CK Van Dam's Blog, page 9

When the character took control

No one was more surprised than I was when my character took control of the scene in the book I’m currently writing.

There I was, typing away. The scene was set. My characters were interacting, and then my heroine made an unexpected move. It sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? I recalled webinars that discussed the possibility that characters take control of the story.

Robert McKee, a respected “story guru,” says there’s nothing “mystical” about this. He writes, The writer’s task is to structure story events and design the supporting cast to draw out the character’s true nature.

McKee credits research for this character-driven phenomenon. It happens when the writer’s knowledge of the subject and of the characters results in something that seems spontaneous — but is actually the result of research and hard work.

He’s right about that. Before I began writing Book #2, I did my homework. I read about the subject, the culture and social conventions of the time. I researched immigration trends in the 19th century, as well as the battles of the Civil War (still need to do more work there..) and the effects of the war on veterans. I wanted to understand what it was like to live in post-Civil War America.

More importantly, I completed extensive character profiles for the story. Those profiles helped me to understand my characters: what drove them, what inspired them, and what frightened them. I outlined everything from eye color and body type to education and experiences. The character profiles helped me get to know the protagonists, the antagonists and the support characters — including the heroine’s dog. (Of course there’s a dog in the story.)

Then, when I began writing book #2, some of those character attributes changed as their story lines played out. But sometimes those character attributes are driving the story line. That’s what happened in the “first kiss” scene. No one was more surprised than I was — except, maybe, the character who was kissed. My character took control.

Writing is fun, especially when something unexpected happens. As they used to say in television shows of days gone by, “stay tuned for more.”

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The value of historical research in writing fiction

I’ve described Proving Her Claim as “historically accurate.” The novel itself is a work of fiction, but I relied heavily on non-fiction research in the process.

A statistic sparked the story: 42% of women homesteaders proved their claims, while only 37% of men successfully proved their claims. The premise for the novel was “Why did a higher percentage of women succeed?”

To answer that question, I reached back to my B.A. in History from South Dakota State University, where I focused on 19th Century History of the United States. Proving Her Claim is set in post-Civil War America when so much was changing in our country. The Homestead Act of 1862 impacted where and how people lived. The pioneers’ interactions with indigenous cultures and the appropriation of their lands continue to shape our history today.

But a simple Bachelor of Arts degree isn’t enough to create a realistic universe for fictional characters. As many authors do, I spent hours (and hours) researching the lives of homesteaders.

And, in order to present an historically accurate account, I also researched a multitude of other details. I learned about cheesemaking, Norwegian rosemaling, Lakota language, Norwegian language, and random facts about post-Civil war bank robbers.

For some of that research, I relied on the Internet, of course. (What did writers do before Google?) But, I also collected dozens and dozens of non-fiction books. Books such as Land of the Burnt Thigh and were invaluable in shaping my understanding of the lives of women homesteaders. As I continued to write, I’d ask myself “what would Anna wear for this occasion?” or “what was the popular music during this era?” or “what idioms were commonly used?” And I was off to do more research.

In addition, I found academic white papers to be very valuable. Professor Hannah Haksgaard’s paper, “Including Unmarried Women in the Homestead Act of 1862” was a fascinating look at how women became landowners. (Did my history geek just peek out?)

For my next book, I’ve added a book on military history of the Civil War to my resource list.

There’s a saying that research is how authors avoid writing. It’s true.

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Typos happen

Typos, whether they’re grammatical errors, missing or misspelled words, are the bane of every writer’s existence. That’s not an over-statement.

Part of the path to publishing is hiring a professional proofreader to catch those errors. But even before that step, an editor reviews and edits the manuscript for character development, copy flow, point-of-view and a host of other elements with an eye to the big picture. Then it’s the proofreader’s turn to minutely examine the manuscript for grammar, spelling, punctuation, syntax, formatting and typographical errors.

