By: Vali Benson
I am a published author. That still feels funny to say and sometimes I still don’t believe it, but it’s true. My name is Vali Benson and I just published my first novel. It has been a work in progress for over fifty years.
From Reader to Writer
Ever since I can remember, I have had a book in my hand. As a lifelong reader, I often thought, “I could do better than that.” So I decided to do something about it. People have asked me to explain the writing process but I can’t. Doris Lessing once stated that “There are no laws for the novel. There never have been, nor can there ever be.”
I don’t think there is a right way or wrong way to write a book. But I do know what works for me.
The first step is to come up with an idea. It must be something that interests you, or that you feel strongly about. No point in picking a subject that you know nothing about. You would have to do far too much research and it still would not sound like you know your subject.
Once when I had severe writers block, a great teacher told me, “Write about what’s in your own backyard.” I took my teacher’s advice and turned in an award winning essay. That was the inspiration in writing my book; a young adult historical fiction novel called Blood and Silver.
The story takes place in Tombstone, Arizona. For thirty years, I have lived in Tucson, Arizona. Tombstone is only forty five minutes down the road, practically in my backyard.
Tombstone, Arizona
I have been to Tombstone countless times. People are fascinated with Tombstone (not so much after they visit!). Tombstone is not like other “Wild West” tourist towns, like Deadwood or Dodge City. Tombstone has only two blocks of “downtown”. People walk on the original boardwalk (with some repairs) along the main thoroughfare, Allen Street, which was, until recently, a dirt road.
The population of Tombstone today sits at about thirteen hundred. On the weekends, many of the residents dress up in western garb – as cowboys, sheriffs, frontier gamblers, proper matrons and saloon girls.
At first glance, it seems as though this may be a retirement community designated for extras of John Ford films. However, Tombstone does have one enduring claim to fame – the shoot out at the O.K. Corral. It is called “the most famous thirty seconds in the history of the American west.”
The legendary incident is a gunfight that occurred in 1881. The shoot out involved Doc Holiday, Wyatt Earp and two Earp brothers against a gang of outlaws called the Cowboys. Three men were killed, all of them Cowboys. The Earps and Doc Holiday were already famous in the old west. The gunfight made them infamous.
The setting’s appeal
The real reason people remember Tombstone is because of its enduring place in pop culture due to the twenty or so movies made about the fight. People show up from far and wide and pay a $10 admission fee to look at a dusty, dirty lot behind a run-down barn. At the actual site, people look at mannequins standing where their real life versions stood during that fateful afternoon 139 years ago.
Tombstone was the largest city between St. Louis and San Francisco in 1884, with over 150 businesses, including 100 saloons, and a thriving red light district. Apparently this arid little tourist trap, only forty five miles from my hometown, was more important than I thought!
This information began to spin my inquisitive wheels. I began to wonder what it would have been like to live in this obscure place in 1880. The first step was complete; I had a premise that sparked my interest. Now, it was time for the part of the writing process that gives life to the story: research.
Historical research
It is all about the research. One needs to look in unusual places, not just the top three Google hits. I love sourcing museums, libraries, newspaper archives, and even historical homes. Don’t rely on your computer only. Everyone can get that information. Not only is it not original, it is not interesting.
One tip that I would like to emphasize to a burgeoning writer of historical fiction is to seek out the primary sources whenever possible. If you can work from the original source, it falls on you to interpret the story. This allows you to not have to depend on someone else’s version of the truth.
As I began to delve deeper into the true story of Tombstone, I also uncovered unexpected angles. The most prominent of which was the effect of the Chinese population.
The result of this research led me to a real person whom I could never had made up, a woman named “China Mary.” This woman lived in Tombstone from 1879 – 1906 and essentially ran the town. In addition to operating a gambling hall behind her general store, she was also the preeminent broker for opium, laudanum and Chinese prostitutes.
After I discovered the real life splendor of China Mary, I made her one of my central characters and twisted my fictional story around her actual exploits. None of that could have been possible without an extensive research period.
Historical accuracy
Being a writer of historical fiction, historical accuracy is the most important component of the piece to me. It is even more pivotal than the narrative. I cannot tell you how many times I have quit reading a book that claims to be factual because the information and events are incorrect. It really annoys me!
It is also important to realize that research is never ending because you can’t ever learn everything there is to know. At some point, you just have to make up your mind that you have enough to craft the story you want to write. Then start writing! I begin writing using my research as a reference and don’t worry if I have a fully formed concept. I believe in the Jodi Picoult approach: “You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.”
Many writers believe in outlines as a method of organizing and categorizing their research. Outlines don’t work for me. I tend to be too specific. I end up writing the whole story in my outline.
What works best for me is to simply write. Just start, and see where it takes you. I flesh out the characters first and I let them take me where they want to go. I often go back and change them, but that’s the beauty of writing.
You can do whatever you want with your people, just be sure you wind it up so that it makes sense. This is why research is so important. If I can understand the times in which my characters live, I will shape their circumstances and attitudes into the narrative.
Writing habits
As far as my writing habits are concerned, I don’t have many. I just do it. I know that many professional writers say the best method is to treat writing like a regular job with set start and stop times. I’ve tried this and it never feels right.
For one thing, when I get on a creative roll, it is nearly impossible for me to stop. Conversely, I cannot force an idea. When I don’t feel like it’s happening, I walk away.
I commit a lot of time to thinking about my characters. When inspiration strikes, I will sit down with my glass of sweet iced tea and see how my characters handle the new twist. I know that strong coffee is the traditional nectar of the working writer, but I need my sweet tea. The sweeter the better!
Editing
When your story is finished, it doesn’t mean that you’re done writing. Now is the time for my least favorite part of the writing process, editing. Editing is obviously extremely important but I find it terribly frustrating.
I try to remember not to over edit as there is a difference between editing and rewriting. Aside from the occasional grammatical error, most of my editing is about subtraction rather than addition. I choose to think of my editing time as a tightening up period. This is when I can really focus on making my narrative flow the way that I want. I also make sure the story is always kept in perspective and unfold s the way that I want it to.
The end
When is your story finished? It is finished when you think it is. Before you begin, you will know where you will end up. If you don’t, don’t start. You need to have an idea where you are going. Trust your characters to get you there. With Blood and Silver, I put my characters through a lot and felt I told the story that I wanted to tell. After all, I need them to rest up for the sequel!
Author links
Buy it!
Buy a copy of Blood and Silver by Vali Benson here, and help support local bookstores. This is an affiliate link, and I will earn a commission on any sales. You can read my full review of Blood and Silver before you buy here!
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interesting pointers for writing, while reading this Im imagining also the setting and the cowboy thing…. thank you for sharing.
Thanks for reading! Trying to get an image from the author’s head to the page is very tricky, but when it works, it’s the ultimate success for a writer.
Writing a novel is a huge point on my bucket list and I love historical fiction! There are some amazing tips here. Thank you for sharing some of Vali’s wisdom!
Thanks for checking it out, and good luck with your writing!
This post is very informative! Writing is always difficult but these are great tips. Thanks for sharing!