Becky Wade's Blog, page 64

Death By Details

While creating a novel, a writer (and eventually her editors) go through many stages. From early brainstorming on plot and characters, to research, to proposing the premise, to writing a first draft, to gaining feedback from trusted early readers, to revisions, and then onward to the editorial process. I admit I enjoy certain phases more than others. I like dreaming up situations to put my characters into. I like research. I love traveling to England. I value editorial feedback—take it to heart and revise as needed. I appreciate my editors a great deal and would never want to do this without them. But there is one aspect of this writing career that I find particularly onerous. I call it, “death by details.” I thought you might be interested in a peek at this point of the process.

I’ve just gone through this stage for my upcoming December release, A Winter by the Sea. My first-round (line) editor has made her changes. My copy editor and proofreader then made their changes and sent me queries about a myriad of (mostly) small details.

This is my last chance to make substantive changes. To triple check facts, dates, etymology, timelines, tenses, and more. (Next the manuscript will be formatted and typeset as the words will appear in the printed book. I will see it once more at final galley stage, but at that point I am supposed to limit myself to making only necessary changes to correct outright errors.)

During this “death by details” phase, I respond back with revisions and questions. Some of these queries are related to simple punctuation. Are these commas needed? Would an em-dash be better here?  Others are about issues like: Should I add a tagline to clarify who said what? Should I revise from passive construction to active here? Or, should I trim these repeated words, wordy phrases, or information given earlier?

Word Choice

But the majority of queries relate to word choice. I try to limit myself to words in use in the Regency era (especially in dialogue) but some anachronisms always slip through. I’m grateful for my copyeditor who brings these to my attention. Here are a few examples of words or phrases not yet in use in early decades of 1800. Do any of these surprise you?

Turned down: 1891. Changed to discouraged and rejected.

Hush-hush: dates to 1916. Changed to “a secret.”

Cutlery: meant knives alone then vs. forks, etc. as we think of it today. Changed to: tableware.

Caregiver: 1966. Changed to caretaker.

Hemmed and hawed: Apparently in Great Britain “hemmed and hawed” is actually “hummed and hawed.” I feared American readers would stumble over this variant so I wrote around it instead.

Deflated: E.g. Emily’s buoyancy deflated. First use was 1891. Changed to waned.

Uh-oh: 1925! Changed to “Oh?”

Short fuse: 1958! Changed to: the man is hot-tempered.

Continuity

Other queries relate to continuity issues. For example, in one scene I have a character carrying a leather portfolio. She falls on ice, a gentleman helps her to her feet, and the portfolio seems to disappear. (I forgot about it!) After a helpful query from the copyeditor, I addressed this detail:

She tucked the portfolio under her arm and placed her good hand on his sleeve. As they walked away, he asked, “Does your hand hurt? Tell me honestly.”

Now and again a query will send me back to my earlier research. A proofreader questioned a cost I had listed, suggesting it was too high:

In a nearby alcove, the promised refreshments were arrayed, available for an additional few shillings for those who wished to partake.

I went back to my source and shared it with my copyeditor:

In the 1850 novel, The History of Pendennis, Thackeray describes a ball (in a town based on Sidmouth) with the line: “The refreshment-room… was a room set apart for the purposes of supper, which the landlord had provided for those who chose to partake, at the rate of five shillings per head.” Some prices rose while others fell between 1820 and 1850, so I went with a vague “few shillings.” (For reference, a loaf of bread in 1820 cost 9 pence or 3/4 of a shilling.)

So we decided not to make a change in this instance.

Flora and Fauna

After a mistake in one of my early novels (did you know there are no raccoons in England? ) I have learned to check the plants and animals I mention in my books. Thanks to my husband’s love of BBC nature shows like Spring Watch, I remembered seeing a segment on the red squirrel vs. grey squirrel.

I had originally written: A squirrel scurried across his path and the dog began to bark, chasing the flash of grey tail into a nearby field.

With that nature program in mind, I did more research. Yes, both grey squirrels and red squirrels live in the UK now, but only red squirrels are native to England. Grey squirrels were introduced from North America in 1876 as an ornamental species to populate the grounds of stately homes. Since then, the population of grey squirrels has rapidly grown to the detriment to the native red squirrel.