No writer should proofread his or her own copy. We “fill in the blank” (missing words) and may not be adept at grammar and style questions (Oxford comma, anyone?).

When I came upon this news story, I was thankful that my writing is not carved in stone, bigger than life on the wall of the new, 700,000-square-foot Long Island Railroad terminal in New York’s Grand Central Station. The typo occurs in a 1928 quote from famed artist Georgia O’Keeffe: “One can’t paint New York as it is but rather as it is felt.”

O’Keeffe’s name is misspelled — one “f” instead of two.

Oh, the pain. The misery. The embarrassment. But, typos happen. The news report does not include remedies for this gaffe (with two “f”s).

This is a shoutout to all the editors and proofreaders who make writers look good. Thank you.

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Support independent bookstores

Zandbroz Variety in Sioux Falls, SD

Even though Amazon sells 80 percent of all books sold in the US today, there’s something cozy about bookstores that Amazon can’t match.

When you walk into an independent bookstore, you’re presented with tight aisles and shelves packed with books of all sizes, colors and topics. You can smell of the paper and (sometimes) leather covers. And you can rely on the knowledge of the shopkeepers to find just the book you’re looking for.

DDR Books in Watertown, SD

I’ve always loved bookshops, but now as an author I love them even more. I’ve been “planting” my book in area independent bookstores for several months, hoping to “grow” my readership. It’s akin to gardening. (You’ll find a list of local stores that carry “Proving Her Claim” on my website.) Recently I added my book to Ingram Spark’s inventory which, I’m told, is the distributor for independent bookstores and libraries across the country.

I’ve been invited to sign books and make presentations at several local bookstores. It’s fun to meet people who share a love of books. And sometimes there’s more than one author at the book signing events. That’s a great time for me, as a newbie author, to ask more experienced authors about “author life.”

Brookings Book Company, Brookings, SD

I’ll save my comments about book banning and attacks on libraries for another time. But I do believe that banning books anytime or anywhere is counter to a free and open society. Books help open our minds to other cultures, other times and other ideologies. It’s up to the reader to decide if it’s right for her or for him.

For now, please join me in supporting independent bookstores. Readers of all ages will thank you.

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Pasque flowers: the first blooms of spring

The pasque flower plays a prominent role in “Proving Her Claim.” I chose it for its color and because it is one of the first signs of spring — something that we’re desperately waiting for this year on the prairie.

The flowers bloom in a range of colors, from deep purple to pale lavender, and even white. The people of South Dakota were so taken with the pasque flower, that it was named the State Flower in 1903. My guess is that it became the state flower because South Dakotans often saw pasque flowers even before the winter snows had thawed. It’s a promise of spring.

Long before it became a state flower, Native Americans used pasque flowers as medicine. The flowers also are part of beautiful Lakota legend, which Two Hawks recounted in the novel. In the legend, the pasque, called hoki cekpa, played a part in the manhood ceremony of a young Lakota man:

He went out on the prairie alone for three days of fasting in his vision quest. The first night was very cold and when he pulled his robe tightly around him he heard a small voice say ‘thank you’ in our language. “Looking around, he saw a little white flower. The flower said, ‘don’t unwrap the robe. It keeps me warm.’ The boy smiled and fell asleep.

“On the second day, the boy talked to the little flower, happy that he had found a friend. That night he wrapped himself and the flower in his robe, and slept again, hoping for his vision.

“On the third day, he was worried that he had not had his vision yet. If he did not have a vision, he would nae become a man. The little flower assured him that everything would turn out as it should. Just as the little flower foretold, a vision came to the boy just before dawn. He saw himself as a medicine man taking care of many people.

“When he awoke, he told the flower of his vision and, feeling grateful for the flower’s friendship, offered the blossom three wishes. Hoki cekpa said it wished for the warmth of the yellow sun in its heart, the beauty of the purple skies around it, and a heavy fur robe to keep it warm in the early spring. And that is how the hoki cekpa got its golden center, purple petals and furry leaves,” Two Hawks concluded.

