Place and Proving Grounds: 10 Links for 19th Century Life

photo courtesy pixabay.com

"Every story would be another story, and unrecognizable if it took up its characters and plot and happened somewhere else...Fiction depends for its life on place. Place is the crossroads of circumstance, the proving ground of What happened? Who's here? Who's coming?"--Eudora Welty

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

3. Civil War Collection and Archives

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. 19^th 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.

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?

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Snapshots and Story Prompts

March Snapshot 2014--kendaturner.blogspot.com

"A good snapshot stops a moment from running away." --Eudora Welty

Have you ever reached for your camera and taken a series of random shots with no real idea of what you've captured until you check the results later? I did--and this is one of the images I got. Believe me it was truly random and serendipitous. I couldn't have staged anything this comical on my own. 

Littlest granddaughter and I were just hanging out together while Grandpa entertained two older siblings elsewhere. I grabbed the camera and snapped away as 15-month old Cecy played, tottered around, rolled on the floor, climbed on and off a tyke-sized bike, giggled and flashed endearing smiles. Before long she was into the Sunday paper still strewn on the floor, picking up a section here, discarding it there. I had no idea what print was on the back of the section she held up until I checked my photo roll later.

And there it was. A moment caught, as Ms. Welty said, before it could run away. Along with a funny story to tell.

Hmmmm...If I were to tell a story from this photo, what might be the log line? If I chose it for a writing prompt, what ideas would I run with? What would  be a good caption? Oh, the potential! Snapshots and story--they can work together in a creative way.

Do you rely on photos for writing inspiration? Do you post favorites around your writing space to keep you inspired? Do you use pictures for writing prompts? It appears a good number of writers do by the looks of Pinterest boards, including: Pictures as Writing Prompts, Writing Picture Prompts, and Picture Writing Prompts. 

What caption might you suggest for my picture above?

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