I initially thought of changing the line to:  A red squirrel scurried across his path…

But then I thought, would anyone refer to the animal as a “red squirrel” if that was the only kind of squirrel in Great Britain? So instead I changed it to: A squirrel scurried across his path and the dog began to bark, chasing the flash of red tail into a nearby field.

Yes, trying to get all the picayune details right in a novel can certainly be daunting. You have probably heard the saying, “The devil is in the details,” but did you know that saying dates only to the mid-to late 1900s? The original German saying was, “Der liebe Gott steckt im detail,” which translates to “The good God is in the detail,” meaning that whatever one does should be done thoroughly and the truth is in the details. I like that better, don’t you?

Either way, it’s important (but not always fun) to pay attention to the details. If you are an author: Can you relate to the struggle to get the details right? If you are a reader: Do you appreciate when an author pays attention to the details?

♫♪ And There Was Music ♫♪

Let me first admit that I took piano lessons for three years as a kid and I hardly EVER practiced. I played by ear, so whenever I sat down at the piano bench, I was much more interested in working out my own version of the latest pop song than practicing. My poor music teacher did manage to teach me a couple of songs, including the one in the video at the end of this post, but when I realized that learning to read music messed up my ability to play by ear, I went with my ear.

We had a piano in our home when our kids were small, and I played it often and hard. (I think to this day, hearing “Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog” pounded out on the piano strikes fear in the hearts of my children. They knew if Mama was playing that song, they’d better back off!)

We got rid of that piano in a move, but over the years, I’ve really missed having a piano. Playing is therapeutic, it is worship, it is fun, and it is great for contemplation. A great tool for a writer, in fact.

Unfortunately, whenever I did have an opportunity to play, I was shocked at how rusty I was and how many of the songs in my repertoire were just lost.

I was thrilled to discover an Airbnb we booked a few years ago had a spinet piano to play. But I’ve always had a dream—one that seemed silly since I play only for my own enjoyment—of owning a baby grand piano. If you’ve read my novella in the O Little Town Collection, you won’t be surprised to know that when I wrote about Rachel’s baby grand piano, I was really dreaming about my baby grand.

Two years ago when my sweet dad gave each of his kids a nice chunk of money from the summer’s wheat crop, that baby grand seemed possible for the first time. I even went and looked at several offerings at a local music store and one beautiful, but in-need-of-serious-work baby grand on Facebook Marketplace.

My sympathetic husband bought me a darling antique child’s toy baby grand, and I do love it. But it wasn’t quite what I had in mind.

I finally gave up my search and decided it just wasn’t meant to be. But then we went to Texas and our fifteen-year-old granddaughter was learning to play the piano. She and I tinkered around and had so much fun!

And then our Missouri grandkids got the piano their dad had grown up with and we tinkered around and had so much fun. And I started dreaming again.

After a scam attempt (that I was onto right away—and sadly there are many out there), I almost gave up again. But then a piano showed up in a nearby town and it seemed legit. The piano wasn’t exactly a baby grand. It was what I call a “snub-nosed” baby grand: three-legged and the shape of a baby grand with a lifting lid, but only three feet wide, so it would fit in our house much better. And the piano was electronic—not something I’d considered—yet suddenly, all the pieces started falling into place. I learned that not only do electronic pianos never need tuning, but you can also plug in headphones so the world (and your husband) isn’t subjected to your therapy sessions.

And then the owner told me that he’d been praying—praying!—that the right person would get the piano. Honestly? I confessed to him, “Well, you need to know that I don’t even read music. I only play for fun. So I’m sure there’s someone who would be a better fit for—”

He didn’t even let me finish. “It sounds like you might be just right for this piano.”

And so, we went to see it—and just look at it! Beautiful! I played it, feeling a little self-conscious—but a whole lot excited. The piano was almost twenty years old, but in excellent condition. It has a full keyboard, and the keys are weighted to make it feel like playing an acoustic piano. The sound was so clear and bright! And the price was right! Not even 1/3 of the budget my dad’s gift allowed!

