Quiet ...
... means I'm getting a lot done on my manuscript. It's been a good week already, and it's only Tuesday! I have to hurry--tomorrow's the last day of school. What will I do with the monkeys out?
I started gathering some history of the town where my story's set yesterday. Perhaps this seems backwards, considering the first draft is already written, but it's too late to do it any differently. It's actually working out pretty well. I used the Handbook of Texas Online for a short history of Waco, and several of the themes present were reflective in strange ways of my story, so I was pleased. I'm not sure I would have recognized them before getting the story down.
To include the most obvious modern history of the Waco area or not ... that is the question. Still contemplating that one. (Don't want to mention the actual details here--I get too many random visitors when I do silly stuff like that. If you haven't remembered already, it has to do with an odd religious sect and a lot of people dying.)
The layering and detail work is a lot more fun than I thought it would be, though.
posted by Julie Kibler @ 11:58 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
I was thinking about the layering in of details like this just last night. Depending on what the main story is about, I think some acknowledgment of the most famous recent Waco events would really add -- particularly if it's done in a somewhat oblique fashion. It almost seems to good not to use -- not to find some connection to whatever your theme(s) might be...
Yes, it does (seem almost too good not to use). I've thought about something as simple as using the date as a birthdate, then referring briefly to the events and the awkwardness of the date. I'm still pondering a deeper tie in. Alas, nothing's come to me yet. :) It's probably there, though.
Never too late to research to deepen the story. As a matter of fact, I like this approach, and Walter Mosley recommends it in his book The Year You Write Your Novel.
Hmm, might need to check out Mr. Mosely, Carleen.
And ... since reading Lisa's comment and taking a shower (that always works when I'm trying to figure something out) I had a great revelation on the BWE (Big Waco Event :)and the tie-in to the story. It's so simple, I'm not sure why it took me so long! Must have been all about the timing.
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