BLUE WILLOW: A Book that Lillie and Kate Read-- Part II and Insight into Revision

 Back in 2014, I posted this:

As some of my faithful blog readers know, my story includes Lillie and Kate uncovering a china cup that belongs to both their families. Over the process of writing Half-Truths, I've played with different china patterns. My friend and writing mentor, Joyce Moyer Hostetter, suggested the popular Blue Willow pattern. When I posted this picture on Facebook, several friends commented about their grandmothers' collections. 

Becky Levine and Joyce chimed in that I really needed to read the book, Blue Willow, which they remembered from their own childhoods. After reading it I realized I'd found a book that both girls would have enjoyed and a story that could provide a rich subtext for Half-Truths.

Winner of the Newbery Honor in 1941, Blue Willow recounts the story of a family shaped by the Great Depression. Ten-year-old Janey Larkin longs for a permanent home for herself and for her most beloved possession, a blue willow china plate that belonged to her great-great-grandmother. Her father is an itinerant farm worker who struggles to support Janey and her stepmother.  When the family moves from one farm to another, the plate goes with them but stays packed away. "…never, Mrs. Larkin had declared long ago, would it be put out as a household ornament until they had a decent home in which to display it. In the meantime, it was kept sadly tucked away, a reminder of happier days before its owners had become wanderers in search of a livelihood." (p. 23)

Because the plate had belonged to Janey's mother, it had become a part of her memories that were mixed up with "Mother Goose rhymes and gay laughter and a home of their own.  And because the willow plate had once been a part of all this, it had seemed actually to become these things to Janey. It was the hub of her universe, a solid rock in the midst of shifting sands." (p.23)

That draft was from both girls' POVs. As I wrote in 2017, I returned to writing from Kate's POV alone.  In the current draft, Blue Willow china is still an important link between the girls. But my young beta readers and Deborah Halverson said that the china did not clearly reveal how the girls were related. If more than one reader has a problem with something in my manuscript--I need to fix it!

So, how to tackle this? I did some brainstorming and side writing. I started a new document and recorded every time I mentioned the china. That helped me to see the gaps where Blue Willow fell off the story radar and where I needed to build more connections between the china and the characters. 

I found several places where I could add internalization and dialogue showing Kate's assumptions and false conclusions. It was like figuring out where the puzzle pieces should fit. By the time I had worked through this brainstorming exercise, Blue Willow had gained more importance in the story. In the end, the girls discover how the china is the clue that solves their ancestry mystery.

This blog took a few hours to write. Inserting more information about the china connection took many more; it is just one of the story threads I am deepening in Half-Truths.

And that my friends, is what re-vision is all about. 

By the way, during a recent visit to Joyce's house, I ate from Blue Willow,

and discovered that the pattern adorns other things besides plates!

Do you have a favorite revision story? Or, maybe you enjoy Blue Willow too. Please share in the comments!

Plotting," Pansting", and the Act of Discovery

Congratulations to Linda Phillips who won WONDER and Mary Jane Nirdlinger  who won ORCHARDS. Thanks to all of you for leaving comments here and in Talking Story. More great giveaways coming up!

In the ongoing conversation about plotter vs. panster I've discovered that I work somewhere in between these two camps. On the one hand, I can't work without an outline next to my computer.

My current 33 page
chapter-by-chapter outline

Perhaps this is because Half-Truths is my first novel. Or maybe it's because it's from 2 POVs and I needed to create character arcs for each girl, plus an arc for their friendship. How in the world could I do that without a road map?

My outlining process two years ago.
(I guess I've come a long way since then...)

Given the state of my brain, I am happiest when I can open Scrivener, consult my outline, and see where I'm supposed to go.

But... in the last few weeks I've discovered the joy of not knowing everything ahead of time. I've been surprised by the things my characters do, say, feel, and remember within the confines of each chapter.

A few months ago I realized that after my daily writing time, I enjoyed reviewing in my mind what I had discovered that day. I started posting these discoveries on Facebook and thought I'd share several of them here--just in case you missed them. 

In no particular order:

http://www.retro-fashion-history.com/html/1948_fashion_and_vintage_clothing.html 

• Kate's grandmother bought her this tweed suit and hung it in her wardrobe. Kate hates the suit but wears it in order to wheedle something out of her grandmother. (Author's note: I just figured out she was wearing this in the scene I wrote today while I was composing this post!)

