My Favorite Story...

My favorite story to tell today is how my story Keep Calm And Carry On, Children came to be...

           

It was inspired by my almost 99-year-old grandfather (April is coming up quickly) in England. About ten years ago he and Nanny started talking about their lives during Word War II. They captivated me. I couldn’t learn enough about the period and the hardships the civilians went through.

           

My grandfather’s parents took in two little girls during Operation Pied Piper, when over 800,000 children and women were evacuated from the cities and south coast of England because of the threat of an invasion.  Can you imagine putting your children on a train going north but knowing exactly where they were going to end up and when they did get to their destination, they would be taken off the train to be paraded down the streets for people to pick them. Imagine how scary that would be and what if you had a little sister? Would it be possible to stay together? The image of these two little girls was more than I could stand. I had to write a story for them.

Every trip,  Nanny  and Grandad would feed me more information…take me to museums and forts, introduce me to friends that were part of their generation (The Greatest Generation). I took notes, I studied everything. I ordered train maps from that period. I bought replica documents at museums. I took hundreds and hundreds of photographs. I road a train from the north of England to the South of England. I visited the town that Joyce and Gina and their friends up in, Leek. I connected with people in Leek. I did all the normal things you do for research.

           

I wrote down notes on everything. I did character sheets for each character. I made sure each character had his or her own voice and behaviors. There are five bulletin boards in my office and an easel. I covered them with word lists and British phrases. I created scene boards of everything the characters might have seen in each environment: London during the Blitz, the train ride to Leek, the countryside and village of Leek. Those were then broken down further for individual scenes. Yes, my office is very full! But as I finished with each section of the manuscript, I would put away that information. (I didn’t throw it away. It’s safely tucked away in boxes and an art portfolio.) Once I knew what would be in the scenes, I wrote down scene notes for the entire book. Then I fleshed out each scene until I had a complete first draft. A second draft... A third draft...

           

I had several trusted critique partners that helped me along the way! I joined online critique groups and in person critique groups. I took the opportunity to do paid critiques with industry professionals.  I went to workshops and conferences. I revised. I edited. I read out loud. I highlighted verbs, nouns, adjective, adverbs, "be" verbs, emotions and senses. I revised more. I queried often and widely. I got a bit with an agent and did an R and R, but it was a no, so I went back and did more editing and revising. Then I got an email from Black Rose Writing. In May or June I started the editorial process with them. And life became a great big blur for me until a box arrived a week before my trip to England...

           

(My happiest moment of 2019…giving Grandad a copy of the book he inspired.)

 Life is still a blur. There is so much to do after your book comes out. I had no idea what happened after your manuscript was accepted. I know there is still much to do. I love that my publisher reminds me this is a marathon not a sprint. Later this month I'm going to a workshop that deals with After The Publication. (Thanks SCBWI!)

I truly appreciate every single review or rating I've been blessed with.  My heart has been filled on several occasions by people who either were evacuees, married to evacuees or are from Leek, England.

Hugs...

Plotter or Pantser?

Some people say they are plotters and some say they are pantsers, to be honest I'm not sure what I am. Maybe you guys can tell me once you see my writing process.

For the historical fiction MG novel I just completed (well, until I hear otherwise), I started by listening to my grandparents tell about their experiences during WWII. I started taking notes and telling them why I was jotting down their memories. I took lots of notes and am so grateful they were willing to share what was a difficult time in their lives with me.

I also wrote letters and got letters back from other family members who lived during this time period.

Then I typed up notes and potential scenes to use in my manuscripts.

I read a lot, both fiction and non-fiction. Some books were for children and some were not, most notably I read selections from Winston Churchill's THE SECOND WORLD WAR series. (I have to quote him here, as his words were and are such an inspiration to me.) ~Never, never, never give up~ I realize he was talking about the war and the spirits of the people in England, but for me it took on a whole different meaning. Sharing my families and friends stories is something I have to do and I won't give up until it is published. It was my honor to fictionalize moments in their lives.

I visited museums and took lots of pictures, then organized them into envelopes, so when I started writing I could pull out photos for those scenes.

One museum I visited had replicas of government brochures, posters, and letters available for purchase. These items were extremely helpful for finding details about daily living. I also visited antique shops and purchased bits and pieces to inspire me. My grandfather gave me some documents from the war, too.

Then I organized all the research and books into files based on locations that they applied to.

I printed of a variety of different maps of England. I even found one that showed the railroad system during the war.

To my surprise, one of my blog friends, Gary at Klahanie Blog, told me he was from the village in England I was writing about. He sent me photographs, which was spectacular, as I hadn't been to Leek since I was a child.

