Ask the Author: Ellyn Weaver
Answered Questions (10)
Ellyn Weaver
No! I can not tell you a two-sentence horror story. Horror is not my thing.
Ellyn Weaver
I enjoy reading books about France as I have always wanted to tour the countryside and the city of Paris.
Ellyn Weaver
I have reviewed all the books I have read for the previous year. Please read them on my profile page. I am currently not reading books by other writers
as I am proofreading Book Two of my series WE WALK in FOOTPRINTS very soon to be available to the public.
as I am proofreading Book Two of my series WE WALK in FOOTPRINTS very soon to be available to the public.
Ellyn Weaver
Hi Lindsey, When I started my research, it wasn't with the intention of writing a book, rather for more information into my own heritage. I began with research into the Iroquois Confederacy in the Great Lakes Region of NY State. When I zeroed in on the Seneca/Iroquois Nation of Indians from which I am descended on my Maternal side, I began to have flashbacks of Seneca women at chores and later, early settlers in relationships with native people. I heard the voices. And it was scary at first.
Each time I moved to a different time frame, there were similar flashbacks influenced by the culture and history I read. That's how the writing began.
As I have had a long life, yes, life experience played a part, though the characters speak for themselves. If you are a writer of fiction, you have probably experienced this phenomenon. Let the characters tell their stories in their own words.
Hope this has been helpful. Thanks for your interest in my work and the writing process.
Each time I moved to a different time frame, there were similar flashbacks influenced by the culture and history I read. That's how the writing began.
As I have had a long life, yes, life experience played a part, though the characters speak for themselves. If you are a writer of fiction, you have probably experienced this phenomenon. Let the characters tell their stories in their own words.
Hope this has been helpful. Thanks for your interest in my work and the writing process.
Ellyn Weaver
How the culture and traditions of the Seneca/Iroquois Nation of Indians has persevered through centuries of persecution and deprivation to become a powerful economic force is an inspiring story.
Ellyn Weaver
I am currently cutting and revising Books Two and Three of the series WE WALK in FOOTPRINTS.
Ellyn Weaver
It can't be stressed enough: Do the research, but write about what you know.
Ellyn Weaver
A writer creates a place and time of the writer's making, characters who constantly surprise the writer with what they say, do, how they live in their world.
Ellyn Weaver
Since characters and stories rise out of research, writing flows.
Ellyn Weaver
My book: WE WALK in FOOTPRINTS came from my life experience growing up in a small town within a short distance from a Native American reservation in Western New York State. From early years I and my siblings knew we had Seneca/Iroquois ancestry, though we lived in the White world and passed as White. Many residents of the town came from similar bloodlines. Most kept those bloodlines to themselves as Seneca blood was considered shameful. Over time, mixed-bloods were counted and accepted as White. The Native American Movement revived my interest in knowing more about the history, culture, traditions of the Seneca Nation.
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