So I bought it! It about killed me that we couldn’t bring it home that day, but we needed to round up four strong men to load the unwieldy piano. I’m kicking myself that I didn’t get a photo of our youth pastor and the three awesome, muscular high school kids he enlisted to help. They did a fabulous job. The piano now graces our living room and I am over the moon!

I’ve been thrilled to find that all the songs I knew and played as a young girl and later a young mom, were still right there in my brain just waiting to get out! Isn’t that amazing? Decades later, measure by measure, all the songs are coming back, and the amount of “practicing” I’m doing would make my music teacher so proud! Haha!

Yesterday our Missouri family all came over and we had a blast playing together. The grandkids discovered that Mimi’s piano can sound like an organ or a jazz band or a string quartet! And it has a percussion option! (I may wish I hadn’t disclosed that little fact! Ha!)

I’m not ready for a recital—I have no desire to ever play in public—but oh, the joy of music! Hymns and worship songs and pop songs from my youth and a few classical pieces—all played badly, but with great gusto.

Here’s a song I thought was lost, but it all came tumbling back over the course of a few hours of practice. If anyone knows what this piece is called or who the composer is, please tell me! And please forgive my mistakes and know that I’m aware my fingering is poor and my rhythm is non-existent. I’m just tickled pink to be playing again. (Thank you, Daddy!)

Do you play a musical instrument? Have you kept up with it over the years since you first learned? Why or why not? I’d love to hear your story!

Inspired by Scripture

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Seven European Road Trip Favorites

Our family recently returned from a two-week-long road trip to Europe in celebration of our oldest daughter’s graduation from college and our 30th wedding anniversary.

Our driving route!

Here are my favorites from the trip, in the order in which we experienced them…

1. Nostalgic Frankfurt, Germany

We began our trip in Frankfurt, Germany where I lived with my family when I was 9-13 years old. I’d never been back until now. Our first day in Europe, we visited the home where we lived for two years, the apartment where we lived for two years, and the school where my parents worked and where my sisters and I attended class. It was wonderfully nostalgic to see those places again as an adult!

Our house and the car the 5 of us (and sometimes 7 when grandparents came to visit) traveled in all over Europe. That’s me in the backseat, no doubt preparing to read my book to pass the time.That’s me on the left and my two younger sisters.The house now2. Porsche Museum and Factory, Stuttgart, Germany

My husband and son both love cars. There was no way they were going to Germany without visiting the home of Porsche. It turns out that all five of us loved the museum and the factory tour. The museum is inexpensive and easily accessible to all but I had to book the factory tour months in advance. We couldn’t believe we were allowed to stand there and watch the assembly line for the 911 while robots carrying materials zipped around us. Fascinating! [I do not have any pictures of the factory because they require all guests to turn in their phones before entering.]

My husband, in his happiest place3. Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria, Germany

We were able to tour the real-life castle that’s so fairy-tale-esque that it inspired Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty Castle. The exterior is beautiful, creative, imaginative. The interior is intricate and exquisite, with paintings on almost every inch of wall space. The setting offers jaw-dropping views from every side.

View from the foot bridge behind the castleThe upper castle courtyard4. Stunning Grindelwald, Switzerland

My family and I remember Grindelwald as one of the most gorgeous places we visited during our years in Europe, so I wanted to return. I’m so glad we did. Grindelwald is a small town perched in the Swiss Alps with towering mountains on every side. It’s an “I can’t believe my eyes right now because this nature feels too amazing to believe” type of place. In the below pictures, it even looks like we’re photo-shopped into the scene!

The kids rode these “trotti bikes” from one of the gondola stations on First mountain down to the base. Both girls wiped out but that didn’t stop them from declaring this unplanned “Let’s give this a try!” adventure as the most memorable experience of the trip.5. Black Forest Charm in Gengenbach, Germany

We saw many adorable, historic towns on our trip. But the most adorable historic town of them all was Gengenbach. Every building in the entire old section of the city, still partly encircled by its medieval wall, was brimming with charm. It won my heart with its little curving alleys, town square, cobbled roads, flower boxes, and the entrance towers complete with portcullis. No wonder the Grimm brothers set their stories in this region!