• Lillie represents the New South where women aren't necessarily maids and servants to whites. But as much as her grandmother, Big Momma, supports Lillie's dreams of making something of herself, she is still grounded in the Old South where blacks serve whites and white is right. 

• "This quilt is soft with washing and at night sometimes I still curl up and hug it to my chest." Kate

https://www.etsy.com/listing/104509779/vintage-ohio-star-quilt-with-blue?utm_source=OpenGraph&utm_medium=PageTools&utm_campaign=Share

• Kate's first "half-truth" covers up one of Lillie's secrets.

• Lillie's realization that Kate lives in a family divided by the Civil War.

• Kate's realization that her father (an engineer in the US Army in Korea) is making money in a job involving killing people. She associates that with Lillie's father, an undertaker, making money off people dying.

• From Lillie's POV: "The library is quiet. The only sounds are Mr. Dinsmore turning the pages of his paper and tapping his pipe occasionally into the ashtray and Miss Anna Katherine scribbling in her notebook. Every so often she pauses with the pencil by her mouth, looks over at me, smiles, and starts writing again. We’re certainly nowhere near being friends like Big Momma’s frets about. But there’s a thread between us that I think we both feel. Maybe it’s that we both want Eileen to get better. Or, maybe it’s just because we’re both teenage girls. Either way, when I imagine working here without Miss Anna Katherine being around the place, it wouldn’t be the same.

• When Kate doodles she draws open and closed eyes. 

• Kate loved hearing The Ugly Duckling read to her and Granddaddy has some half-truths of his own.

"The Ugly Duckling"
The original uploader was LaSylphide at English Wikipedia - Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=401801

This is my FIFTH full draft of Half-Truths and I'm still finding out new things. And you know what? This act of discovery is one of the most fun and rewarding parts of writing. 

At least...until I get a publishing contract! 

For more of my WIP discoveries, friend me at Carol Federlin Baldwin on Facebook. Meanwhile, are you a plotter or panster? Have you found any recent discoveries in your WIP? Please share them in the Comments section. 

Did you ever stop to consider if you are a plotter or panster in "real" life? In this recent blog post by Becky Levine she considers some of the surprises she's discovered in her life as a writer. 

Writing Resources Part IV- Critique Groups

Congratulations to Joan Edwards who won an autographed copy of In My Brother's Shadow by Monika Schroeder. Thanks to all who entered.

**********

Since I moved recently I wanted to find a new writers' group. I visited a children's writers group and one devoted to historical fiction. In both groups I perceived a greater emphasis on self-publishing than on developing one's writing craft, so I decided to keep looking. 

The co-ordinator of the third group I visited caught my attention when he announced the group's goal: every writer should get better each week. In addition, writers did not read their own work so they could hear it the way a reader hears it; they couldn't defend their work, they should bring work they wanted to refine, and they should be ready to spend time and effort helping other members improve their work. 

I knew I'd found a writers' group after my own heart.

This is my first critique group in which men outnumber women 3:1 and where members write romance, memoir, historical fiction, short stories, and fantasy. This group takes writing seriously and I'm enjoying a brand new audience for my fourth draft of Half-Truths.

Entering a new writers' group has made me consider what are important components of a critique group. Although this post is not offering a giveaway, I'm include observations from three other writers on what they have gained from critique groups.

Gretchen Griffith, author of Lessons Learned, Wheels and Moonshine, Called to the Mountains, and When Christmas Feels Like Home says, "I most appreciate the honesty and professionalism I get from my critique partners. When I walk away from a session I am confident not necessarily that I am right, but that I have the tools to work through a manuscript. I realized recently that the revisions I'd made caused me to stray from my intended theme. I went back and looked at it through their perspectives and made adjustments."

Vijaya Bodach, author of numerous science books for children and a new picture book, Ten Easter Eggs writes, "There is no comparison to an in-person group. Make the effort to find a couple of trust-worthy folks to be a support to one another. Remember to be kind and honest in your critique. The point is not to impose your view, but to make the manuscript better. I find that a cold reading is very beneficial. Let another person read aloud and let the writer listen. It engages a different sense and allows you to perceive your work from another angle. Do not defend your work, listen, take notes, and return the favor."

Shannon Wiersbitzky, author of The Summer of Hammer and Angels and What Flowers Remember says, "I’ve been with the same group for 10+ years. Given the length of time, the trust is absolute. These are the first folks that should be alerting me I have spinach in my teeth! There is time for kindness after a critique, but during, it must be utterly candid and all about making the work better."

