starved.”

“Why, yes, as a matter of fact, I do know where you could get a bite of fish. But I have to get it for you,” George replied.

“Oh boy!” Sammy exclaimed. “If you’ll do that for me, I’ll be very grateful.”

And so, George soon found himself at a nearby fish market about a block away. Getting a can of tuna fish at eleven at night was a little risky, but he returned triumphantly. After opening it with his teeth, he watched in fascination as Sammy gobbled it up.

“That was excellent,” Sammy said, cleaning his whiskers. “Thank you ever so much.”

“No problem. Say, do you want to come with me?” George asked. “I’m sure my friend Mr. Wacko won’t mind. By the way, my name’s George.”

“Oh, I’ll come with you,” Sammy answered.

“Okay, then. Follow me and try not to let the humans see you,” said George, as he took off down the alley.

He led Sammy through the winding streets until they arrived at the oak tree about an hour later. George was amazed when Sammy expertly climbed the tree and was relieved to find the doorway was a perfect size for the kitten.

After George introduced his two friends, they took their seats and began to discuss their situation. Mr. Wacko pointed out that they were running out of food, so he wanted to move back to the country. George agreed to this and said that they could make a wagon out of the baskets and harness Sammy to it. The kitten didn’t object to this idea; actually he seemed to like it.

George went out into the city the next night and returned with two large fish for the journey, which would be Sammy’s. Luckily, there were just enough acorns left in the house to return to the country, so it worked out okay.

Mr. Wacko found more string and tied the two baskets together, one on top of the other. Then he made four wheels and tied them on. He also fashioned a sort of harness so that they could leave the next evening.

George and Mr. Wacko loaded the ‘wagon’ with the food, beds and the ‘Home Sweet Home’ sign. Then they harnessed up Sammy and the kitten declared he was ready.

Finally, they climbed onto his back and they were off. It was a long, rather pleasant and uneventful journey back to their old home at the base of the oak tree, but they didn’t run out of food. It took a whole week, but it was worth it, as they had learned their lesson: there’s just no place like home!

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