6. Medieval Cathedrals

We were fortunate to see numerous medieval cathedrals on our road trip. In one, we climbed a tiny circular staircase to the top of a spire. In others, we went inside and marveled at the building techniques and skill and work involved in the creation of these churches that have stood for centuries.

Cathedral in Strasbourg, France7. The small towns and canals of The Netherlands

The small towns in the Netherlands are well-kept and darling! Residents ride from place to place on bikes, giving the atmosphere a peaceful, healthy vibe. We had some of the very best food of our trip at restaurants in these towns–several of those meals served on picturesque outdoor patios. At night, we returned to our favorite AirBnB of them all, located on a shimmering canal.

Our AirBnB. The canal is just beyond the wooden fence!

I was able to meet several of my European readers on this trip, which definitely does rank as a favorite. But I’m saving more about that for a future blog post!

If you’ve been to Europe, what was one of your favorite places? Have you been to any of the locations mentioned above?

The Challenge of Comparison

One of the things I’ve been piloting in my day job is a program for graduating senior women to help them with the transition from college student to first job and the first six months. This week we met for our first Zoom session post graduation. Beyond it being wonderful to see these young women who I’ve invested so much time into — a true joy! — it was fun to listen to our guest speaker give advice about solicticing feedback. That’s the kind of topic that we can all benefit from. In addition to adding to my already towering to be read pile with a book on feedback, the speaker shared some great practical tips on for these young women and me. But one of the things we talked about was how hard it can be to give and receive feedback. There are many reasons but a couple that came up are that it’s hard to hear that we aren’t doing well nad then figure out how to improve. And there’s also the risk of getting stuck in comparison.

Back: Deb, Julie, Robin Front: Cara, Karen, Jody at ACFW

This month we asked this cohort to read a section of Beyond Grit by Cindra Kamphoff, and in it Cindra addresses the importance of being our authentic selves and not falling into the comparison trap.

How does this apply to writing and reading?

Cara, Deb Raney, and Tamera Alexandar during a Book Talk recording

Writing is such a solitary life. It’s one reason I love this community at Inspired by Life & Fiction. But when I feel isolated and alone in writing, it’s easy to move from a posture of celebrating when my friends receive an aware or accolade to bemoaning the fact that I didn’t. Often this happens because I’m comparing two people that are at very different points in their careers. Or I’m comparing books that aren’t equal in any sense (genre, category, etc.).

When I move from celebrating others to comparing, my attitude takes a nose dive. I become whiny and all woe is me. I’m no fun to be around. At all.

Kristy Cambron, Cara, and Sarah Ladd at ACFW Gala

That’s one reason I try to stay focused on the people. When writers are my good friends, even best firends, then it’s so easy to celebrate with them. It’s such fun to cheer on their success. And that’s one of the reasons I started Book Talk. Keeping the focus on promoting other authors helps keep the focus off me — and exactly on where it should be…serving others. I’d love to know how you combat the comparison trap!

I’m slightly stunned that we’ll cross 100 episodes in July. What?!?! But it’s been such fun to be able to introduce y’all to some of your favorite authors or new-to-you authors. If you’d like to share ideas and thoughts with me on what the podcast should look like moving forward — or even if it moves forward — then I’d love your feedback. You can give it in this short survey; I’ll be sending everyone who completes it a link to one of my books to download for free in ebook formats. Feel free to click the image below to go to the podcast page on my website with links to all the places you can watch and listen to all the episodes.

Mom and Dad’s 60th Anniversary

Next week, my parents will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary, and we’ve pulled out all the stops to honor this achievement! 

ThenNow

This past Saturday, the whole family (minus three grandchildren out of town) gathered in a suite at the Texas Rangers’ game. For all 51 years the Texas Rangers have been a club, our family has been a fan. We have spent many happy days at games throughout that time, but this eclipsed them all. Several home runs and another tick in the win column capped off the day. Fun was had by all. 

