King’s Mountain: A Ballad Novel, by Sharyn McCrumb

King’s Mountain: A Ballad Novel, by Sharyn McCrumb was this month’s selection for discussion by Rocky River Readers Book Club. I looked forward to reading it. I even checked it out from the library, but I didn’t get it read. After sitting in on the discussion a couple of hours ago, though, I will definitely read it. After all, historical fiction is my first love, and I had ancestors who took part in the Battle of King’s Mountain on October 7, 1780. In fact, they lived within shouting distance of the battle.

Sharyn McCrumb is meticulous when it comes to doing the historical research to back up her novels. I had the pleasure of hearing her speak in Wilkesboro, North Carolina several years ago, and I was tremendously impressed with the depth of her research. She sets the bar high for would-be historical fiction writers like me.

The majority of King’s Mountain: A Ballad Novel gives the history of what led up to this battle of the American Revolution and personal stories of people who actually participated in the battle or supported those people. The Americans who took part in the battle were farmers who made up various companies of militia. They were up against Gen. Patrick Ferguson and his British troops under the command of General Cornwallis. Ferguson is remembered for his harsh treatment of American patriots.

Although the Redcoats took a position on the mountain, the militiamen won the battle and set things in motion for another Cornwallis defeat at Guilford Courthouse the following spring and the surrender of the British at Yorktown.

The discussion at the book club meeting really piqued my interest in the book for all the interesting personal stories about the participants in the Battle of King’s Mountain, such as Mary Patton making gunpowder; Ferguson having a chance to shoot George Washington but, thinking he would have a chance on the battlefield, deciding to wait; and Davy Crockett’s connection with Gov. John Sevier of Tennessee. The discussion also makes me want to visit the King’s Mountain National Battlefield again.

On another note, everything I read about blogging tells me that I need to do it on a schedule, as in at the same time on the same day(s) of the week. I’m making an effort to blog on Mondays and Fridays. Doing it at the same time? That will be a work in progress!

Janet

World Book and Copyright Day

April 23, 2016 is World Book and Copyright Day. Thank goodness our creative work is protected by copyright laws! Some people will, of course, find ways to use another’s work and claim it as their own. The author does, however, have recourse through the court system when infractions are discovered. I’ve never had to go that route. I’m sure it’s a hassle. Expense is always involved when you have to sue someone.

The closest I’ve come to such a problem was after my sister and I published three genealogy books in 1996. A religious organization based in Utah asked us for permission to put all the information from our books online. We were floored! We had just sunk thousands of dollars into getting 500 hardcover copies of each book printed and knew it would take us years to recoup our money, so our answer was an unequivocal, “No!” We were just glad they asked us before they acted.

There was also a case a few years ago when I was asked to write an article for a genealogical society’s quarterly journal. I was flattered and thrilled to do so. After preparing the journal for printing, the editor was kind enough to send me a copy of my article to proofread. Imagine my shock when I discovered that she had added sentences here and there without indicating they were editor’s notes. It wouldn’t have been so bad if the information she had added had been true, but none of it was! When I called her on it, she said the content she had added had been assumptions. Since she did not see that she had done anything wrong, I pulled my article from her publication. It is a respected journal, so it saddens me now to know that nothing in it can be trusted. The editor was not claiming my work as her own, but my credibility as a writer and a historian would have been tarnished if the misinformation she inserted in my article had been published.

On April 5, 2016 Janice Wald of the blog, MostlyBlogging.com, shared a guest post by Kathleen Aherne. Ms. Ahearne’s website is called “The Blogger’s Lifestyle,” and her blog’s address is http://www.kathleenaherne.com/the-blog/. Her April 5 blog is a good source for the basics about copyright and plagiarism as those issues pertain to writing a blog. The post addresses images as well as the written word.

Unless an article or book is identified as fiction, we trust the author or editor. Once that trust is broken, it can never be completely restored.

Until next time,

Janet

My writer’s notebook

A few months ago I started keeping a writer’s notebook of itms that could help me in my own writing. The notebook is divided into various sections, including “First Lines of Novels,” “Agents, Editors, etc.,” “Blog Post Ideas,” “Notes from Author Interviews I Saw or Read,” and “Lines I Like.” I’m doing my first writer’s notebook. My biggest challenge is guessing at how many pages to allot to each section.

writer's notebook 002 — My writer’s notebook – Volume 1

First Lines of Novels

In the “First Lines of Novels” section I write down the opening sentence or paragraph from every book I read. Some of them make me think, I wish I’d thought of that!

Literary Agents, Editors, etc.

Occasionally, in the acknowledgements page, a novelist reveals the name of their literary agent or editor. I try to make a note of those names, especially if the book is historical fiction.

