In just four days I'll be headed to the midwest, deep into the wilds of Iowa, in search of the history and landscape of two families--my own, and that of Emily Gillespie.
My sister and I will spend the holiday weekend searching out the historical location of one half of our family. We've found the cemetery in Nebraska where our grandparents (and several other more distant relatives) are buried. We have the address of the house where our mother was born in Des Moines. And who knows what else we may find there?
And then there is Emily's history. Iowa is where she spent her entire adult life, first at her uncle's inn on Old Stagecoach road in what used to be Coffin's Grove (which is now on the Historic Registry), then on a farm outside Manchester. I've even found her grave in Oakland cemetery in Manchester.
The locations of her life are just waiting for me to find them.
I've been blessed by the fact that one of my project committee members (Andrea Modarres) worked as a graduate student with the amazing and generous woman--Dr. Judy Temple--whose work with Emily's diary was in a very large part the inspiration for my own. Ever since Andrea's email introduction put me in contact with Dr. Temple, I have gleaned masses of "insider" information from her--information about the diary which led to questions and ideas that have come to form the backbone of my book project, along with places to go and people to talk to--and just this last weekend, the name of the man who still lives in Emily's house! With a little bit of internet sleuthing, I found a street address, a phone number and the email address of someone who turned out to be this man's grandson!
Not ten minutes ago I received a very positive reply to the email I sent yesterday asking if this gentleman would be willing to see me and let me take a look around Emily's house and farm. His grandson--Kyle--will be approaching him with my request tonight, but he assured me that his grandpa loves to talk about the history of his house--and that he was quite sure that "he would love to make some time to show you around" (working around the Delaware county fair that is also happening that week)!
Everything is coming together so beautifully for this trip. The archives in Iowa City know I'm coming to see the diary (although I do plan to call and remind them on Wednesday!), and all of the arrangements have been confirmed.
The trip will be brief, but I know the book project Emily's diary has inspired will be so much the richer for it.
Iowa, here I come!
Monday, June 30, 2014
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
It's true, what they say...
When you are writing fiction, sometimes the characters really do just take over!
Yesterday, as I was working diligently on the first chapter of my book, trying to set up my main character, as well as the mood and tone for the book, something totally unexpected happened.
Lizzie, completely out-of-the-blue, "inherited" an unforeseen relative. Seriously, poor Lizzie had just come home from a hard day at work, schlepping a couple of grocery bags and a stack of student essays while fumbling with her keys at the front door, desperate for a cup of tea, when who pops into the scene but her British war bride grandmother--a total surprise to me (but apparently not to Lizzie). Do you suppose they had planned this from the beginning? It does feel a bit conspiratorial to me.
Anyway, ever since this woman appeared in Lizzie's thoughts--with instructions on how to make the perfect cuppa--she won't seem to stay silently in the wings. This morning, she moved into Lizzie's childhood home and became a surrogate parent when teenaged Lizzie's mother dies, as well as becoming the primary muse behind Lizzie's love of literature and stories. While I'm trying to get Lizzie to listen to her voicemail, this woman--sunshine personified--is busy writing folksy letters to college student Lizzie, keeping her spirits up while she's missing home. She has even managed to become the at-least-partial inspiration for Lizzie's name. (I did manage to at least partially wrest the source of her name back to where it is meant to belong--with Jane Austen and her parents' introduction in a college lit class.) I'm almost afraid to see what this woman will do next.
This could end up being a very long book!
;)
Yesterday, as I was working diligently on the first chapter of my book, trying to set up my main character, as well as the mood and tone for the book, something totally unexpected happened.
Lizzie, completely out-of-the-blue, "inherited" an unforeseen relative. Seriously, poor Lizzie had just come home from a hard day at work, schlepping a couple of grocery bags and a stack of student essays while fumbling with her keys at the front door, desperate for a cup of tea, when who pops into the scene but her British war bride grandmother--a total surprise to me (but apparently not to Lizzie). Do you suppose they had planned this from the beginning? It does feel a bit conspiratorial to me.
Anyway, ever since this woman appeared in Lizzie's thoughts--with instructions on how to make the perfect cuppa--she won't seem to stay silently in the wings. This morning, she moved into Lizzie's childhood home and became a surrogate parent when teenaged Lizzie's mother dies, as well as becoming the primary muse behind Lizzie's love of literature and stories. While I'm trying to get Lizzie to listen to her voicemail, this woman--sunshine personified--is busy writing folksy letters to college student Lizzie, keeping her spirits up while she's missing home. She has even managed to become the at-least-partial inspiration for Lizzie's name. (I did manage to at least partially wrest the source of her name back to where it is meant to belong--with Jane Austen and her parents' introduction in a college lit class.) I'm almost afraid to see what this woman will do next.
This could end up being a very long book!
