In a discussion on FB about writing techniques, I brought up research.
I often leave holes in my manuscript with notes to do more research about this or that.
One day I abandoned my family, got into my car and drove down to Williamsburg, VA and spent the weekend there taking pictures and doing research. Yes, I found the answer to one of my editor's burning questions and to my relief was able to state it in one paragraph, not a whole chapter.
I took a day trip in December to Washington Crossing, PA to watch the reenactment of the crossing and take photographs for my biography of George Washington. In 10 degree weather. Taking photographs with insulated thin leather gloves. (They turned out great)
I actually took THREE trips to Washington, DC to wander the Air and Space Museum so that I could explain flight so that everyone (including me) could understand the physics behind it.
I got a lot of praise from readers and reviewers for that one point (plus a lot of awards for that book, so it was worth all the research.
Showing posts with label Wright Brothers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wright Brothers. Show all posts
Monday, January 20, 2020
Saturday, April 7, 2018
Serendipity
It's amazing the people and events you discover when you are researching a book, especially biographies.
I call it serendipity:
When I was writing about the Wright brothers, I got connected to
1) the Wright brothers' paper boy,
2) the nephew of a man who was one of the boys who SAW the first flights,
3) another person who pointed out that the actual house the brothers had grown up in and first lived in as adults had been moved to a northern midwest display of old houses. (Wisconsin? Michigan?)
and 4) was driven around Dayton, Ohio by a fellow writer to visit Wright brothers' sites, including a stop at the mansion where Orville Wright lived and died.
And this was with just one of my biographies. For each of them, people came out of the woodwork, or showed up on the Internet, or knew somebody who knew somebody - to help me tell my subjects story.
AMAZING.
Oh, about those boys who 'saw' the first flight? Actually not exactly true. It turned out that he and a few friends were peering over one of the sand dunes overlooking the Wright brothers' campsite at what later became the town of Kill Devil Hills. (yes, they often stayed at a boarding house in Kitty Hawk before setting up camp by the Dunes.) The boys had never ever heard a gasoline engine before. (this was before cars were common - only cows and horses on the Outer Banks at that time) So -- when the brothers started up the engine on The Flyer, popping and sputtering, the boys were so scared of the noise that they ran like hell. (away)
And that's why I didn't take the next step to interview his uncle, since he didn't actually see it happen.
I call it serendipity:
When I was writing about the Wright brothers, I got connected to
1) the Wright brothers' paper boy,
2) the nephew of a man who was one of the boys who SAW the first flights,
3) another person who pointed out that the actual house the brothers had grown up in and first lived in as adults had been moved to a northern midwest display of old houses. (Wisconsin? Michigan?)
and 4) was driven around Dayton, Ohio by a fellow writer to visit Wright brothers' sites, including a stop at the mansion where Orville Wright lived and died.
And this was with just one of my biographies. For each of them, people came out of the woodwork, or showed up on the Internet, or knew somebody who knew somebody - to help me tell my subjects story.
AMAZING.
Oh, about those boys who 'saw' the first flight? Actually not exactly true. It turned out that he and a few friends were peering over one of the sand dunes overlooking the Wright brothers' campsite at what later became the town of Kill Devil Hills. (yes, they often stayed at a boarding house in Kitty Hawk before setting up camp by the Dunes.) The boys had never ever heard a gasoline engine before. (this was before cars were common - only cows and horses on the Outer Banks at that time) So -- when the brothers started up the engine on The Flyer, popping and sputtering, the boys were so scared of the noise that they ran like hell. (away)
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Researching background for books
Here are a few thoughts about researching for both fiction and nonfiction:
There's nothing like actually going where your subject lived to observe the setting and walking in your subject's shoes. I always do it.
(or to follow your living subject around at a convention she is running.)
While there I discover fascinating tidbits that help extend my knowledge of the people and the place. Plus I take photographs to help me with describing the setting later. (when books had black and white photos, I would put those photos into the books.)
Also, just talking about your research adventures on the internet pulls out lurkers who know somebody who know somebody.
--The man who was the paperboy of the Wright Brothers. (he never saw them -- just the housekeeper)
--The man whose uncle saw the first flight. (he didn't actually see it. He attempted to spy on the one that crashed several days before the first flight actually happened. He and a group of boys climbed a sand dune to spy on the crazy men, but when the motor began to rumble and pop, they slid down the dune and ran like h*ll away from the devil sound.)
I couldn't use either of these tales, but they certainly were fascinating, don't you agree?
That's the first thing I ask people who ask me to look over their nonfiction or fiction manuscript. Have you ever been there? What is the landscape like? (one guy never mentioned how hilly Pittsburgh is -- and that's a vital part of the landscape there. That and the juncture of the two rivers.)
Once you are on the hilltop where Jefferson built his dream house, it hits you -- there is no access to water. The closest spring is halfway down the hill. Someone had to go get and carry water there. They had to collect rainwater -- so Jefferson made his whole rooftop a water collector and directed the water into huge storage tanks beside the house and built a porch or deck over it for the family to use. The water tank was right beside the kitchen, so the cooks had ready access to water for cooking and heating for bringing up to the family to bathe.
-- The stables were down the hill, too. Someone had to run down the hill and bring whatever horses the family needed for the day -- or the workhorses or mules for the garden.
