It was 2016, five years ago, that I last posted here.  So much can happen in five years. And it did. Some good. Some difficult. There was growth. Aging. Seasoning.

Today I will blog about seasoning that took place in my writing. Five years ago I was still trying to wear three writer hats: a successful picture book author, a historical novel writer and a family history author.  It wasn't working. I knew it. But it took two years away from writing altogether for me to realize I needed to choose. 

Two years away from writing was not a concious choice. Life intervened to make it happen. Like so many others, my husband and I were forced into Covid isolation beginning in Spring 2020. This was followed by a major move after 50 years in the same house to a retirement community. All the while, I was learning to be a care-giver to my husband of 61 years diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia.

Finally summer 2021 arrived. With most physical and emotional adjustments behind me. I could return to my love of writing. 

The two years away from my novel was a blessing. When I returned I saw it with new eyes. What to jetison--favorite chapters though they be. All the hours upon hours of diverse research into the land of my characters began to coalesce. Crystalize. This gave me confidence that I could confidently walk among them in 1000 BC Canaan.  See the green rolling hills. Smell the rotten shell fish. Worship at the Bomah. Envy those that lived in a walled city high upon a hilltop.

This blog will now be a journal of my growth as a novel writer, as well as my journey to revise and complete my historical novel, The Thirteenth Moon.

Recently in preparing a family history I read stories that my mother and some of her siblings recorded about their parents, Martha and William Chase. They with their young family in 1900 “broke sod,” homesteading in what then was Indian Territory. Not until 1907 did the land become the State of Oklahoma.  

This is a picture of their “sod house” made of sod bricks. I remember Grandmother Martha telling me that the closest town was 40 miles away and that their nearest neighbors were horse thieves.

Last night I watched the classic western, Winchester ‘73 with James Stewart and Shelly Winters. My ancestors “lived” that same wild west. 

Here is a quote from my uncle Art:

“Another day a man came by our house riding a horse that was near exhaustion. He had been riding hard tracking some stolen horses. He asked Dad if he had seen any horses and he described them. Dad said he had not but it might pay to check down the road about I mile. That was where a gang of horse thieves headquartered. The man came back by later on leading his horses.” 

Resolve: Respond to Editors' and Agents' Requests.
At the June Agents and Editors Conference put on by Writers League of Texas (WLT), one editor and three agents asked me to send them more info about my book, The Thirteenth Moon. It is not the first time I have had this kind of response...but, like many other writers who are asked for more, I often did not follow up, thinking I needed to tweak, improve the manuscript first.

Recently I read that 70 % of writers who attend a conference and are asked for follow-up, never get around to submitting. In the past I have been among that 70%.

No longer. This week I will send to the editor and two of the agents the info they asked for. (The third agent does not have any clients in my genre, historical fiction.)

Great Writers' Conference This Weekend

The 2016 Agents and Editors Conference put on by the Writers' League of Texas is one of the best conferences I have attended. This year was no exception. From craft to marketing and pitching to agents and editors, the days were full. This business of writing is a never ending learning process and I learned a lot. Two of the best sessions I attended were Sunday morning. Carol Dawson who is an excellent teacher of craft presented: "Chasing to the Cut: Streamlining Your Opening Pages and Baiting Your Hook." The other was "Trouble Talk: Beefing Up Your Story with Conflict and Dialongue" by Jeramey Kraatz.

Am eager to apply some of the techniques I learned!

The joys and challenges of writing a historical novel that takes place 1000 BC in the Levant about a Philistine girl are endless! Every main character needs a place of origin and background:  language, name, family traditions, religion, favorite foods, etc. 

Little is known about the Philistines. Many scholarly theories exist as to their origin--from Crete, to Cyprus to southwestern Anatolia. The only thing these theories have in common is that they spoke an indo-European language...very different from the Semitic language of the Canaanites in which my protagonist, Cyprienna, finds herself.

From among the theories I chose to have Cyprienna's ancestors come from southwestern Anatolia among the Luwian people, not far from Troy--producing a wonderful twist to the story.

Which brings me to the endless joys of researching and writing a historical novel!  

One of the pleasures of writing historical novels is, in the course of research, discovering little known and fascinating gems about people or places. Today I came across Enheduanna, daughter of King Sargon of Akkadia (2285-2250 BCE).

 

She is fascinating because she is regarded by literary and historical scholars as possibly the earliest known author and poet!

 

As high priestess of En she composed a large body of literary work that includes several personal devotions to the goddess Inanna. And her collection of hymns known as the "Sumerian Temple Hymns," is regarded as one of the first attempts at a systematic theology

 

I had no idea. Sort of changes our perspective of female literacy in ancient Mesopotamia and female participation in religious thought.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enheduanna

Mini Habits, a Powerful Way to Achieve Larger Goals...Stephen Guise

I just read an interview of Stephen Guise, author of Mini Habits. He proposes a simple concept that can be applied to so many areas of life. Create a habit by starting with a mini habit, an easily achievable habit. For instance if regular exercise is you goal, do one push up a day. That is easy to achieve and with time you will find yourself exceeding that goal, giving you a sense of achievement.

The same with writing. Create a mini habit, for instance, of writing 50 words a day. That is achievable and so the daunting challenge of sitting down to the computer will not seem overwhelming. Once you have started, you will probably exceed that goal.

Some mini habits I will begin to implement today:
1. Revise ten sentences of my novel every day
2. Write fifty new words a day in my blog or on my life story.
3. Spend 10 minutes a day becoming familiar my on-line WordPress Website
4. Walk 10 minutes every day.