;)
Monday, June 23, 2014
Getting Started
I got home last night from a research symposium at Mount Saint Mary College in Los Angeles where I presented my Master's project to a group of graduate students. The presentation went well, and I got some great feedback from both my professor (who told me that my presentation encompassed my project defense quite thoroughly. I only need to remember what I said so that I can write it all down!) and several of the students presenters. I also had a wonderful conversation with a student presenter from Simon Fraser University who is working on a project similar to mine in that she is also writing a novella that deals with a (fictional) diary. Although her take on diaries is very different from mine--as is her focus--it was such fun to compare notes, and we are hoping to form a writing group this year, even if it must be by email. I came home energized and excited to begin the writing.
Now technically, I began to work on the book a few months ago. I have two short stories completed that will become chapters in the larger work. I have sections done here and there that lead into other chapters, as well as a prologue that will introduce the first chapter. And I have pages and pages of notes, outlining just what will happen, when and how. But today, I started writing that very first chapter, introducing my main character and letting the reader discover a bit about who she is and giving a first glimpse of her situation in life. I'm about three pages into it, and although I feel like I'm on a roll, it is getting late--and I am not a night owl.
Its time both the book and I get some sleep. I think we'll both be better for it in the morning!
Now technically, I began to work on the book a few months ago. I have two short stories completed that will become chapters in the larger work. I have sections done here and there that lead into other chapters, as well as a prologue that will introduce the first chapter. And I have pages and pages of notes, outlining just what will happen, when and how. But today, I started writing that very first chapter, introducing my main character and letting the reader discover a bit about who she is and giving a first glimpse of her situation in life. I'm about three pages into it, and although I feel like I'm on a roll, it is getting late--and I am not a night owl.
Its time both the book and I get some sleep. I think we'll both be better for it in the morning!
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Settling in
In spite of the gray skies I see outside my office window, the calendar on my wall tells me summer is almost here. Classes are over, grades are in (a second graduate 4.0 quarter, thank you!), and I am relearning the art of sleeping past 4:30 am. I've started back to yoga, and aside from a few sore muscles, I am loving every minute of it! I am also loving the freedom to just sit down and read a book--any book--whenever I feel like it.
Friday morning, I'll be traveling to LA to present my research at a graduate conference, so I've been spending some time this week perfecting my presentation. I could talk at great length about my MA project (so don't ask if you don't really want to know), but trying to cram it all into 20 minutes feels like a bit of a challenge--but then I remember just a few weeks ago when I had to do it in 5. I guess 20 minutes isn't so bad after all! Once I get home from LA, there are less than 2 weeks left until my trip to Iowa. Flights and car are booked. Hotel reservations are made. And I've even arranged my time with Emily's diary in the state archives. Nothing left but to wait--and plan the writing I'll begin in earnest once I get home.
I've been giving a lot of thought to plot--and to setting. I'm so looking forward to actually experiencing my novel's setting through my trip to Iowa. I even did a little checking to see if early July would be too late to see fireflies (wouldn't that be a cool thing to be able to write about?)--and the jury is still out. I guess it all depends on where you are in the state.
I've also been reading an amazing little book, "The Flatness and Other Landscapes," a creative non-fiction glimpse of life in the middle of the country. What a wonderful way to "see" a landscape so different from the one I've grown so accustomed to: cloudy (sometimes blue) skies, sparkling water, mountains and evergreens. Iowa is a place where counties are laid out on a grid (seriously, they are mostly perfect rectangles), and in most of the state the ground is flat as a pancake. (My own backyard has more hills than most of the state of Iowa!) But the most astounding thing about this little book is something that I discovered yesterday.
I bought this book through the Amazon marketplace, and although it was listed as "like new," it appeared brand new when I received it. Now, I've been reading it for a few days now--in bits and snatches--but yesterday, I decided I needed to see when it was written, and discovered this on the fly leaf:
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Someone sent my Lizzie a birthday gift, congratulating her on her move to the Midwest! How cool is that? I couldn't help it, I got really excited, and am currently trying to figure out a non-gimmicky way to include this in my book. ( Better still, it places her birthday in April--right where I put it since I decided I wanted her to share Emily's birthdate. I know it's silly, but I am excited!)
Lizzie's story just keeps developing before my eyes!
Friday morning, I'll be traveling to LA to present my research at a graduate conference, so I've been spending some time this week perfecting my presentation. I could talk at great length about my MA project (so don't ask if you don't really want to know), but trying to cram it all into 20 minutes feels like a bit of a challenge--but then I remember just a few weeks ago when I had to do it in 5. I guess 20 minutes isn't so bad after all! Once I get home from LA, there are less than 2 weeks left until my trip to Iowa. Flights and car are booked. Hotel reservations are made. And I've even arranged my time with Emily's diary in the state archives. Nothing left but to wait--and plan the writing I'll begin in earnest once I get home.
I've been giving a lot of thought to plot--and to setting. I'm so looking forward to actually experiencing my novel's setting through my trip to Iowa. I even did a little checking to see if early July would be too late to see fireflies (wouldn't that be a cool thing to be able to write about?)--and the jury is still out. I guess it all depends on where you are in the state.