In addition, I've found it helpful to print out and read aloud my work before I submit it. In this way I catch more of my own mistakes before I ask for input from critique partners. 

The best book I've found on starting, building, and running a critique group is Becky Levine's,  The Writing & Critique Group Survival Guide. I'm not ready to give away my copy--but I hope you'll check her book out. 

What have been your experiences with your critique group? Leave me a comment-I'd love to hear from you!

Blue Willow: A Book That Lillie and Kate Read

After reading What I Saw and How I Lied, I contacted the author, Judy Blundell through Facebook. I was impressed with Judy's knowledge of the books that Evie Spooner, her post WWII character, read. Including this literature brought historical accuracy and greater depth to Evie's character. Judy told me how she located her resources. She inspired me to find a few books that Lillie Harris and Kate Dinsmore, my two protagonists, would have read. 

As some of my faithful blog readers know, my story includes Lillie and Kate discovering a cup with the same china pattern that has been passed down for generations in both their families. Over the process of writing Half-Truths, I've played with different china patterns. My friend and writing mentor, Joyce Hostetter, suggested the popular Blue Willow pattern. When I posted this picture on Facebook, several friends commented about their grandmothers' collections. 

Becky Levine and Joyce chimed in that I really needed to read the book, Blue Willow, which they remembered from their own childhoods. After reading it I realized I'd found a book which both girls would have enjoyed and a story that could provide rich subtext for Half-Truths.

Winner of the Newbery Honor in 1941, Blue Willow recounts the story of a family shaped by the Great Depression. Ten-year-old Janey Larkin longs for a permanent home for herself and for her most beloved possession, a blue willow china plate that belonged to her great-great grandmother. Her father is an itinerant farm worker who struggles to support Janey and her step-mother.  When the family moves from one farm to another, the plate goes with them but stays packed away. "…never, Mrs. Larkin had declared long ago, would it be put out as a household ornament until they had a decent home in which to display it. In the meantime it was kept sadly tucked away, a reminder of happier days before its owners had become wanderers in search of a livelihood." (p. 23)

Because the plate had belonged to Janey's mother, it had become a part of her memories that were mixed up with "Mother Goose rhymes and gay laughter and a home of their own.  And because the willow plate had once been a part of all this, it had seemed actually to become these things to Janey. It was the hub of her universe, a sold rock in the midst of shifting sands." (p.23)

Fast forward twenty years, and like Janey, Lillie is enthralled with the story depicted in the blue willow pattern. Here will be my readers first introduction to the china in Chapter 1:

I tackle the breakfast dishes, washing and stacking them so they dry nice. I take special care with Big Momma’s china cup. There’s a chip along the rim and I don’t know how many times my grandmother has glued the handle back on. Daddy teases her that he’s going to get her a new cup for her birthday, but she says her coffee won’t taste right coming out of any other cup. She never lets anybody else drink out of that cup neither. The way she prizes it, you’d think a boyfriend gave it to her.

I rinse and wipe the cup dry, tracing my finger around the blue doves flying over the pagoda. When I was little, Big Momma told me the legend of the young Chinese lovers who were turned into doves when they eloped against the girl’s Daddy’s wishes.  This was one of Big Momma’s favorite stories. Mine too. A girl loving a boy when her Daddy didn’t think he was good enough for his daughter?  You can’t get more romantic than that!

Later in Half-Truths, Kate's little sister Maggie discovers a blue willow tea set in their grandmother's attic. 

     Maggie pulls out crumpled sheets of yellowed newspaper and throws them on the floor. I start to gather up the paper but then stop. Maggie holds up a blue-patterned tea pot for us to admire. I gasp and put my hand over my mouth. But it’s too late. The girls look at me questioningly.  

“What’s the matter, Lillian?” Maggie ask.  “You look like you seen a ghost!”

“It’s Blue Willow,” I blurt out.  “Big Momma’s got a cup just like it at. The pictures on it tell an old Chinese love story.”

“Ain’t that something!” Maggie pulls out a creamer, sugar bowl, and two cups. Who would have figured that Grandmother and Big Momma would have the same tea cup?”

Miss Anna Kate looks from me to the china and back to me again. “It’s just like the china in the book.” Her voice is slow and thoughtful.

“You mean Blue Willow?” I ask.

“It was my favorite book in fifth grade,” Miss Anna Kate gets a faraway look in her eyes as if she’s recollecting the story. “You read it?”

