Our discussion tonight centered on how you establish a timeline for your story. It is super important for all those historical fiction writers out there. An author can’t have things, equipment, weather, people, or occurrences happening before the historical facts allow. Someone is going to call the writer to task for a simple error. That spoils the whole story for some readers. James Kelly, the author of, These Sacred Lands, tells us how he keeps his timeline straight. James uses a deck of 3X5 cards with pertinent information listed in order. He extensively researches each of his characters and actions to ensure accuracy. However, even with that research, errors occurred. Fortunately, using the Amazon KDP system to publish, he corrected the errors as soon as he became aware of them.
Likewise, Ernie Ovitz, author of The Seventh King, uses extensive research to validate the historical accuracy of his story. Using real historical characters presents challenges in writing because sometimes history has more than one point of view toward these persons. Dates often differ from one account to another, and different historians record facts of an event as they perceive events differently. It falls to the author to modify the event as they see fit. Errors will occur, and an author must account for differences in the historian’s POV before the final draft.
I once wrote a story set in the early twentieth century and had a house using florescent lighting five years before the invention came to the market. I fixed it after a curious little bell kept ringing in my mind. Thank you, bell.
Several writers chimed in with similar incidents, and suggestions for keeping a timeline were varied. Index cards are popular; a personal history with dates for characters.
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With eleven readers requesting time, we started our reading session with Ed Ellis, whose new book, Engage Possibility, is now on the market and available through Amazon. Tonight Ed favored us with two new poems. Nature’s Child showed us some of the beautiful things Nature does for us throughout our life but also relates to the demands of our Cosmic father. How much do you know about Protons? I knew every atom had to have at least one, but in Proton Supremacy, Ed tells us, “We are not… alone.”
Constantine’s army must cross a strait to attack an overwhelming enemy force in 324AD. Ernie Ovitz reads Chapter 19 of the 3rd Book and tells us that the Emperor’s son, Christmas, commands a fleet of ships now loaded with several Legions of Constantine’s army sails up the coast guided by Juno’s light. Stealth and luck allow the strategic maneuver to succeed. Victory is in the air.
Why am I writing this story? Tish Mcauley told us why she’s writing Angel. For years Tish was abused mentally and physically by men in her life. She was addicted to drugs and ridiculed for knowing things beyond what she was supposed to know. Upon becoming sober, Tish realized she had a gift. A gift that once she thought was a curse. Tish found out she was a Psychic Empath. She knew too much and struggled to handle it. Now she wants to help others who are being abused and help other Empaths find balance in their lives.
Scott Anderson came across a word he didn’t know the meaning of, evanescence. What did he do? What every writer ought to, he looked it up. Evanescence means; something that disappears but was almost imperceptible in the first place. Scott then read his poem entitled Bubble, a few words that say so very much. His second reading was the poem, French Kiss. Again, the feeling catches the listener with a soft caress on their heart.
Our Super Nova, Peter Frickel, took over the podium as he admitted, “Writing is sometimes a struggle,” how do you find the right words to explain life, death, fear, hate, or any emotion? What is the life or death of each word? Peter, you find the right word at least 99% of the time. You couldn’t settle for less. As he continued, he gave us an education in word use as he described the passions of females and males in literature. A woman’s desires are embodied by the French in a word, iouissance, while a man’s word is limerence. For those of us who write more in a more vulgar parlance, we might use less sophisticated vocabulary.
Don ‘Westy’ Westerfield is proud of his Hoosier/Kentucky dialect, as he should be, and he uses it effectively while reading. Tonight he gifted us with a reading of his short story, The Rain Barrel. Now in his older years, a man looks out the window and sees an old rain barrel his father made nearly a hundred years before. It stood at the corner of the house for all those years, catching water. Three brothers bathed in the barrel’s water; two didn’t return from a foreign war. What will happen to the rain barrel when the man is gone?
Tonight must be the night for explanations. John Hearon tells us the protagonist in his story, I Wasn’t Always A Hero, is loosely based on the myth of Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn McCool), who died in battle and left a message, “only my story shall remain.”
Those Who Trespass Against Me is the title of Richard Cope’s newest short story. A small rural community in the south holds an Independence Day parade. The KKK brought up the rear with a contingent including the Grand Dragon of the state’s Klan. Two young people set out to follow the klansmen to a farm outside of town. They were supposed to meet a friend before going there. Their friend was a person of color; he didn’t show….
James Kelly closed out the readings with Chapter 37 of his book These Sacred Lands. Young Lt. Mackenzie defies the military norm as he orders his men to charge the mass of Lakota. Not used to the troopers charging into a superior force, the Lakota were confused as they broke and left the battle. Mackenzie learned the ways of the Lakota and gambled on his actions giving his men the advantage.
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It was an informative meeting. We heard a lot of good stories and enjoyed the evening. We hope to see you all at our next meeting on August 17th. Until then KEEP ON WRITING!
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