I've also been reading an amazing little book, "The Flatness and Other Landscapes," a creative non-fiction glimpse of life in the middle of the country. What a wonderful way to "see" a landscape so different from the one I've grown so accustomed to: cloudy (sometimes blue) skies, sparkling water, mountains and evergreens. Iowa is a place where counties are laid out on a grid (seriously, they are mostly perfect rectangles), and in most of the state the ground is flat as a pancake. (My own backyard has more hills than most of the state of Iowa!) But the most astounding thing about this little book is something that I discovered yesterday.
I bought this book through the Amazon marketplace, and although it was listed as "like new," it appeared brand new when I received it. Now, I've been reading it for a few days now--in bits and snatches--but yesterday, I decided I needed to see when it was written, and discovered this on the fly leaf:
Lizzie's story just keeps developing before my eyes!
Thursday, June 12, 2014
One year down!
Tuesday I finished my first year in graduate school.
It sounds so odd to say that. It was just six years ago that I--while spending a month in Sedona, AZ finally succumbed to the siren call of the classroom. But unlike going to college at 18, if you go back to school in your 50s you have to have a reason or people just think you're nuts. Actually, they probably think so anyway, but if you have some sort of purpose in mind they will nod sagely and wish you well. They also walk away shaking their heads and muttering under their breath that they think you're crazy--and you worry they might be right.
At first I told everyone who asked that I was just going to take a few classes,and maybe major in art history. When you've spent 20 years painting murals for a living, that sounds somewhat reasonable. But in my very first week, I knew I'd found my niche--the college classroom was a perfect fit. I hadn't had so much fun in years!
Here I am today, one quarter (and a whole lot of writing) away from a master's degree--not exactly what I envisioned when I started, but exactly where I found I wanted to be. Now that the quarter is over and I've had a day to recuperate (I worked all day yesterday so that didn't count as a day off), I am ready to begin the next step in earnest.
Next weekend, I travel to LA to present my research at a graduate student conference, and 12 days after that I'm headed to Iowa to continue the work on my book project. I've been arranging to spend some time the 150+ year old original manuscript of the diary that is the inspiration for my project, making hotel reservations (plus four days on a real Iowa farm!) and plotting my route to criss-cross the state in search of the few remaining physical connections to someone who died almost 70 years before I was born, but who has become so very real and important to me.
I've found Emily's house (or at least its general vicinity, along with the name of the family who lived there 14 years ago), her grave, and her diary. I'm ready to meet her hometown and the landscape where she spent nearly 30 years of her life. I'm ready to wilt in the heat and hear the wind in the cornfields, and I'm ready to introduce Emily to the very imaginary woman whom she will befriend and tell her life story to.
I'm also ready to come home and write their story.
(and I'm ready to enjoy my first summer off in six years while I write!)
I'm also planning to do a better job about staying up-to-date with this blog, and will be posting form Iowa (provided I can find an internet connection on my farm). Stay tuned for more from Iowa!
It sounds so odd to say that. It was just six years ago that I--while spending a month in Sedona, AZ finally succumbed to the siren call of the classroom. But unlike going to college at 18, if you go back to school in your 50s you have to have a reason or people just think you're nuts. Actually, they probably think so anyway, but if you have some sort of purpose in mind they will nod sagely and wish you well. They also walk away shaking their heads and muttering under their breath that they think you're crazy--and you worry they might be right.
At first I told everyone who asked that I was just going to take a few classes,and maybe major in art history. When you've spent 20 years painting murals for a living, that sounds somewhat reasonable. But in my very first week, I knew I'd found my niche--the college classroom was a perfect fit. I hadn't had so much fun in years!
Here I am today, one quarter (and a whole lot of writing) away from a master's degree--not exactly what I envisioned when I started, but exactly where I found I wanted to be. Now that the quarter is over and I've had a day to recuperate (I worked all day yesterday so that didn't count as a day off), I am ready to begin the next step in earnest.
Next weekend, I travel to LA to present my research at a graduate student conference, and 12 days after that I'm headed to Iowa to continue the work on my book project. I've been arranging to spend some time the 150+ year old original manuscript of the diary that is the inspiration for my project, making hotel reservations (plus four days on a real Iowa farm!) and plotting my route to criss-cross the state in search of the few remaining physical connections to someone who died almost 70 years before I was born, but who has become so very real and important to me.
I've found Emily's house (or at least its general vicinity, along with the name of the family who lived there 14 years ago), her grave, and her diary. I'm ready to meet her hometown and the landscape where she spent nearly 30 years of her life. I'm ready to wilt in the heat and hear the wind in the cornfields, and I'm ready to introduce Emily to the very imaginary woman whom she will befriend and tell her life story to.
I'm also ready to come home and write their story.
(and I'm ready to enjoy my first summer off in six years while I write!)
I'm also planning to do a better job about staying up-to-date with this blog, and will be posting form Iowa (provided I can find an internet connection on my farm). Stay tuned for more from Iowa!
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