We tried to get on the big screen with the banner, but it didn’t happen. Mom and Dad with me, my sisters and brotherAll their grandchildren (including the married in ones and the great-grands!)Their great-granddaughtersTheir great-grandson–his first game at almost a month old!

Today, my sisters and I are taking our parents down memory lane—literally! We are driving them to Ft. Worth, where they both grew up and where they raised all of us. We will visit the sites of their childhood homes, the church where they met and married, the schools they attended and then, on the other side of town, the places important in our growing up years. Our goal is to trigger stories we might not have heard before. We will take notes as well as do some recording for our family records. (If you want to see some of this, be sure to follow on Instagram or my Facebook page to get that update!)

Finally, on June 28th, their actual anniversary, all my siblings and our spouses will join Mom and Dad for a nice dinner together. 

Mom and Dad continue to be a picture of God’s grace to all of us in our marriages, including their grandchildren as they marry and raise their children. 

We feel very blessed to be able to celebrate this milestone when so many don’t, but we are most grateful to be the recipients of a godly heritage. 

Do you have any fun family celebrations happening this summer–or later this year?

Focus on the Family Launches Fiction Titles

Seeing my book pictured alongside Angie’s and Chris’s books makes me smile big time. But to know they’ll all release together on November 7 as part of a new fiction launch with Focus on the Family/Tyndale is especially exciting.

The following was recently featured in Publisher’s Weekly...

“Focus on the Family has announced that it will publish fiction for the first time under the Focus Fiction brand in partnership with Tyndale House Publishing. A limited series of three inaugural novels by bestselling, Christy Award-winning authors Angela Hunt, Chris Fabry, and Tamera Alexander will be published in the fall, edited by Jerry B. Jenkins.

Larry Weeden, Focus on the Family editorial director, said, “We know many in our audience read only fiction. Fiction provides a unique way of looking at life and its challenges. These stories entertain readers and give them new avenues of thought about their own experience.”

Start reading What a Wave Must Be by Angela Hunt

“Focus Fiction is in line with recent trends in Christian fiction toward grittier topics, but with differences. While other recent novels address issues such as sexual harassment and abuse, trafficking, racial inequity, domestic abuse and more, clear Christian messages related to salvation and theological issues remain largely below the surface. Titles published by the new imprint will deal with difficult issues and bring an unambiguous spiritual slant to the storytelling. This is in keeping with the publisher’s commitment to deliver a gospel message in its books, according to the announcement.

Alexander’s A Million Little Choices, which chronicles an affair in the present timeline and an abusive relationship in an historical timeline, will reveal how small choices can impact relationships forever. Hunt’s What a Wave Must Be includes the topic of suicide as it tells the story of a family finding hope amid their grief. Fabry’s Saving Grayson is one man’s journey to right a decades-old wrong from his difficult past even as his mind is succumbing to Alzheimer’s.”

Start reading Saving Grayson by Chris Fabry

“Jenkins, the author of the bestselling Left Behind series with Tim LaHaye and scores more fiction and nonfiction titles, chose the three novelists. He told PW…

“Focus on the Family came to me to consult with them on their idea to get into topic-oriented fiction. I said the choice of authors would make all the difference. Each one settled on an idea that resonated with Focus’s mission and delivered masterfully.” He describes the books as “page-turners that also pack a wallop. Readers will love that they’re getting stories that will make them really think and perhaps even reconsider preconceived notions.”

~ Jerry Jenkins

Start reading A Million Little Choice s

I’m grateful that after 15 years of this dual timeline story living inside me, I finally got it onto the page.

So tell me, what is your favorite “go to” genre? The kind of novel you reach for first? Is it historical? romance? contemporary? romantic suspense? thriller? mystery? science fiction? Have I left yours out? If yes, please fill in the blank!

No matter the genre, once I see a book that piques my interest, whether the release is soon or months away, I find myself thinking of the story and wondering—especially if I’ve read that author before—what kind of adventure she or he will take me on. It’s like eagerly waiting to meet a new friend.