This year on the first day of Spring, the pasque flowers are under five feet of snow. But when the snow is gone, I’ll look for Spring’s lavender blossoms.

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Western Writers of America Spur Awards

I am excited to announce that Proving Her Claim received two Spur Awards from the Western Writers of America! My debut novel was awarded the Best Western Romance Novel of 2023. The book also garnered the Best First Novel Spur Award.

Since 1953 the Spur Awards have been considered one of the most prestigious awards in American literature. Spurs are given for the best western historical novel, best western traditional novel, best western contemporary novel, best short story, best short nonfiction. Also, best contemporary nonfiction, best biography, best history, best juvenile fiction and nonfiction, best drama, best documentary, best poem, best song, best children’s picture book and best first novel as well as best first nonfiction book.

WWA will present the 2023 awards at the organization’s annual convention, which takes place June 21-24 in Rapid City, SD. I am very proud to be a member of an organization that supports and promotes its members’ work.

More than 700 writers worldwide are members of WWA, including historians, fiction and nonfiction authors, romance writers, songwriters, poets, and screenwriters for film and television. All these writers have one thing in common—our work is set in the ever-changing American West.

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Divorced women on the frontier

Sod barn built for Tyra Schanche & Radi Garmann. Courtesy of Bergliot Schanche

The Homestead Act of 1862 allowed “any person who is the head of a family, or who has arrived at the age of twenty-one years” to file for a homestead.

By stating that “any person” was eligible, Congress included women in this landmark legislation. As USD Professor Hannah Haksgaard wrote in the Nebraska Law Review, the remainder of the statute used the language of “his or her” to discuss the rights and obligations of homesteaders. As such, there was immediate recognition that single women — including widows, divorced women, and never-married women — were qualified to homestead.

Most of these women were single, unmarried women. Records show that widows went west to claim land, as well. by H. Elaine Lindgren included a census (of sorts) of the women who homesteaded in North Dakota. Of the 285 records, only 40 homesteaders were widows. Even fewer — only five — were separated or divorced women.

But times were changing in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and divorce was becoming more common. The Divorce Colony by April White chronicles the stories of four women who came to Sioux Falls seeking divorces. Due to extremely lenient residency laws — 90 days — South Dakota had become the divorce capital of the country. From 1891 to 1908, South Dakota issued 7,108 divorce decrees. Most of these divorces occurred in Sioux Falls, thanks to the luxurious Cataract Hotel, where most of the litigants took up residence.

Both men and women petitioned for divorces. However, legal fees and temporary residency requirements made the process cost prohibitive for many. Divorce in the 19th century was an extreme act, because marriage was a financial agreement for women. That meant that most of the women seeking divorce came from the country’s wealthy families. These women afford to divorce their breadwinner. If they did not remarry immediately (many did so), they relied on family money to support them and their children.

Circling back to homesteaders: very few of these divorcees stayed in South Dakota to stake a claim through the homestead act. It’s hard to imagine Margaret Astor De Stuers (yes, those Astors) deciding to stake a claim, live on the prairie, and work the land.

Still, some divorced women did strike out on their own to claim land in Dakota Territory, and later, the State of South Dakota. Those were the women who helped build our country.

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March is Women’s History Month

Women’s History Month started as Women’s History Week in 1982.

But in 1987, Congress designated March as Women’s History Month. The month celebrates the contributions and recognizes the achievements women have made over the course of American history in a variety of fields.

Proving Her Claim is based on the women pioneers who settled on the frontier. While Anna Olson is a fictional character, I researched dozens of a women homesteaders to make sure that Anna’s life on the the prairie was factual. Here are some of the women I “met” in my research — women who made history.

