I went to look up just one little piece of information for my historical novel. I knew I needed it straight from the source my character would have had access to: the newspaper. Two hours and about twenty printed pages later, …
Feeling Left Out
Trust has been a huge topic between the Lord and I lately. Seems like every teaching I hear, every scripture I read and every conversation I have comes back around to trusting God. Really trusting, not just saying I trust …
Up
A good movie does what a good book does: it shows, it doesn’t tell. However, sometimes books and movies have lazy writers who tell instead of show. The people who create the Pixar movies very seldom fall into that category. …
Delighting in Dickens (Yet Again!)
The sheer size and density of each Dickens’ novel intimidates me. I think I’ve said that here before. And yet when I finally take a deep breath and crack open the cover, I revel in the world he creates, marveling at his …
The Best $5 I’ve Ever Spent
When my mother handed me the information for the Heritage Farmstead Museum, I knew it was a place I needed to go to further understand farm life at the turn of the century—the 20th century. Finally I had a free day and took …
For Me?
It is a dark and stormy day. What a great day to write! And I actually have the day, since the rain will knock out the early afternoon baseball game. Just when I think I’ll fly to pieces because my schedule has been so …
Begin at the Beginning?
At what point in a story should the audience jump in? That is a question every writer (of books or movies or plays) must grapple with. And it is not as easy as it sounds!In the past few weeks, I’ve run across two examples of …
Addicted to Historical Fiction
My name is D’Ann, and I’m addicted to historical fiction. Yes, it’s really true. I spent the whole day on Tuesday immersed in 1918. It was wonderful! I didn’t want it to end! I love it all—the writing, the research, the …
Two Cool Resources
Little did I know when I waxed eloquent on my wonderful little book of telling me how things were done or used in the past that that book was only the tip of the iceberg to come my way! In a move that I can only describe at …
The Excitement of Information
My family has learned to indulge my excitement over the strangest things. Like the book I found at Barnes and Noble this week. It’s called Back in the Day: 101 Things Everyone Used to Know How to Do. In one or two pages …