Blessings from my corner of TN,

Tammy

JUNE GIVEAWAY

CLICK TO ENTER to win one of 5 copies of From a Distance, Timber Ridge Reflections book 1

. . . and to see how much difference hair can make on a cover! : )

I don’t have a bucket list–

I have a to-do list. I was with some folks the other night–don’t even remember where–and someone mentioned a bucket list. I started thinking . . . I don’t really have one. There are things I might like to do (like spend a week on a dude ranch or visit Rome), but I’m not dying to do those things. So I wouldn’t say they’re on a bucket list.

Instead I have a to-do list, things I’d like to do provided I have free time, the weather is good, and I have the energy. Things on my to-do list:

Scrape the cocoons from my front porch ceiling and repaint it. Pull the vines from the trees in my yard (I do that all the time, but they grow quickly). Go down into the creek and chop down some weedy trees.Paint more pictures. Take my grandkids to Tractor Supply Get a bigger car–one that will hold our entire family, including grands. Read more books. Practice the pianoPowerwash everything–I’d powerwash the world if I could.

These things aren’t urgent or demanding, nor am I itching to do them. They’re just on a sometime-when-I’m-in-the-mood list.

What’s on your list? I’d love to know!

~Angie

Inspired by Scripture

This Sunday feature is brought to you by ClashVerseoftheDay.com. You may sign up to receive a beautiful photo with Scripture in your inbox each morning or view the verse each day online.

Since we last met…

Soon after writing my last post, the revisions for my biblical novel about the Queen of Sheba arrived in my inbox. To my delight, the editors love the book. That doesn’t mean there wasn’t work for me to do, but it is always a relief to get a thumbs-up from editors. I’m still working through the manuscript, making changes and polishing, but I’m on schedule which also feels good. I’m waiting to announce the title until I see the cover, which I imagine will be a couple more months.

Inspiration graphic I created for while I wrote the novel

I shared in my last post (Highs and Lows) about each of my three 2022 releases being finalists in the FHL Reader’s Choice Award. Soon after, I learned that I’ll Be Seeing You is also a finalist in the HOLT Medallion and came in second in the Selah Award. And then I learned Like the Wind is a semi-finalist in the ACFW Carol Award. I am overwhelmed by this abundance of riches. I always consider being a finalist a win. All I can feel is honored beyond words.

Two of the four awards my books are/were up for

Next came a visit from my youngest daughter. Jenn and her family moved to Texas in 2011, and while I’ve been to visit all of them in Corpus Christi over the years, they haven’t made it back to Boise since the move. Thus it was a big deal when Jenn and Wayne (her husband) arrived in Boise for a visit. Family and friends got together, including a BBQ at her sister’s house for about 27 people, and it was four days of bliss for me.

Upper Left: Lunch at Red Robin on first full day (Wayne, Jenn, me). Upper Right: Micki, Jenn, and Wayne walking in the foothills above Boise. Lower Left: Getting hugs from family she hasn’t seen in over a decade. Lower Right: Last breakfast together (Micki, JJ, me, Jenn, Wayne).

Finally, I’m doing some upgrades around my house this summer, inside and out. And as you know, consumers have to wait for a lot of things in this day of supply issues (it could be August before everything arrives and is installed).

The first item to arrive is the tree I bought for my backyard. I have a small backyard and since I am up against a common area that has trees, I’ve never felt the need to add one of my own. But with the big willows coming down this winter, I decided it was time to put in a tree. I went with an Armstrong Red Maple which is suitable for any narrow space. Fast growing and upright (at maturity, it will be 12 to 15 feet in width and 50 feet or more in height). After a three week wait, it got planted on Monday. I’m so delighted. I go out on the patio for my quiet time in the morning, and I look at it and encourage it to grow, grow, grow.

A friend told me that people who plant trees are “people of hope.” I like that.

Left: before picture. Middle: just planted (before staking). Right: staked and mulched

Before I go, I need to invite you to the Summer Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt. It kicked off at noon yesterday and will run until 11:59 pm (Mountain time) on Sunday. If you’ve never done the scavenger hunt, you’re missing out on a lot of fun and the potential to win great prizes. If you have done it, then I don’t need to explain.

Join the Scavenger Hunt

Anything exciting happening for you this summer? Trips? Summer upgrades? Visitors?

Please share!

~robin