A Literary Experience

I went to a literary festival the other day, for the first time ever. It included master sessions, which were rather boring and political (why on earth would you make a literary festival political?), and morning and afternoon workshop sessions, which were much more useful and happy.

I should note that going to this was way out of my comfort zone. First of all, I went alone, so I couldn't hide behind anyone. Second of all, it involved actually discussing writing with people. And third of all, the workshops actually involved talking about what you were writing. So, it took courage to go in the first place - only made worse by the fact that the rental car company had only huge trucks left so I had to drive a truck that took both my hands to hoist myself into in order to even get there since Daniel had the car!

But anyway, the first session on revision was the most useful, but also the most difficult. I had to bring the first five pages of my book - I actually brought 10 because I was trying to decide whether to keep the prologue or not - and THEN they had us actually partner up with a stranger in the class and read each other's writing so we could critique it!! Not going to lie, I probably wouldn't have gone had I known that was why they wanted us to bring some of our book. But I am glad I did it. The gentleman, Sam was his name, was a high school English teacher and knew how to be both straightforward and still gentle. He could see immediately I was almost over a cliff with concern that someone was going to actually read this and took some time to calm me down before reading all 10 pages. But after that, I actually took his suggestions quite openly and calmly and it may be the most useful thing I've ever done in all my writing life. He told me what I had suspected all along, which is that I don't trust my readers so I over-explain things, but then he went a step further and told me that even more than that, I don't trust myself, which adds even more to my over-explaining in my books. He then showed me a couple examples and explained how he thought I could cut it down and what all the writing books had been saying finally really clicked.

He also told me he could tell that I had very good visualization and I was able to set the scene well, and that it was obvious I knew my characters well. I really appreciated hearing that since I kind of thought those were the two things I struggled the most with. He then encouraged me to share my writing more and, just as my husband tells me, that it really isn't a reflection on me if someone criticizes my writing. So much easier to be told than to believe!

But I do feel like I have a much better understanding now of what needs to be edited in my book, at least in the second editing round (I am still only halfway through the first round), and I have learned that it is possible for me to hear the corrections that have to be made and live through it!

An Overland Journey Timeline

One of my greatest frustrations in writing Picture of the Past is the lack of succinct information on the Overland Trail. Oh, there is information to be had in plenty - if you have the time and wherewithal to read dozen and dozens of thick books, or, on the other side, if you are content with a kindergartner's understanding of it. But a quick, down and dirty guide for the suffering writer? Nope.

Okay, then, how about a basic timeline of the progress the wagons made along the trail? You know, "In April they generally reached about here. This is what the land was like." Nope. Not a chance. So I have researched and  googled and examined maps and tried to construct my own timeline. Which has been surprisingly difficult and my best resources have ended up being diaries.

I am not saying it is accurate, but, I THINK it is somewhat accurate. Below are my very basic results - I don't need much - I just need to know about when they were to try and add a little realism. If you see a mistake in my conclusions or know of a better resource, I would very much welcome anything you have to offer.

March - April: Left jumping off point, usually Independence or St. Joseph's, Missouri.

May: generally crossing plains, traveling along the Platte river, crossing rivers, traveling through Kansas along the border of Nebraska. It was usually before Ft. Laramie along this section that emigrants died of cholera. May begin dealing with Indians.

June: Often reached Ft. Kearney in June. May pass Court House Rock, Scotts Bluff, and Ft. Laramie (crossing into Wyoming). In addition, would be in Indian territory, see antelope and buffalo, crossing bluffs, may have difficulty traveling through mud, sloughs, uneven ground,etc.

July: aimed to reach Independence Rock by the 4th in Wyoming. Shortly afterwards would reach the devil's gate and then the South Pass in the Rockies. Might have difficulties with water and grass. Increasing number of abandoned belongings as path is difficult. Would reach Ft. Bridger at some point.

August - September: May have hit Soda Springs in early August, and then Fort Hall (both in Idaho). This is where the California trail split off. California emigrants would head down into Nevada where they would travel along the Humboldt River and hit the forty mile desert. Courtesy of Wikipedia: West of the river's end in the Humboldt Sink, the trail forked, with one branch leading towards the Carson River and the other towards the Truckee River.^[2] Regardless of which route they took, the travelers would have to endure about 40 miles (64 km) of desert without usable water.^[1]

Once through the desert, they would have to cross the Sierra Nevada Mountain range. I believe they would reach this around the beginning of September. They would likely have difficult tasks, such as lowering wagons over cliffs as well. They would continue through Donner's Pass, then Emigrant Gap, to Sutter's Fort, generally arriving around end of September.

And that, as far as I can figure, is the approximate timeline of  "normal" trip across the country. And it's what I'm sticking to until I am told otherwise.

Developing Characters

So, I have sort of taken a break from editing. But only sort of. I bought this book called Writing the Intimate Character and have been going through it with Picture of the Past in mind. It has actually been incredibly helpful - it not only talks about how to develop characters but has exercises in the back of each chapter to help you implement it. I have been forcing myself to do each exercise whether I feel like it or not and have amazed myself by how much more I feel like I know Elizabeth, whom, as you know, I have been struggling with since the beginning.

It turns out, even she has some uncertainty underneath her proud and confident exterior. Due in most part to how often her father moved them around and her need to constantly have to make new friends. That is not to excuse her behavior, of course, but it did increase understanding of her constant need for admiration.

Some of the exercises have taken me out of my comfort zone or even just exhausted my brain, but it may be the best thing to happen to my book and its characters.