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.

How to Survive National Novel Writing Month

There are so many (seriously, SO MANY) articles and posts and blogs and comments dedicated to this subject, that I'm not even going to try to compile "the best" ways to survive writing 50,000 words in a month. Besides, "the best" is always subjective. Every writer has things that work specifically for them. So this is dedicated to ways that I intend to (or have in the past) use to get a 3rd win in row.

• Remember that you are the only one reading what you are writing
• This is probably the most important thing for me. I have this habit of writing something and instantly wanting to rewrite it, or thinking it is too stupid, or inaccurate. Remember - YOU are writing, and YOU get to decide if anyone will ever read it (which they probably wouldn't until you edit it in January anyway). Don't get distracted thinking something is dumb. Just write what you want how you want and keep going. 
• Reward yourself
• When I really don't feel like writing, but need to get in my word count, I reward myself. For instance, say I really want to be reading this awesome new Clive Cussler book I just got. I force myself to write between 300 - 500 words (pick a number and stick to it), then I get to read a section in the book, and write the next 300-500 words, and so on until your word count is finished. It is a slow method, but I have found it pretty effective to ensure I get my words in. You can do the same with a TV show. Write, watch for 5 minutes (or a predetermined amount of time) and then watch again. It helps force you to keep writing no matter what because you want to get that word count in so you know what happens next in your book/movie.
• Write in timed spurts
• Sometimes I will set the timer for 5 minutes and force myself to keep writing during that five minutes even if I just end up describing an elaborate sunset because I can't think of anything else to write. This not only gets word counts in, but, because you are being forced to write without thinking because you are not allowed to stop while the timer is going, it has occasionally broken me out of areas I am stuck. I might go back and rewrite it later, but for now, as long as I am out of the stuck area or that sunset sure looks gorgeous, it still adds an aspect to your story that wasn't there before. 
• If you work, bring a computer or notebook to work with you.
• Do your work, but every now and then (perhaps once every half hour?), turn to your computer or notebook (notebook is more subtle) and write 1-2 sentences. Minimal effort, but you'll be surprised at how many words it can result in, thereby encouraging you when you sit down to your "real" writing session.
• Change up the scenery
• Try writing in different locations (unless that distracts you). I like occasionally finding a coffee shop and crashing in a corner to write. 
• Write with noise cancelling headphones
• I live in a tiny apartment and it is just me and my husband. There is no extra noise, especially if my husband knows I am writing, yet for some reason, when I put on my noise cancelling headphones (usually with my favorite writing music), I get lost in my world and am far less easily distracted from anything around me.
• Pretend you are telling someone the story
• When you are stuck - you simply don't know what to write next, and the whole writing with a timer thing just isn't doing anything for you, close your eyes and pretend you are telling this story that happened to you to someone else. What would naturally come next? Whether it seems like it is skipping a bunch of detail or going far too much into detail, write it down. What would you tell them next?
• Turn off your data
• If your data/internet is turned off and you aren't getting notifications of things happening in the world, there is nothing to distract  your eyes or ears. This, especially combined with the noise cancelling headphones, can be a killer combination for immersing yourself in your new world.

If you, like me, are crazy enough to try NaNo yet again, I hope these tips help! 

Preparation for NaNoWriMo

So, I'm not going to get to 95,000 - 100,000 word for Ethrill before tomorrow. I gave it a good effort, and am currently at 88,000. I think I can make 90,000 by tomorrow though. I can count that as a finish, right? It is clear that I have a lot more to write, so I am probably going to have to start looking at splitting it into two books unless I cut out a bunch when I edit it. For the rough draft, at least, however, it will likely be two books unless I disobey the newbie book rule and have a super long one. But, I gave it good effort, and I don't think I'll mind taking a break as I look forward to NaNoWriMo. Plus, I'm becoming impatient to edit PoP. I'm so ready to have a finished full-length book.

So, as most writers know, National Novel Writing Month starts tomorrow! Not going to lie, I'm nervous. My husband is lovingly referring to it as Video Game Tuesday. He says he is going to play video games until I get my word count in. Which, I won't lie, has in the past proven quite effective. I don't like feeling ignored while he plays video games, so it does force me to work hard on my word count because I know as soon as I finish, he'll turn off the video games and we can do whatever we want. I feel like such a child, sometimes. :P

I tried to make a list of short story ideas for NaNoWriMo in preparation, so I wasn't totally stuck once I started. It didn't go well. I began drawing a complete blank for stories. Or at least ideas for short stories. But I came up with what I think/hope is a good idea to solve that! We have this game called Dixit, which has a ton of very interesting picture cards. I've decided to look at each picture and create a short story based on those cards. After all, I need something for inspiration, and some of those could make very interesting stories. I'm not sure what yet, but I believe.

So good luck to all you other NaNoWriMoers out there! Looking forward to mutual misery starting tomorrow.

The Required Introductory Post

Welcome! As you may have already read in my About Me Page, I've had a passion for writing for almost as long as I can remember.


Truth be told, like most writers, I am a flaming introvert. I have a difficult time talking to people, let alone sharing something like my precious writing with them. Which is likely one of the reasons I have yet to publish anything other than a short story and a poem. The other reason is, of course, that time just got away from me, I got caught up in college life, and then after-college life, and before I knew it, here I was, 29 years old and yet to have a book published.


So last year, I began narrowing my focus again and writing more regularly than I had since I left home. My husband can account for the fact that I am a significantly happier person just writing - no publishing needed! - but I still have the same desire I have had since I was 8 years old. To bring joy to other people through stories.


Being a very detail-oriented person, I have also delved into research on getting books published and one common item that keeps coming up, no matter how much I try to ignore it, is the need to establish a presence on social media. One, to promote your book, and two, to prove to your agent (whenever I get one!) that you will be ABLE to promote your book, should you be published.


Consequently, here we are today. This is me, establishing online presence. Just being honest here. I know for a fact I am not the only introverted writer who has difficulty with self-promoting fears.


So, I've decided to give this blog dual purpose:


1. Share my writing, whenever I am feeling particularly brave.


2. Sharing research for my books to assist other writers of historical books, for anyone who just enjoys random historical facts, and to help implement it into my own brain by summarizing it. As all writers know, writing books placed in the past requires TONS of research if you are interested in accuracy. So you may find posts on here about fashion, historical events, timelines, and who knows what else.


Whatever your interest, I hope you stop by every now and then and find an interesting or even useful fact for yourself.