Ryan Field's Blog, page 505

Writing Historicals and Learning about Corsetry

Here's another reason why I both love and hate writing historicals: corsets.

I don't actually need to know a thing about corsets. But I'm writing this new historical set during the Edwardian era and I have to give a fairly accurate description about the kinds of corsets that were worn back then...specifically around the year 1912.

According to wiki, "a corset is a garment worn to hold and shape the torso." According to Edwardian Corsetry Fashion History, "the corset started just above the waist and fitted well down the thighs." In other words, corsets were longer and more streamlined after 1907. In some cases, by 1912, corsets reached the knees and it was difficult for women to sit down. Had I not done the research, I would have described the corset as what we see to today in those erotic boutiques. And I would have been dead wrong.

This longer, streamlined corset was designed to enhance the figure of a woman and to compliment the fashions of this time period. And it didn't last long. From what I gather, the corset started going out of style around World War I and dropped out almost completely in the l920's when the girdle took its place.

But the research had to be done, even though it wasn't a large part of the story I'm working on right now. I could have lived a long full life without this information, but once I started reading about it I have to admit that I did find it interesting from a trending pov. Evidently fashion has always been trending, and it always will trend. And corsets played a huge part in the history of women's fashion, which couldn't be overlooked in the story I'm working on right now.

I'm also sure a lot of women today are thrilled they don't have to wear the corsets of 1912.[image error]

Breaking One Myth about Writers

I spent most of Sunday afternoon answering questions for an interview with Long and Short Reviews. The questions were great...excellent, in fact.

I saved one question in particular for last in the interview. And this is because I think it breaks a popular myth about all writers, across the board. We're often perceived as being absent-minded and unusual, messy and disorganized. They say we drink too much and don't focus enough on practical matters because we're always too busy focusing on our "art." I even read one blog post right after Christmas where a m/m romance author joked around in a guest post on a review site about how we're all in therapy and we're all these insecure, terrified creative types who are never understood. I once even read somewhere that writers who are extremely messy and disorganized are always great in bed. (I swear I did.)

Well.

Interesting.

I'm smiling as I write this. But I have say blah, blah, blah, to all of the above. I'm sure there are some writers like this. I'm sure there are many people in all professions like this. If there weren't, my parents, who happen to be therapists, wouldn't have done so well.

But as a writer, I prefer not to be lumped into any categories as far as my basic personality goes and how I choose to live my life. This thing about writers being needy, insecure, messy, and prone to all kinds of quirks is about as wrong as it gets. This thing about writers being in therapy is wrong, too. The one about being messy and great in bed is just too ridiculous to even touch. A slob is a slob; this has nothing to do with writers or being great in bed. And when I answered the questions for Long and Short Reviews, I decided to try and bust this myth that's been going around for so long.

Here's the question about which I'm talking, and I'll post more about the interview when it's published.

21. What would we find under your bed?

Absolutely nothing, seriously. You could eat off the floor under my bed. I saved this question for last on purpose. Writers are often referred to as disorganized, messy, and, in a general sense, not quite stable. My home is immaculate. I spend long hours working on my property. There's nothing beneath my bed. My checkbook is always balanced, my bills are paid on time, and I've never been in therapy (and my parents are therapists). I don't drink too much (often) or take drugs of any kind (ever). So the myth of writers being these weird unbalanced wacko creatures makes me smile all the time.

Must Read: A VERY Different Approach to Bullying I'm Not Sure I Like...

To be perfectly honest, I'm not certain I fully agree with the blog post to which I'm linking below. It's about bullying, and how this blogger thinks it's time to react differently. The reason I'm talking about this now is because I've done a lot of posts on bullying and I've been in touch with a lot of younger LGBT people who have been bullied.

"In our town we had a recent tragedy in which a young life was lost. Due to the child's age, details have not been released but there are rumors that bullying may have played a part."

The first reason I'm not sure about this approach is that the entire post to which I'm linking is based on hearsay, admittedly, by the author of the post. When it comes to something as important as this, I need solid facts, not misinformed allegations.