Notes from Author Interviews

When I hear an author being interviewed on National Public Radio (NPR) or see one being interviewed on TV (usually on PBS – the Public Broadcasting System) by Charlie Rose or Tavis Smiley, I grab a pen and paper so I’m ready to jot down a quote, an idea, a recommendation, or a book name that piques my interest. The University of North Carolina public TV system (UNC-TV) has a weekly program called “Bookwatch” that features interviews with North Carolina writers. I especially enjoyed Lee Smith’s February 25, 2016 appearance on that show and her comments about her new book, Dimestore: A Writer’s Life. I read the book and thoroughly enjoyed it. I could hear Ms. Smith’s lovely Southern accent in my head as I read it.

Blog Post Ideas

This section is self-explanatory, but I find my writer’s notebook is a good place to write down blog post ideas. If I don’t write down ideas immediately, chances are I won’t remember them later.

Lines I Like

When I happen upon an unusually beautiful, humorous, or well-written passage in a book, I write it down in this section of my notebook. These are phrases, sentences, or paragraphs I want to read over and over again. I note the author’s name and the name of the book, of course.

I’ll end this post with a selection from that portion of my notebook:

“Their recent conversations skipped like stones across the surface of their lives, never finding depth, never touching the trouble that had been visited upon Alexander.” ~ The Guise of Another, a novel by Allen Eskens.

Janet Morrison

Update on sorting out social media

It’s been an interesting four days since my last blog post. Today’s post is (as the title suggestions) an update on my adventures in sorting out social media. I’m a writer, not an IT person.

Facebook

For those of you who follow me on Facebook, you already know I’ve made no progress there. I’m finding it a challenge to share articles I find online on my Janet Morrison, Writer Facebook page. It is secondary to my personal page. Sometimes I’m given the option of sharing on either page, but usually my only choice is to share on my personal page. Also, when I try to install a Facebook button on my blog, it takes you to my personal page. I don’t want to merge my two pages, but that might be my only option.

Pinterest

I’ve made a point to pin to several of my Pinterest boards every day. Instead of being satisfied to just pin quotes about writing to my “The Writing Life” board, I’m making a concerted effort to find more substantive and helpful articles about the craft of writing. Since April 4 my Pinterest followers have increased from 32 to 40. That’s not a huge number, but it’s 25% — which sounds better. I wrote a nonfiction vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina in 2014. I hope my “Blue Ridge Mountains” and “Great Smoky Mountains” boards will result in some book sales. I invite you to follow me or my boards you find of interest at http://www.pinterest.com/janet5049.

I’ve had a Twitter account for longer than I care to remember, but I’ve hesitated to use it. There! I’ve said it! I have retweeted 14 tweets and sent five original tweets all in the last eight days. I’m still a little in the dark about hashtags. I’m following 51 people and 14 are following me. I’m resisting the temptation to check out Twitter for Dummies from the library after my less than stellar experience with I-Phones for Dummies.

Blogger Networking

One encouraging thing that has resulted from my plunging deeper into social media this week is that I was contacted by a fellow blogger who is also writing a book and dealing with some of the same social media issues I’m struggling with. #MyNameIsJamie @Sonni_quick gave me some wisdom from her experience and we commiserated about our mutual shortcomings when it comes to building our platforms online. It was reassuring to find out I’m not the only person feeling my way through the maze of social media of tweets, Facebook, blogs, etc.; however, Sonni is ahead of me on the learning curve.

Summary

It felt good to make some progress this week after a couple of nonproductive months, I have also found encouragement and inspiration in the poetry, prose, and articles shared by the bloggers I follow.

My Next Blog

In my next blog on April 18, I plan to write about the writer’s notebook I keep. See you then!

Janet Morrison

Sorting out social media

You won’t have to follow my blog long before you figure out that I am technologically-challenged. As an aspiring writer, I read lots of advice. It seems to say that I need to be savvy when it comes to social media. Technology does not come naturally for me and, since there are no five-year-olds in my household to instruct me, I continue to muddle along. Perhaps you find yourself in the same boat.

Twitter

Twitter is my current challenge. I set up my Twitter account last August. I wanted on Twitter to build my blog following and my “platform.” Of course, that hasn’t worked out too well because I was afraid to Tweet. In fact, I sent out my first Tweet about 12 hours ago, and I have my first follower! So far, so good. I might give it another go tomorrow.

“They” say I need to use hashtags to attract people who are interested in the things in which I’m interested. I’m of the generation that still calls the hashtag symbol “the pound key.” Actually, I still think of it as the symbol for number. It only became “the pound key” with the advent of push-button phone. Now I’m really showing my age!

