 |
| photo courtesy pixabay.com |
Crossroads (n)--"the place where one road crosses another." At the crossroads--"in a situation where a choice must be made." My personal crossroad direction in writing this time around has taken me to 19th century Ohio. I see the potential of circumstance swirling around my character, the landscape of her proving grounds. She's surprising me in some ways while she whispers her story in my ear, but she's got her feet firmly planted in the times and circumstances of place. So far I've not allowed myself to get too mired in the details (I've already spent enough time there). But here are some resources I'd love to pass along to others who might be looking for just the right 19th century detail for their story, too.
1. Library of Congress. "American Memory" source.
2. Godey’s Lady’s Book, January 1864. Internet Archive
4. Household Cyclopedia. General Information
in the Useful and Domestic Arts, 1881
5. Cornell University Making of America Collection. Digital
library of primary sources in American history. Browse magazines and documents.
6. Ohio Memory
7. 19th Century America. Primary documents, timelines, maps and more
8. Ulysses S. Grant Homepage. Photos and more.
9. A Portal to the Victorian World
10. Victoriana Magazine. Contemporary magazine transporting readers back to the Victorian age.
10. Victoriana Magazine. Contemporary magazine transporting readers back to the Victorian age.
So far so good in my goal to just get that messy first draft down on paper. Words aren't necessarily flowing fast but neither are they drying up. Place is helping me listen: Who's here? Who's coming? Place is unfolding and determining and challenging me to go deeper.
What part has "place" played in your writing recently?
______________________________________
These look like excellent resources. Thanks so much for sharing them. Wishing you well on this writing journey. :) Happy weekend!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Karen--and happy weekend back to you!
ReplyDeletePlace plays a huge part in my books. I usually write about where I've lived...mostly Florida and PA. And you Must get on Facebook! Didn't realize you aren't there. Please sign up and find all us writers. We support each other there. And if you sell, publishers want you there,
ReplyDeleteOh and Thank you for ordering my book!!! It will be out in softcover too soon.
ReplyDeleteOh and Thank you for ordering my book!!! It will be out in softcover too soon.
ReplyDeletePlace plays a huge part in my books. I usually write about where I've lived...mostly Florida and PA. And you Must get on Facebook! Didn't realize you aren't there. Please sign up and find all us writers. We support each other there. And if you sell, publishers want you there,
ReplyDeleteThat photo is wonderful! It would be hard to decide if you were really standing there having to choose :). I'm revising my messy first draft and having to struggle because of new ideas and plot twists-I think those are a couple of crossroads in themselves. Wishing you the best in getting your draft finished.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great Victorian sites. One of my books (that will be published in June) takes place in Victorian England (but the era was the same in many ways in both countries). It's the first book in a series, so I am always on the lookout for more information about the times. Good luck with your book. There is something very satisfying about writing fiction set in another time. I will look forward to reading it when it is finished.
ReplyDeleteTerri--Congratulations again on the release of your book! And as you can see I'm one of the last of the facebook holdouts. I know it's an important place to be for writers but that black hole? Can I discipline myself?? Maybe that will turn out to be the challenge of 2015 for me. Thanks for the encouragement to get started with it. I hope to see you then when the time comes :-)
ReplyDeleteCatherine--I loved that photo, too. Can't take credit for it but would like to! Good luck your your revisions. Sounds like your book wants to take you down lots of new paths :-) Maybe those crossroads will offer you some exciting new twists.
Elizabeth--you're welcome for the Victorian links. And congratulations for your upcoming book publication! That's exciting. Wishing you great success with it and for the whole series. Thanks for coming by and letting us know :-)
I always struggle with "place" because I've lived in only two states - Ohio and Pennsylvania. I'd like to branch out a bit but don't feel I know any other places well enough.
ReplyDeleteYou've listed some wonderful research books. This may sound dumb, but I find watching the History channel very useful in helping me picture past events - used more in my teaching than my writing, though.
Peggy, seems like you can mine a lot of place settings from Ohio and PA so I wouldn't worry about not having a wider scope! From what I've read of your work ("The Windsinger" :-) you tell great stories no matter where they are set. For me and the historical fiction I write, my range of place is even more narrow than yours, specifically late 17th century southwest Ohio (book 1) and Civil War Cincinnati/NKY (book 2). Some fascinating stuff in a radius of a few miles... Oh, and the History Channel? A great resource :-)
ReplyDelete