Posts Tagged ‘writing techniques’

Garryowen Irish Pub, Gettysburg, PA

I was browsing on the web following up on a tweet I had received, and looking for a group of writers I might join in the Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, area. There was one, but it said ‘private’ and that seemed to defeat its purpose, so I moved on.

I noticed on the Meetup.com site a place to “start your own meetup group” with a self constructed web page – and with simple instructions even I could follow.  The rest, as they say, is history.

I’m now the organizer, at least temporarily, of a group willing to meet at the Garryowen Irish Pub in Gettysburg on each Wednesday night, 7-9 pm, to share and discuss techniques of writing, book publishing, book promotion/marketing, and anything else we can think of.  The fact is, three or four local writers have been meeting at the Garryowen on Wednesdays for some time, so it wasn’t much of a stretch – more an expansion.

I envisioned an informal gathering of writers with few rules – after all we’re meeting in a pub!  Topics will be decided at the previous meeting and announced on the web site. We’ll have dinner (Wonderful food at the Garryowen Irish Pub), paid for individually by each of those attending, and a few libations of your choice, complimented by lively discussions of topics important to anyone wanting to torture themselves into becoming a writer.

We actually had our first ‘formal’ (although it was terribly informal) meeting last night.  Five attended: four writers, and one world traveler who should be writing a book.  We intend to talk him into it.  The pub as a meeting place worked like a charm.  The owner and host, Kevin, and the managers, Anne and Josh, are most accommodating and gracious.

As it happened, the writers present were either published or about to be.  The group, however, is open to all writers at whatever stage in their writerly efforts they find themselves, even if they merely have a book in their heads they’d love to write.  Our world traveler describes himself as just a ‘reader,’ and he’s most welcome too.

I believe this group can be many things to many people. To begin with, it’s good to get together with a group of like-minded folks for a pleasant discussion, good food, and companionship. In addition, the discussions about various aspects of writing and getting published help us all in perfecting our craft, publication, and promotional efforts.

We hope to draw more participants over the next few weeks.  If your reading this (God, I hope someone is), and you’re in driving range – come join us and I’ll buy you a pint.

Gettysburg Writers Meetup Group –     http://www.meetup.com/Gettysburg-Writers-Meetup-Group/

I can’t speak for others who write historical fiction, but I have developed a philosophy in plot and characters.  I personally do not want to distort history, even in a novel.  As a historian, I believe that to be a disservice to history and to the reader.

Flying under the radar means to me that you try diligently not to change any major part of history by remaining below the flow of recorded events and characters.  This is especially difficult when some of your characters are real historical figures, and you are giving them life and dialogue.  It is, however, possible if you remain steadfast to that historic flow.

I try to create a group of fictional characters who carry the story as heros, villlians, or participants in the action, then I weave them in with real people of the time.  The story takes place at a level beneath the actual historical line, the radar if you will.  Ian Carlyle, for instance, isn’t a general or a major politician.  He’s a company commander or staff officer (First book in Ian Carlyle Series, Follow Me to Glory), a British observer on McClellan’s staff, or a military liaison officer at the British legation (Second book in the series, The Gettysburg Conspiracy)  - all minor positions in the big historical picture.

Latest Release by Will Hutchison

The Gettysburg Conspiracy is a perfect example of my point.  It is a story about a fictitious assassination attempt on Abraham Lincoln.  We know there were such threats and attempts.  The story is thus plausible.  We know he had terrible security in Washington and when he traveled.  We know he went to Gettysburg for the address.  We know his bodyguard, Ward Hill Lamon, was concerned for his safety in Gettysburg.  Thus, the story is even more plausible.

Could it have happened?  We know it fails, but how does it fail?  How does the hero foil the plot?  Who are the bad guys?  What will happen to them?

Someone much better at this than me once said something like -”fiction is drama, and drama is conflict.”  Even if you know the end, you can create drama within the tale.  After all, in most crime dramas, the bad guy inevitably gets caught.  We all know that.  The questions are who is he, how does he get caught, who catches him, and am I, the reader, invested in the characters – both good guys and bad guys.  In historical fiction you can add more questions:  Is the story historically believable?  Could it have happened?  Is the background and setting authentic and plausible?  Is the dialogue real for the historic period?

Some time as Lincoln rode back to DC from Gettysburg by train, Ward Hill Lamon might have quietly whispered to him, “Say, Abe, there was an attempt to assassinate you back there in Gettysburg.  Not to worry, we took care of it.”  Lincoln might nod his head and resume looking out the train window as it rolled east toward Washington.  Thus, below the radar of history … a minor footnote at best, yet a good story when you’re hip deep in the middle of it.

Map of Site of Gettysburg Address as drawn by the conspirators - Map by Curt Musselman

Ian Carlyle, surrounded by scenes from The Gettysburg Conspiracy - Sketch by Peter Culos