“They” say I need to engage with people. Not my comfort zone! I just want to sit at my computer and write books, but that’s not the way the world of writing books works now.

“They” say I need to set aside time each day to work on Twitter until I get comfortable with it. Great! I have to add one more thing to my daily schedule! My stress level rises just thinking about it.

“They” say I need to post new Tweets throughout the day — and Tweet other people’s articles. This sounds like a full-time job to me — and you know from my latest blog that I have limited energy.

“They” say I need to hire a social media strategist, but I can’t afford to do that right now.

“They” have no idea how taxing all this social media stuff is for me!

My blog

On the bright side, I am getting more comfortable with my blog. My current plan/goal is to blog on Mondays and Fridays. I have 23 followers, and you can’t imagine how thankful I am for each and every one. Other bloggers might laugh at my follower count, but it truly amazes me that even 23 people are interested in what I have to say about my writing journey.

Pinterest

I am addicted to Pinterest. I got on Pinterest for the same reasons I created a Twitter account. I have five Pinterest boards related to my writing including The Writer’s Life, Novel in Progress- The Spanish Coin, Janet’s Writing Blog, Blue Ridge Mountains, and Great Smoky Mountains; however, I find myself spending more time looking for recipes than for writing pins. I’m still learning how to use Pinterest to my best benefit as a writer. I invite you to follow me or my boards you find of interest at http://www.pinterest.com/janet5049.

Facebook

I reluctantly got on Facebook after feeling like I was missing out on some local happenings, but I soon took the plunge and set up a second Facebook page for Janet Morrison, Writer. When I was feverishly visiting independent bookstores and libraries to publicize after the release of my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, it was easy to post pictures and write posts on Facebook about those endeavors. I must admit, though, that I have neglected the Janet Morrison, Writer Facebook page since that flurry of activity. Putting more effort into that page is on my to-do list.

Janet-The Book Shelf Tryon,NC 003 — Janet, autographing a copy of her book at The Book Shelf in Tryon, North Carolina.

LinkedIn

It seems to me that LinkedIn is more beneficial to someone who is either looking for a job or seeking to network with others in their field in order to move up the corporate ladder. It just does not appeal to me as a way to further my writing. Maybe I’ll see it differently later in my journey.

Google+ and Instagram

During my recent illness flare, I was invited to join Google+. I was told last week that Instagram is easier than Facebook. Looking into both of these platforms is on my ever-growing to-do list.

My conclusions

My conclusions after trying to educate myself about social media are as follows:
1. I can’t possibly use all social media platforms;
2. I don’t need to use all social media platforms;
3. There are social media platforms out there that I haven’t heard of;
4. There will always be new social media platforms introduced for me to consider, so I will forever be playing catch up;
5. I should find the social media platforms that I’m comfortable with and that best meet my needs and concentrate my efforts there; and
6. After accomplishing #5 (that’s “number 5”) I can get back to my writing — which was the point in all this to begin with!

10 random facts about me

In my blog post a couple of days ago, I wrote about being nominated for the Liebster Award. One of the requirements was that I post 10 random facts about myself. I put that off until today, for reasons that will become more clear when you read my list. I have tried to keep my limited energy a secret from my readers, but it is time to “come clean.”

1. I have what is called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) in the United States but is known as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) in the rest of the world. My energy and stamina are limited, and my memory problems and mental fog make my research and writing tedious and time consuming. I often feel as if I live in a vat of molasses. Nothing comes easily.

2. I started working on the manuscript of my proposed historical novel, The Spanish Coin, in 2005. I am still tweaking it.

3. As a young adult, I was a “fiction snob.” I thought there was nothing to learn or gain by reading fiction. You can imagine how shocked my sister was when, at the age of 48 in 2001, I told her that I had registered for a fiction writing class! That’s when I started learning to write fiction.

4. Although my appearance, manner, and personality give the impression that I am conservative, I am a liberal when it comes to politics.

5. After wanting to play the Appalachian lap dulcimer since first being introduced to the instrument as a college freshman, I finally purchased one and attended a four-day dulcimer workshop in 2010. Due to random fact #1, I still don’t play well and probably never will; however, I do play for my own enjoyment. I often listen to dulcimer music while I write. (I’m listening to some as I write this blog post.)

6. I live on land that has been in my family since the 1760s.

7. I sleep in a bed that my father made of pine from our land in the 1940s.

8. I wish I could sing.

9. I could drive a tractor before I was old enough to drive a car.

10. Taking the fiction writing course and attending the dulcimer workshop were life-changing experiences for me, and I will forever be grateful that I got out of my comfort zone and took advantage of both opportunities.