I nod. “I love the part when Janey pays the rent with the plate so they can stay in their shack…”

Miss Anna Kate interrupts me, “…but then in the end, finds it on the mantle in their new home.”

“What are y’all talking about?” Maggie’s crosses her arms across her chest and looks perturbed.

I shrug. “Just a book.”

Miss Anna Kate corrects me. “Just the best book ever."

We smile at each other. I’m surprised we’ve got something in common. But I gotta admit, it feels good.

********

Blue Willow china: generations old. 

Facebook friends: generations new.

I'm On Tour!

Last week Becky Shillington tagged me on her blog tour and as you'll see at the bottom of this post, I'll tag three more writers. I hope you'll enjoy this post and check out my fellow bloggers.


What are you working on right now?
As many of my faithful blog readers know, I'm writing my first work of fiction, Half-Truths. This link will take you to a list of posts about the evolution of my book.

Although I've been working on the story for at least six years--my first blog post about researching the novel was in 2007--the story actually started out as a picture book about Wing Haven.  I fell in love with this bird sanctuary and the history surrounding it when  my youngest daughter and I visited when she was 5. (She will turn 22 soon, so you do the math!!). 

There were too many stories to fit into a 2000-word-picture book (that was before picture books had a 6-800 word count) and the book morphed into a book for boy readers. I spent months devising a book based on a real story of a young boy rescuing a robin and bringing him to Wing Haven. When my son-in-law informed me that no boy would read a story about a robin--I went back to the drawing board.  

This time, I started imagining a young woman (Kate Dinsmore) who moved from Cheraw, South Carolina into the high society of Myers Park. Her world radically changes when she meets the light-skinned granddaughter (Lillie Harris) of her grandmother's cook. After writing the book from Kate's POV, Mary Kate Castellani an editor at the 2011 SCBWI-Carolinas conference, recommended writing it from both girls POV. I completed that draft this summer and have begun the third "major" draft (there were many starts and stops that I haven't counted in that number!). I am deepening the characters and working on both girls' story arcs. 


How does Half-Truths differ from other works in its genre?
As far as I can tell, there isn't another book that is set in Charlotte on the eve of the civil rights movement. In addition, I am hoping that the alternating points-of-view will deepen both white and black readers' perspectives on race, prejudice, and privilege. 

Why do you write what you do?
Initially, I was intrigued with the challenge of finding the story in my own backyard that Carolyn Yoder posed to my friend, Joyce Hostetter. I also love seeing how the actions, thoughts, and decisions of previous generations influence a person's "now." And I think it's pretty cool to visit places that in Charlotte and think, "My story happened here."

How does your writing process work?
Research (reading books about the era, civil rights, Charlotte history, dialect, fashion) and interviewing experts--folks who lived during this time period--are intermingled with my writing. I actually do less research now, but still find libraries I need to visit and people I want to talk to. I like to write for a few hours in the morning, but my days don't always unfold like that.  

Any departing words of wisdom for other authors?
Don't give up, seek and receive input from writers who you trust, and believe in your story. But most of all, 

      PERSEVERE!

A path in Wing Haven that Kate and Lillie probably walked on
as they persevered in their goal of friendship.

Here are three more bloggers who I hope you will visit as they go on tour next:

Janice Green whose blog combines family entertainment with Bible lessons. 

Becky Levine who has a blog full of writing tips. 

Janie Sullivan who is the director of the Center for Writing Excellence, runs writing contests, and sponsors writing classes.  

My Next Big Thing

My friend and role model, Joyce Hostetter, tagged me last week in a work-in-progress meme called, "The Next Big Thing." You can read about Joyce's WIP here, and since I've had the privilege of reading parts of it, I can tell you that it will be great!

Now it's my turn to answer eight questions and then to tag several authors. Here we go:

What is the working title of your book? Half-Truths. 

Where did the idea for the book come from? That's a long story. I visited Wing Haven gardens with my youngest daughter about 15 years ago. At the time I thought it would make a great picture book but found that there were too many stories for that genre. Then I thought I would take some of the real stories about this bird sanctuary and write a book for young boys. My son-in-law said there was not enough blood and guts in a story about children rescuing a robin for boy readers today. Now Wing Haven is the quiet sanctuary where both main characters find refuge.

Joyce had shared Carolyn Yoder's advice to "write the story in your own backyard." I started thinking about how the same last name for both blacks and whites were on signs all around Charlotte, NC. Obviously there was a connection there. I visited the Rosenwald school in the Grier Heights community and noticed the pictures of many several light-skinned principals. That day I spoke with two gentlemen which further stimulated my thinking about the connections between white and African American families in Charlotte. 

