Subject Matter for the Next Book
Oi, I forgot how hard it was to nail down what I did and did not want to cover in “Romance”. It took me a year plus five more years of learning how to write a God-awful first draft! I’ve read about 1/4 of Outlaws of the Marsh/All Men Are Equal and while the stories have high points, there’s nothing yet that moves me so much that I want to write about it. Let’s face it, you have to be in love – in long-term-LUST – with your source material to write an historical novel. I just haven’t hit on the story line yet. I will keep reading.
Went to a wonderful Writers Conference over the weekend. It was the Ozark Romance Authors’ conference and not only were they a warm, fuzzy group, the speakers were also terrific. I will try to post my notes in a few days as the material’s worth putting out to my (massive) public forum of readers.
I met Angie Fox at the conference and look forward to reading her books, once I’ve got a break in the deluge of reading material I requested from the library. Have you ever noticed how it all comes at one time? I’m returning much of it unread. I’ve kept notes on what I’ll need to re-request. Sigh.
Any way, Angie was an amazing source of information. I really hope I meet her again someday. Maybe when I’m on the other side of the book signing desk and I can tell her what our talk meant to me. I tried after the conference, but I didn’t want to hog everyone else’s time. I do need to query her agent. She suggested I do so.
You're right, you really need to feel good about the historical account to stay motivated in your writing. I'm basing my next children's novel on the Pirate Queen Grace O'Malley, and there is no shortage of material!
Thank you for encouraging all of us to be active on our blogs. I've been a little sluggish on getting those updates out there. Sometimes a little motivation is all we need!
Duane Porter
buriedtreasurepublishing.blogspot.com
It is kind of amazing how even a historical event/time period that fascinates me doesn't necessarily hold *enough* fascination to make me want to spend years of my life with it. It really is tough to find that one subject you know will keep your interest through all the mundane tasks of rewriting and re-researching.
And, yes, the interlibrary loan books ALWAYS come in a spurt. Except that one crucial title that never comes at all!