All that aside, I do agree, in theory, that we should teach our kids to speak up and never allow anyone to bully them. I was never bullied because I did, in fact, speak up...as a kid and an adult. But I'm also sensitive enough to know that not all kids have the capacity to speak up this way. Not to mention that some might also argue the approach to which I'm linking sends kids mixed signals about the difference between right and wrong. In other words, if you're an adult driving down the highway and another adult starts to bully you with road rage (we've all been there), do you shout "Fuck you, you miscreant," or do you get his/her license plate number and report him/her to the police. As a responsible adult you would take down his/her tag and a description of his/her car and report him/her to the police. As an irresponsible adult you'd pull over, scream right back in his/her face, call him/her a fucking miscreant, and then you'd become an integral part of an already explosive situation that's doomed...not the smartest thing to do.

I also know, from first hand experience with one particular nephew in middle school, that many schools nowadays have a zero tolerance policy with regard to anything that's considered offensive. This goes for the bully and for the kid being bullied. And I'm not sure shouting "Fuck you, you miscreant," would work well at his school. My nephew would not only wind up being bullied even more later, but he'd also become "classified" as a trouble maker in his school..."that kid with the bad mouth who shouts Fuck you, you miscreant"...and once a kid is classified that way, officially or unofficially, he or she will always be regarded this way. Schools these days, at least here in the east coast where I live, are dealing with major issues now. They don't need more problems.

So while an aggressive approach to bullying is sometimes the best approach, being smarter than the bully, and knowing that you are smarter than the bully, and reporting the incident and the bully to the right people is the smarter way to go. Knowing the meaning of big words like "miscreant" doesn't make you smart. It just makes you knowledgeable. Because all it takes is just one nutty bully, and in this world there are plenty of them out there, to hear "Fuck you, you miscreant," and that bully might not back down the first time.

Here's a link to the blog post, titled, "Fuck You, You Miscreant," where you can form your own opinion.

And, for those of us who don't know, which I would imagine is most of us, including most school teachers, (I have over 80 published works out and I've never used this word in the sentence before), here's the meaning of miscreant:

mis·cre·ant/ˈmiskrēənt/

Noun: A person who behaves badly or in a way that breaks the law.

Adjective:(of a person) Behaving badly or breaking a law.

Synonyms: noun. villain - scoundrel - blackguard - rascal - rogue - knave

adjective. mean - vile - base

Advice and Tips for Aspiring Writers...

When I came across the blog post I'm linking to below I had to share. I couldn't agree more with everything in the post. And if you're an aspiring writer you'll want to check it out.

Number one is especially important. I hear a lot of new writers talk about not having the time to write. I understand this, trust me I do. I owned two businesses for a long time and worked seven days a week dividing my time between the two businesses.

I still found time to write. Sometimes it was only a page a day. But I made a point to make the time.

Here are eight great tips I think are very important.[image error]

Found a Great Blog: "Frost Lord" by TD McFrost

Those who follow me know how I get when I find a new blog I like. It happened late last night while I was web surfing with my tablet. The minute I read one post, and then checked out the blog links, I knew I'd wind up linking to this guy just by checking out the smart tasteful blogs he reads. (You can tell a lot about a person by the blogs he/she reads :)

I also like to cover a lot of territory here on this blog. I shy away from things too political and try to keep my posts objective. One of the areas I like to cover is all things publishing related. His blog is, indeed, publishing related. And scoping out fresh, young talented authors like this guy is probably one of the most important publishing related topics I can think of.

T.D. McFrost's blog, Frost Lord, is not only well written, it's done with a nice sense of humor. The "voice" is excellent. You can get there from here and check it out yourselves to see what I mean. I'm linking on my sidebar right now. I don't see that many blogs that make me want to read more all that often, and when I do I zoom in on them as fast as I can.

Here's his profile, "Secret Identity," taken verbatim from the blog, so you can see what I'm talking about regarding his sense of humor.