One to two sentence synopsis of the book: In Charlotte in 1950, two teenage girls--one black and one white-- break racial restrictions, uncover family secrets, and discover they are second cousins.   
  

What else about the book might peak the readers' interest?
I think that many young adult readers today don't fully realize the problems that African Americans faced before integration. Lillie, the light-skinned African American girl, will flirt with the idea of passing as a way to get everything that whites have. The white girl, Kate, has her own set of problems as she doesn't fit in with the debutante lifestyle her grandmother wants her to have. I am hoping that these issues of "belonging" will resonate with today's readers. There is also an unlikely romance threaded throughout the book. 

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I have no plans to self-publish and will look for agency representation after it is as close to perfect as I can get it--with the help of many critique partners!

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the story?
That is a REALLY hard question to answer! I had many starts and stops along the way as I had a hard time figuring out where my story began. As a result, I spent a lot of time writing what I now understand to have been the back story. In 2008 Joyce challenged me to participate in NaNoWriMo. I had already been working on this novel, but that helped me spill more of the guts of this book. By the end of 2010 I had completed my first draft. At the SCBWI-Carolinas conference in 2011, my critiquer was Mary Cate Castellani. She suggested that I write my story from both girls' points of view. That was a major shift in my thinking and writing and it took about nine months of working on and off with Rebecca Petruck to come up with a really good outline. I am now over half-way through this draft; which is tighter and better than any of the previous drafts! 

What other books would you compare it to in this genre? This is a scary question because I don't want to feel presumptuous at all. Since it deals with issues of segregation I'd like for readers to think of To Kill a Mockingbird--but I hesitate to even admit that since that is such a Southern classic! Since it deals with a light-skinned young woman passing, I also think of Flygirl by Sherri Smith, although that takes place about five years earlier. When I have described the book to others, some adults have thought that it was The Help for teens, but the books are very different. 

What actors would you chose to play a movie rendition? I am not a movie person, so I couldn't begin to answer this question. But Price Davis, my 92-year-old African American expert keeps telling me to hurry up and finish the book because he wants to see the movie! Now, that's encouragement!

Price Davis, outside his childhood home.

OK, now it's your turn Gretchen Griffith, Becky Levine, Bonnie Doerr, Donna Earnhardt, Augusta Scattergood, and Niki Schoenfeldt. If you want to play along and share with the world what your next Big Thing is--we want to hear it!

Character + Setting = Story (Almost)

Part I: Character
A recent Facebook discussion on my wall led one of my FB friends Leslie Guccione, an author of 30 books, to blog about the importance of totally knowing your character and setting. 

Leslie Guccione

I have often thought how stories are built from the inside out.  Appropriately, her blog on character is named, "Know Your Characters Inside and Out." She listed a variety of questions writers should ask about their character. This list is similar to an handout that is in Teaching the Story which you can download here. 


I hope you'll read her entire blog, but here is her ending advice:

Whether your character works against the background you’ve devised or reflects it in stereotypical detail, you’ve provided a solid frame on which to weave voice, behavior, attitude and goals as you hook your reader with their tale you’re telling.

By the way, I highly recommend Donald Maass' book, Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook. His exercises are probing and will make you get to know your character in such a way that you can portray him or her authentically.

Part II: Setting

On Leslie's blog about setting, "Your Character's Physical World," she uses two fantasy books to demonstrate the importance of creating extensive, believable worlds for characters to live in. She lists several aspects of a fictional world that the writer must create. You can also download my handout, "Set the Scene" or "Create an Imaginary World" to help you begin this brainstorming process. 


Leslie summarizes that blog with, "Your goal is to breathe life into every individual & create atmosphere for every setting. You have to take your readers there. And they have to want to stay."

I found Richard Russo's article, "Location, Location, Location: Depicting Character Through Place" in Creating Fiction (Story Press, 1999) to be helpful on this topic.

Part III: Plot

What about plot and conflict? Let me recommend two books to help you tackle that most important story componenent. The first is Many Genres One Craft: Lessons in Writing Genre Fiction which, according to Leslie, is crammed with good advice. She should know--she contributed an article and it just won its second "Best" award for a writing how-to book in 2012.

Second, consider purchasing Becky Levine's book, "The Writing & Critique Group Survival Guide." She has an excellent chapter on critiquing for plot along with a great deal of other useful information.