No matter your age, stretch yourself and follow your dreams. What do you have to lose?

Liebster Award

Thank you, philipcraddock.wordpress.com for nominating me for the Liebster Award! Please take a look at the Philip Craddock Writing Portfolio blog. Philip writes short stories, poetry, and songs.

Liebster Award

If you are unfamiliar with the Liebster Award, you can read all about it at theglobalaussie.com. In a nutshell, the purpose of the award is to connect with bloggers and discover new blogs, particularly those of us with fewer than 200 followers.

My favorite blog

In keeping with the rules of the Liebster Award, I want to tell you a little about my favorite blog, https://journeywithsarah.wordpress.com/. In this blog, Sarah’s mother chronicles her teenage daughter’s journey as she battles cancer.

Sarah and her mother show remarkable courage and positivity even as they know the teen’s time is limited. Sarah has fearlessly tried every treatment her oncologists have recommended. Some have worked for a short while. Others have been less successful. In the midst of all her pain and physical weakness, though, Sarah has persevered and lived each day to the fullest.

Sarah’s mother shows that same upbeat attitude and faith in God. I can’t imagine how difficult it is for a parent to hear that his or her child has cancer and then remain positive throughout the child’s battle.

What an example Sarah and her mother set for us! I only hope if the day comes that I am faced with an adversary as cruel as cancer, that I will live life as graciously as Sarah.

Random facts about me

Liebster Award nominees are asked to list 10 random facts about themselves in their post about the award. I’m working on that and plan to share those facts in my next blog post in a few days.

Blogs I follow

Another requirement of the Liebster Award is that nominees must nominate five or as many as 10 other bloggers for the award. Taking a look at the blogs I follow, I see that I don’t know how many followers most of them have, but I imagine they all exceed the 200 followers limit. In my next blog post, you will learn why I simply don’t have enough energy to contact each one of them to determine how many followers they have. I regret that I cannot fulfill this element of the award rules. I will simply list my favorite blogs and invite you to check them out. They are as follows:

Questions presented to me by Philip Craddock:

1. What is your favourite poem? “If,” by Rudyard Kipling

2. What is your biggest regret? That I waited until middle age to start writing.

3. Which country would you most like to visit/visit again? Scotland!

4. What is your favourite dessert? plain cheesecake

5. If you could travel back in time to any point in history, what time period would you visit? The 1770s.

6. If you were a superhero, what would your superhero name & your superpower be? This is way out of my usual consideration, so answering this question is a real challenge. Let’s see…. Janet the Superbird. My superpower would be that I could fly.

7. Do you have any phobias? Snakes!

8. What are your goals for 2016? Publish my historical novel, The Spanish Coin.

9. Not including your own blog, which blog would you most like other people to Follow? https://journeywithsarah.wordpress.com/

10. What motivated you to start blogging? I wanted to share my journey as an author-wannabe, and ultimately build a platform to promote my published books.

11. What is the strangest fact about yourself that you’re willing to admit to? My illness has my circadian clock off by about six hours, which means I’m always out of sync with the rest of my local world.

The Official Rules of the Liebster Award 2016

As required, I am listing the 2016 rules for the Liebster Award as found at http://theglobalaussie.com/.

“Back in 2011 the rules were a simple case of acknowledgement of the nominator and to nominate 5 more. Now in 2016 it is a little more involved!

“If you have been nominated for The Liebster Award AND YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT, write a blog post about the Liebster award in which you:

Thank the person who nominated you, and post a link to their blog on your blog. Try to include a little promotion for the person who nominated you. They will thank you for it and those who you nominate will also help you out as well.

Display the award on your blog — by including it in your post and/or displaying it using a “widget” or a “gadget”. (Note that the best way to do this is to save the image to your own computer and then upload it to your blog post.) At the bottom of this post I’ve included a whole lot of images you can use for your 2016 Liebster Award.

For the 2016 Liebster Award I will be shaking things up! Write a 150-300 word post about your favourite blog that is not your own. Explain why you like the blog, provide links.

Provide 10 random facts about yourself. (This year I’m making this optional. If you wish to engage with your readers it’s a great idea to include random facts about you.)

Nominate 5 – 11 blogs that you feel deserve the award, who have a less than 200 followers. (Note that you can always ask the blog owner this since not all blogs display a widget that lets the readers know this information!)

List these rules in your post (You can copy and paste from here.) Once you have written and published it, you then have to:

Inform the people/blogs that you nominated that they have been nominated for the Liebster award and provide a link for them to your post or mine if you don’t have all the information so that they can learn about it (they might not have ever heard of it!)”