Hi, my name is Tyson Devon McFrost but you may call me Frost Lord. ^_^


I'm 22 years old, I live under the sink and I'm a superhero. Now I know some of you are wondering "Hey, what's this superhero doing blogging when he should be saving the world?" Well, the thing is: I'm lazy. And it's not my mom's fault ('cause the lord knows she sure tried), it's just that there's so much "human" stuff to do.


I mean, my goodness, where do I begin?


I love surfing huge, gnarly waves; I love taking my bike up on mountain trails; I love archery (I'm quite good); I love fried chicken, gravy and mashed potatoes; I love girls with a sense of humor, glasses, intelligence and six toes; I love animals, especially dogs, lions, tigers snakes, kinkajous, ferrets and mice; I love my mom, my sisters and my abs; but above all else I lurveeeee VIDEO GAMES!


I'm a nerd, really--a supernerd!--and that's just how I like it.


There are a lot of things about me that will surprise you. One of the more thrilling details is the fact that I knew Rihanna. Yes, I'm talking about the superstar singer with red hair. We were friends once, but I was foolish enough to mess that up when I pushed her into a river and caused her to bruise her elbows. She taddled, my mom whopped me and we never spoke again.


Ah yes, fond memories they were...[image error]

Working on Another Historical...

I wish there were someone around to kick me when I start projects like this. I always say I don't like writing historicals. But the truth is that I just don't like the concept of writing them. It takes too long to do the research and I like things to move fast. When you're writing a historical you have to stop and triple check facts, and sometimes you even have to cross reference to find out if there are discrepancies. The problem is that once I'm really into the story I can't help but love it.

A Young Widow's Promise , which is a civil war romance, took me years to write. One reason I didn't release it was because I loved it so much I didn't want to let go of it. Only those who have suffered public reviews can understand this. And with this book I was checking facts right down to the wire until the day it was released. Another reason why I'm not fond of doing this research is that I can't help but question how they know the information is true or not. No one nowadays was around in the year 1860, so how can anyone really be certain something did or didn't happen. I know there are strong arguments against what I just said. But I still can't help wondering. And there have been times when I've taken historical facts and written about them even though I questioned them silently. The best you can do is trust someone with more knowledge about history. The least you can do is try to get it right given the information available to you at the time.

I swore when I finished A Young Widow's Promise I wouldn't do another historical for at least two more years. But like A Young Widow's Promise, the story I've been working on for the past two weeks is something I've always wanted to write and the timing right now is perfect. I'm between Virgin Billionaire books. I just submitted a book that will be published under one of my pen names. And this particular topic I'm writing about is something I've always wanted to write about. But more than that, it's a m/m historical and extremely sexy. This time, unlike with A Young Widow's Promise, I'm targeting my usual audience.

But I do swear this is my last historical for the next two years. I'd like to focus my short stories more on westerns for the next year. I enjoy writing them and reading them. I see a lot out there, but the ones I've read just don't seem very sexy to me. And if I get the urge to write another historical anytime soon, I'm coming back to this post and reading my own words.

I wish I could post more about the subject of the historical I'm working on. It's just too soon to talk about it right now. I will post more in the coming weeks. I'm hoping to have it submitted to the publisher by early next week. And then we'll probably take another few weeks of editing. It should be out by late February, which if I'm counting the days right, will be perfect timing.

List of Cities with Large Percentage of Gay Households

I recently read something on social media where they listed a few cities with large percentages of gays. Some of the cities struck me as unlikely, so I did a little research and found this web site I'm linking to right now.

I'm not knocking the other list. For all I know, it could be accurate. But the one I'm linking to now seems more accurate to me, based on my own personal experience and what I know about the gay community.

Needless to say, Wilton Manors, FL is first on the list to which I'm linking. The photo above is from a real estate listing in Wilton. I can't tell you how many gay couple I know who have winter places in Wilton Manors or have moved to Wilton Manors permanently. I've thought about getting something small down there myself just because there is such a large gay community.

It didn't surprise me to see Palm Springs as number three. I've thought about going there, too. Mostly because so many of my gay friends from New Hope have already moved out there. And those who haven't moved, do spend a great deal of time there during the winter months.