Edith and Mary Ida Ammons, two sisters from Illinois, settled near Brule, South Dakota, in the early 1900s. To help raise cash to improve their claim, Ida Mary took a teaching position and Edith ran the local newspaper. Eventually Edith wrote a semi-biographical account of her time on the frontier, “Land of the Burnt Thigh.” They both made their marks on our state. According to Edith, “A wilderness I had found it, a thriving community I left it.”

Mary Eckert opened a photography studio in Helena, Montana Territory, in 1867. She became one of the region’s most talented photographers and painters. Mary, a widow, helped to document the early years of Montana’s statehood and left a treasure trove of photographs of many of the state’s most prominent pioneers.

Flora Hayward Stanford was the first woman doctor in Deadwood, SD. At the age of 37 she decided to obtain her medical degree and practiced medicine for ten years in Washington, DC. In 1888 her daughter, Emma, was diagnosed with consumption. Flora believed that Deadwood, with its fresh mountain air, would be the ideal environment for Emma. Upon their arrival in Deadwood, Flora purchased a home at 374 Williams Street, from which she also ran her medical practice. She specialized in homeopathic medicine to treat the diseases of women and children. 

Women had an enormous impact on the frontier. Women’s History Month is an excellent reminder to get to know some of these women.

One of my favorite quotes is from Harvard Professor Laurel Thatcher Ulrich: “Well-behaved women seldom make history.”

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What I learn from book clubs

I love book clubs. Just being around people who like to read is energizing.

As a member, book clubs help me explore books that I might not choose to read otherwise. Most readers have genres that they prefer or even unconsciously select. But book clubs encourage exploration, both of authors and of genres.

As an author, book clubs help me to “think deeper” about the book I’ve written through the questions the members ask.

At a recent book club meeting, I was asked who my favorite character was in Proving Her Claim. My immediate response was Anna Olson, the heroine of the novel. Then I thought more about the characters, and realized that my favorite character might just be Yellow Bird, Two Hawks MacKenzie’s mother. That surprised me a bit.

Book club meetings also give me a chance to ask the readers what they liked — or disliked — about the book. Here are some of their responses:
“I liked that Anna saved herself.”
“I appreciated that Anna came from a family of strong women.”
“Anna had a plan and she knew what she had to do.”
“I was surprised by the ending.”

Book club invitations come from several directions. A college friend invited me to talk to her book club. Another invitation came after a book signing and author talk. Yet another invitation came via social media.

In person or via a virtual meeting, I’m always ready to talk about my book. But I what I really like about book clubs is the opportunity to hear from readers. If you’re reading this post and would like me to attend your book club meeting, send me an invitation at ckayvandam@gmail.com

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Will ChatGPT upend human creativity?

In preparation for this post, I asked ChatGPT to write the blog. Unfortunately, the new artificial intelligence platform (is it a platform, a software or just a fad?) is maxed out. I received this message:

ChatGPT is at capacity right now

And then it proceeded to write a sonnet about its status. Here’s the first stanza:
Amidst the rush of curious minds,
The chatbot ChatGPT stands strong and true,
Withstanding the influx of requests,
Working hard to fulfill each one’s due.

Author’s note: I’ve always found sonnets to be long and pretentious.

Wikipedia says: ChatGPT can write and debug computer programs, compose music, teleplays, fairy tales, and student essays; answer test questions, write poetry and song lyrics…

Fast Company writes that ChatGPT, with an IQ of 83, is poised to take over menial tasks: Many workers are drowned in menial, repetitive tasks, often carried out on autopilot and without much critical thinking.

The same article goes on: But ChatGPT can’t replace human ideas. That’s the key. Artificial intelligence programs are tools.

The creative world is abuzz right now with debate as to whether AI will replace human creativity. My answer: Not if we’re smart about it. To quote one of my favorite sci-fi movies, Blade Runner: Do androids dream of electric sheep? And that iconic line came from the title of the science fiction novel by Phillip Dick.

I don’t think a chatbot could concept that…or could it?

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