My energy wanes and it is now the wee hours of the morning here in North Carolina. I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s post as much as I enjoyed writing it. It took me a little out of my comfort zone, which was a good exercise.

Watch for my next blog post in which I will list 10 random facts about myself.

Janet Morrison

Accents in fiction writing

One of the multitude of issues I’ve faced while writing the manuscript for my historical novel tentatively titled The Spanish Coin, is how to use accents. When I started writing fiction, I tended to go overboard with accents. It has been a long process of learning just how much to incorporate accents into my writing, and I’m not confident that I have it right yet.

Scottish & Scots-Irish

Most of my characters either hail from the lowlands of Scotland or present-day Northern Ireland or are first generation Americans whose parents came from those places. In writing for such characters, one needs to strike a balance between using accents too much or too little.

In The Spanish Coin, I want the reader to know the accents of my characters without those accents being a distraction. If an accent or dialect pulls the reader out of the story, it works as a detriment instead of adding flavor to the reading.

African-American

George is an African-American slave in The Spanish Coin. The year is 1771 in the Carolina backcountry. When answering a question, I have George say, “Yessum” or “Yessuh” instead of “Yes, mam” or “Yes, sir.”

Clarissa is a free woman of color in my novel’s manuscript, so she speaks with less of an accent than George or the slave, Caesar, from a nearby farm. Subtle distinctions make each character’s personality shine through.

French

One of the characters I enjoyed creating for The Spanish Coin is Monsieur Jean LeBlanc of France. He passes through on his way to and from Salisbury, North Carolina and Charles Town, South Carolina. His accent was fun to write. When writing or reading his dialogue, I invariably hear the voice of French chef Jacques Pepin in my head.

Summary

Part of the joy of writing historical fiction is selecting words and accents from a particular time and place. The challenge is to use those words and accents enough — but just enough.

What I read (or attempted to read) in March

My blog topic today was supposed to be “What I read in March,” but a more accurate title is “What I read (or attempted to read) in March.”

Considering the fact that March had 31 days, it is particularly frustrating that I only read one complete book: Miss Julia Delivers the Goods, by Ann B. Ross.

Ann B. Ross’s Miss Julia Books

In case you aren’t familiar with Ann B. Ross’s Miss Julia series of novels, they are set in western North Carolina and revolve around the misadventures of Miss Julia, a widow with a big heart and a penchant for getting herself into predicaments. For Rocky River Readers Book Club on March 21, we were each asked to read a Miss Julia book of our choice. It had been several years since I’d read one, so I enjoyed getting reacquainted with this fictional character.

Books I Attempted to Read

Due to health circumstances beyond my control, including almost daily vertigo, I was unable to read very long at a time or with any regularity. The result was a number of half- or quarter-read books that had to return to the library.

A few of the books I started reading in March include: Raising Ryland: Our Story of Parenting a Transgender Child, by Hillary and Jeff Whittington; B is for Burglar, by Sue Grafton; The Family Tree, by Karen Branan; Forgotten Seastress, by Liz Trenow; Forsaken, by Ross Howell, Jr.; and King’s Mountain, by Sharyn McCrumb.

I look forward to finish reading each of these book eventually, but not until my head stops spinning and my eyes quit jumping.

Happy reading to each of us in April!

3 plotline considerations

In my blog on March 25, 2016, I wrote about my writing instructor, Judith H. Simpson. Taking her fiction writing course at Queens University in Charlotte in 2001 was a life-changing experience. Writing the 95,000-word manuscript of a historical novel with the working title The Spanish Coin has brought me much joy. When I started my writing journey, I didn’t even know what I didn’t know. Some days, I think that’s still true.

Today’s blog post looks at some of the things Judy taught about plotline. She said in developing a plotline a writer needs to consider the stakes, “that dreaded middle,” and plausibility.

No matter which genre, a book’s main character must have something at stake. Something the main character holds near and dear must be at risk.

Chances are the writer has the book’s beginning and end well in hand before “that dreaded middle” comes together. The main character must take two steps forward and one step back throughout the middle portion of the novel. Every time the main character makes progress, that forward movement must be met with a setback.

Is the plot plausible? It cannot sound contrived. When the reader finishes a book, he must be able to look back and know that the manner in which the main character went about solving her problems, dealing with conflicts, and meeting her challenges was logical.

Without high stakes, a compelling middle, and plausibility, the reader will be disappointed in the plot and, therefore, will not be satisfied when he finishes the book — IF he finishes it.

I invite you to also follow my writing journey on Pinterest www.pinterest.com/Janet5049, where I have various boards pertaining to writing and some of my other interests.

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The Official Rules of the Liebster Award 2016

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