Here's the link. When reading this, I didn't find any surprises. And that's because the gay people I know tend to talk about these things often. And they tend to live in places where there are larger percentages of other gay people.[image error]

The Gay Gourmet: Michael Munoz

Although I love where I live in New Hope, Bucks County, PA, this is yet another reason why I'd seriously think about relocating to Manhattan again. I always feel like I'm missing all the fun. Even though I'm only an hour and a half away from NY, it's still a schlep to get there, and traffic is never, never good.

Michael Munoz, The Gay Gourmet, is having a celebration. I've blogged about him before. The information is below. This is definitely something I'd attend if I lived in the city, and it wouldn't be to promote books. It would be strictly for fun. And to see how cute Michael is in person, too.

[image error]

Deer in the Headlights by Levi Johnston

While going through my reading list last night, I noticed that I'd made a note to check out Levi Johnston's book, "Deer in the Headlights." I'm still reading Merv Griffin's bio, and two different novels. But nothing is really keeping my interest right now. This happens every so often and I try to find something that I normally wouldn't read.

In this case, it's going to be Levi Johnston's book. I'm doing it partly because it isn't something I'd normally read and partly because I'm curious to hear his version of what's been played out in the press. I know people have strong opinions about Levi, in both directions. But I honestly don't have any. To me he seemed like an overzealous kid, with a little too much testosterone and not enough knowledge. And when he got caught up in the vicious cycle of the Palin family, he wound up over his head. Trust me, I'm not making any specific commentary about the Palin family. Frankly, I couldn't care less about them unless one of them were actually running for office. But, in a general sense, it would be impossible to believe that people who have been so highly publicized in the media aren't pros at media manipulation. In other words, like them or not, none of them are simple folk with simple dreams. And I'd like to read Levi's side of the story.[image error]

What's Foursquare?

I joined another social network about a month ago called Foursquare, thanks to a facebook friend I met about a year ago. Incidentally, this facebook friend lives about three miles away from me. We're not just blowing smoke up each others butts through cyberspace. Had it not been for facebook, I probably wouldn't have gotten to know this guy at all.

Here's a web address to Foursquare, https://foursquare.com/, so you can see what it's all about (for some reason the link won't work). I think you can either use an iPhone or an Android to do this. After fifteen years of having the same cell phone plan, and basically the same cell phones which I upgraded every two years when I signed a new contract, I decided to switch to an iPhone and I'm starting to really enjoy it.

From what I've gathered so far, Foursquare is a social network about locations, linking people together all over the world. I'm just starting out and I don't have as many friends as other people on Foursquare. But I saw that one of my friends is my good blogging buddy, Mary Gersham, and a few other people I've known online for a while. And, just to keep it real, I've met other local people in my area just through Foursquare. One of them is a really nice guy who owns furniture business near Princeton, NJ, which isn't far from where I live. He's also a very hot guy, too. But that's another story for another post.

Now, if your only goal with social media is to promote yourself as an author...or as anything else...I'm not sure Foursquare is the right social network for you. But then again, if you're only using social media to promote yourself, you're missing the entire point of social media and you probably shouldn't be there in the first place. The sad fact is that while people might want to get to know you as a person on social media, they couldn't care less about the book you wrote until they get to know you. This is huge mistake I've seen authors do since social media started getting popular. And there's nothing more annoying than receiving a private message or a blunt announcement that says something to the effect of "Read my book, etc..." The first thing I do when I see these things is delete. I'm sure others do the same thing, too.

But Foursquare seems to be fun. You can "check in" to destinations wherever you are. I stopped at my local Farm Market last Sunday, Maximucks, which is located, literally, in the middle of nowhere, and I was able to check in there. The owners were stunned they were even on Foursquare. You can also become "mayor" if you check in often enough. I think you can go even higher than that. You receive points, and information about dining out. And if you travel a lot, I would imagine it can come in handy in more ways than one.

I'll post more about it as I learn more about it. Right now I'm still at that stage where I'm learning the basics and making a few mistakes. I have "badges" and I'm not sure how to use them. But you can follow me there with my name, Ryan Field.[image error]