Once I finished with my initial research, I organized and typed up my notes. Then I wrote them on index cards. It may seem redundant to write notes, type notes and then write them again, but each time I did this I was ingraining the research into my brain.

I kept a list of words and phrases that I liked and were appropriate for the time period. I mounted them on poster boards and then hung them up on bulletin boards in my office.

By now I kind of know where the scenes are going to take place in my story, so I mount the scene cards on poster board and then mount what could potentially happen in each location. I try to use the senses as much as possible in each scene. (ex: the sounds, the smells, how things feel and taste)

Most of the poster boards  were hanging on the bulletin boards in my office, so I could glance up from my desk and review them as I was writing and thinking. I also used an easel for the scene I was currently working on close to me.

I didn't use all of my research notes in this manuscript, but I left the manuscript open ended so if I do have the opportunity to write a sequel I already have some starting spots.

I'm sure there are much better ways of organizing your research and thoughts, but this worked for me. I think you have to find what method works for you...

So, what do you think? Am I a plotter or a pantser?

What are you?

Plotter? Planner? Pantser?

If you've been wondering where I was for last four weeks, I've been busy planning, plotting, pantsing, critiquing, editing and revising. I've never written a full length novel.  A chapter book is the biggest project I've completed so far.  At the last two conferences I met with editors and agents.  We talked about my picture book EVERYONE DID THEIR PART and they suggested that I should expand it into a mid grade novel.  Sooooo...I've been working on it.  As of right now I'm on Chapter 9.

I did a lot of research to get ready to write this story.  I interviewed several people, read a load of books,visited historic sites, visited websites, and of course took loads of photos when I was in England.

While I was reading I jotted down notes of words and phrases I wanted to use in my book.  I typed up all my notes and then broke them down into different categories: fun words; phrases; sites and sounds in particular places; scenes broken down into locations,  and character descriptions.

Then I wrote them on note cards and stuck them on poster board. I sorted them into specific groups.

I sorted the cards into where that scene should take place.   So I have a bunch of these:  The Blitz, The Train Station, The Train, Leek, New Home, New School, Countryside, Town Market, and Church.  I'm sure I will be making more of these as I go along, but this is where I'm at right now.

I was able to enlist my dear friend Gary Pennick to take some photographs of Leek.  I haven't been there since I was 6 or 7.  I'm bowled over that Gary agreed to do this for me.  He didn't hesitate for a second.  (Thanks you, Gary)  It's just another reason I love my bloggy friends.  (HUG)

My Brilliant Niece, Bethany Runyan, did this great gator picture to help me get the right frame of mind for

 the other writing project I've been working on has been with my wicked cool cp, Lenny Lee.

We did four versions of the story before we sent it to the people who volunteered to critique it.  Lenny and I adore everyone who helped out!  Thank you, Corey, Janet, Robyn, Melissa, Susan Quinn and Jackee!  We <3 you!

We went over everyone's critiques one at a time with our manuscript and made lots of changes.  So are ready to send it out one last time before we start querying.  I'm so excited (I think Lenny is too).

(Insert photo of my massive bicepts here.)

The other thing I've been doing is working on my health.  I joined a fitness club.  I go six days a week (usually).  We alternate with kickboxing and strength training.  That sounds easy right?  Well let me tell you, I leave so exhausted I can barely walk each day.  Yesterday when I got home, I went up to take a shower...I was pulling my socks off and BAM I fell over.  So other than my balance issues, I can proudly report I have made progress.  On day 1, I could do 4 push ups in one minute, 31 sit ups and run a 12:21 mile (in the winter in Iowa).  On the last day of week 5, I could do 31 push ups and 36 sit ups.  I didn't run the mile as it was about 3 degrees and the wind was howling.  I haven't lost any weight but my waist went down 2.5 inches, chest 1.75 inches, and arm (biceps) down .75 inches.  So I am pretty pleased with my progress.

One of the great things about the program is it also has a nutrition side to it.  You keep track of your carbs, proteins, vegetables and water intake.  One day a week you get to have a fun day.  You get to eat or drink anything you want.  It is supposed to be a metabolism booster.  Let me tell you....I live for Saturdays!  Walt and I go out for brunch after I get back from the gym and we either have dinner out or order in.  Sunday is a no exercise day, but I'm thinking about walking or running on Sundays.

So as you can see, I've kept busy in a productive manner.  I did miss all of you and am glad to be back to blogging in the evenings.  Can't wait to see what everyone has been up to.

Hugs to all.....