Besides -- Research field trips are Fun!
There's nothing like actually going where your subject lived to observe the setting and walking in your subject's shoes. I always do it.
(or to follow your living subject around at a convention she is running.)
While there I discover fascinating tidbits that help extend my knowledge of the people and the place. Plus I take photographs to help me with describing the setting later. (when books had black and white photos, I would put those photos into the books.)
Also, just talking about your research adventures on the internet pulls out lurkers who know somebody who know somebody.
--The man who was the paperboy of the Wright Brothers. (he never saw them -- just the housekeeper)
--The man whose uncle saw the first flight. (he didn't actually see it. He attempted to spy on the one that crashed several days before the first flight actually happened. He and a group of boys climbed a sand dune to spy on the crazy men, but when the motor began to rumble and pop, they slid down the dune and ran like h*ll away from the devil sound.)
I couldn't use either of these tales, but they certainly were fascinating, don't you agree?
That's the first thing I ask people who ask me to look over their nonfiction or fiction manuscript. Have you ever been there? What is the landscape like? (one guy never mentioned how hilly Pittsburgh is -- and that's a vital part of the landscape there. That and the juncture of the two rivers.)
Once you are on the hilltop where Jefferson built his dream house, it hits you -- there is no access to water. The closest spring is halfway down the hill. Someone had to go get and carry water there. They had to collect rainwater -- so Jefferson made his whole rooftop a water collector and directed the water into huge storage tanks beside the house and built a porch or deck over it for the family to use. The water tank was right beside the kitchen, so the cooks had ready access to water for cooking and heating for bringing up to the family to bathe.
-- The stables were down the hill, too. Someone had to run down the hill and bring whatever horses the family needed for the day -- or the workhorses or mules for the garden.
Besides -- Research field trips are Fun!
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Anniversary of Wright Brothers' flight
What's important about December 17th?
The Era of Flight began.
110 years ago, two bicycle men from Ohio flew the first controlled heavier-than-air manned flight on the sandy beach of the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
The very first flight that succeeded.
Many had tried, but they were the first to figure out the Physics of Flight.
They flew four times that December day, and were planning a longer flight to the nearest town of Kitty Hawk four miles away when a gust of wind flipped the plane over and over, landing almost at the edge of the surf. And that was the end of Flyer number 1. It was boxed up and stored at their home in Dayton, Ohio for years while they worked on other versions of their flying machine.
For more information about the Wright brothers, read my books:
Hmmm. I thought I had a GIF of my other Wright brothers book published by Enslow, The Wright Brothers, Inventors of the Airplane, but I can't find it on this computer. You might be able to check it out at your local public library and some school libraries.
You can also read the Wright Brothers' papers (with photographs) on the Library of congress webpage, or explore the original material in the Wright Brothers Packet at Wright State University collection. I had a great time exploring this collection when I did my research for these two books.
The Era of Flight began.
110 years ago, two bicycle men from Ohio flew the first controlled heavier-than-air manned flight on the sandy beach of the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
The very first flight that succeeded.
Many had tried, but they were the first to figure out the Physics of Flight.
They flew four times that December day, and were planning a longer flight to the nearest town of Kitty Hawk four miles away when a gust of wind flipped the plane over and over, landing almost at the edge of the surf. And that was the end of Flyer number 1. It was boxed up and stored at their home in Dayton, Ohio for years while they worked on other versions of their flying machine.
For more information about the Wright brothers, read my books:
Hmmm. I thought I had a GIF of my other Wright brothers book published by Enslow, The Wright Brothers, Inventors of the Airplane, but I can't find it on this computer. You might be able to check it out at your local public library and some school libraries.
You can also read the Wright Brothers' papers (with photographs) on the Library of congress webpage, or explore the original material in the Wright Brothers Packet at Wright State University collection. I had a great time exploring this collection when I did my research for these two books.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
What all Great Leaders have in common
I just watched a fantastic TED talk.
I got pulled into it because of my love for the Wright Brothers (see my books along the side) who are mentioned in this talk, but stayed to listen because of the fantastic ideas.
"Great Leaders lead because of what they believe, not because of what they make or do."
Interesting.
It seems that, we follow, we buy products, these people (the leaders) succeed because our gut feeling also believes.
Learn more by clicking on through.
(and if you wonder why posts here have been a bit scarce lately, I spent the past six month in and intensive writing semester at Vermont College of Fine Arts in their Writing for Children and Young Adults program.
Boy did I learn a LOT. I'm going to spend the next six months digesting what I learned, then will go back next July for my last semester there. When I graduate (some year), I will have earned an MFA in writing, but more than that, I will have learned so much about writing. I've always believed that I wanted to write, and this course is giving me even more tools to enable me to write better.)
I got pulled into it because of my love for the Wright Brothers (see my books along the side) who are mentioned in this talk, but stayed to listen because of the fantastic ideas.
"Great Leaders lead because of what they believe, not because of what they make or do."
Interesting.
It seems that, we follow, we buy products, these people (the leaders) succeed because our gut feeling also believes.
Learn more by clicking on through.
(and if you wonder why posts here have been a bit scarce lately, I spent the past six month in and intensive writing semester at Vermont College of Fine Arts in their Writing for Children and Young Adults program.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
