tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8927727476793944291.post6344101090746120594..comments2024-03-27T23:13:43.597-05:00Comments on Prairie Rose Publications: Writing What You DON’T KnowLivia J Washburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05958199886826207363noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8927727476793944291.post-60440719023367937812014-10-05T11:51:46.869-05:002014-10-05T11:51:46.869-05:00Wow, so many replies to your blog Kathleen. It loo...Wow, so many replies to your blog Kathleen. It looks like you hit a nerve with writers. I had to smile when I read your blog. Writing what you don't know is exactly what I do. I know very little about fighting in combat or visiting a whore house, but my characters do. But I d now what it feels like to fall in love, make love and have your heart broken. These are the feelings we bring to our Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09396020400398531264noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8927727476793944291.post-61735085794099020272014-10-03T23:18:21.823-05:002014-10-03T23:18:21.823-05:00Yeah, I know there's a rope with my name on it...Yeah, I know there's a rope with my name on it down Galveston way. :) LOL, I have a hero who was born in Texas. He moved North and that's all that was said about that. :)Kirsten Lynnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05720732595156726142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8927727476793944291.post-78856069398360087152014-10-03T23:16:01.996-05:002014-10-03T23:16:01.996-05:00I remember you telling me about that little piece ...I remember you telling me about that little piece of golden advice tossed you're way. If there's a person who knows Texas history, it's you (kind of fits with your nickname). Kirsten Lynnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05720732595156726142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8927727476793944291.post-69051370207345252092014-10-03T19:08:47.838-05:002014-10-03T19:08:47.838-05:00that's okay...I just realized I spelt 'lif...that's okay...I just realized I spelt 'life-lens' wrong :-) (so ready for the weekend)Kristy McCaffreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17363740420272046549noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8927727476793944291.post-57684026711494326472014-10-03T18:46:24.538-05:002014-10-03T18:46:24.538-05:00I'M demented? I'm demented?? Look who'...I'M demented? <i><b>I'm</b> demented??</i> Look who's talking, Ms. Beavers of Extraordinary Size! :-D<br /><br />Emotions are the heart of any romance, and to write them, we must know them. That's one of the areas in which I believe <i>literally</i> writing what you know is important. Sometimes it's the daunting task of putting them on paper that gets tricky.<br /><br />I Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05740371055384281988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8927727476793944291.post-62622391766715229212014-10-03T18:31:26.356-05:002014-10-03T18:31:26.356-05:00Loved your excerpt, Tex, and I plan to read the wh...Loved your excerpt, Tex, and I plan to read the whole story tomorrow while we're traveling. Both books are loaded on my Kindle and ready to go. :) You know I've been waiting and waiting for Tombstone. I love the whole backstory idea. You're flat-out demented. LOL.<br /><br />Ah, write what you know. To be honest, I fiction is all about, um, fiction. Fiction is not real. But inJacquie Rogershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17361793932364487636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8927727476793944291.post-37006857798026539472014-10-03T17:21:57.100-05:002014-10-03T17:21:57.100-05:00Thanks, Doris! I've always appreciated your ap...Thanks, Doris! I've always appreciated your approach to everything you do. You get in there and dig, find facts and people nobody else is aware of, and then share all that wonderful research with the rest of us in all sorts of ways -- including your fiction.<br /><br />Keep at it, lady! You surprise me with new stuff every day -- in a good way! :-)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05740371055384281988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8927727476793944291.post-54978207777431164642014-10-03T17:18:56.349-05:002014-10-03T17:18:56.349-05:00Thanks, Kristy! I had a feeling we'd be in the...Thanks, Kristy! I had a feeling we'd be in the vicinity of the same idea. You're completely right: It's a writer's job, at least IMO, to keep learning, keep experiencing, and keep broadening our horizons and abilities so "what we know" becomes bigger and better all the time. We can't help writing "what we know" -- and until we actually write whatever it is,Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05740371055384281988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8927727476793944291.post-44089536609652052192014-10-03T17:12:37.917-05:002014-10-03T17:12:37.917-05:00Rustler, you'd definitely by lynched. We'v...Rustler, you'd definitely by lynched. We've been looking for a reason to lynch you for years. That one would work. ;-)<br /><br />(Your reason for staying out of Texas is the same one I have for staying out of Wyoming. The hero in <i>Prodigal Gun</i> mentions Wyoming a time or two, but thankfully he never suggested a trip back to his temporary stomping grounds. What my characters did on Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05740371055384281988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8927727476793944291.post-41566530471725972152014-10-03T17:07:10.783-05:002014-10-03T17:07:10.783-05:00Celia, you know Texas VERY well, but I hear you ab...Celia, you know Texas VERY well, but I hear you about needing to research even those things in which we're well-versed. Your stories give true life to our lovely state, and they're always a joy to read.<br /><br />I'm with you, too, about not setting stories very far outside Texas. I don't think I'd have the courage to stray far, for the very reasons you mentioned. I firmly Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05740371055384281988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8927727476793944291.post-57113894940570117632014-10-03T17:00:23.379-05:002014-10-03T17:00:23.379-05:00Good for you Kathleen. I've never prescribed t...Good for you Kathleen. I've never prescribed to the 'write what you know'. I would much rather learn and write about that, less boring. I also get to stuff my brain with such great information, great for parties .<br /><br />I also got a kick out of you excerpt. True to form, it lends itself to my wanting to read more. <br /><br />All the best, and keep 'writing what you don'tRenaissance Womenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09045401344374224512noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8927727476793944291.post-47843716571288401242014-10-03T16:56:41.949-05:002014-10-03T16:56:41.949-05:00Boy, you've got that right, Rustler. (Oh lord....Boy, you've got that right, Rustler. (Oh lord. Here we go again.) When you're writing what you don't know, research is imperative. There's always someone somewhere who'll call you on something -- sometimes something it's obvious they know nothing about. A little knowledge is an aggravating thing. (I've been on the receiving end of a couple of those snipes, and it'sAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05740371055384281988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8927727476793944291.post-13614697877134404722014-10-03T16:44:23.367-05:002014-10-03T16:44:23.367-05:00LOL! Thank you for bringing me the cappuccino. Now...LOL! Thank you for bringing me the cappuccino. Now get your paws off t. ;-)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05740371055384281988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8927727476793944291.post-15114681864409142802014-10-03T16:40:09.539-05:002014-10-03T16:40:09.539-05:00Sorry so late to the party--but this post strikes ...Sorry so late to the party--but this post strikes right to my belief that stories are chasing after the right person to tell it. We most certainly will filter it through our own life-lense, but I think the most important job of a writer is to hone one's skills. "Write what you know" is just becoming the best we can be as a writer, an ever-changing thing anyway. Because one day the Kristy McCaffreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17363740420272046549noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8927727476793944291.post-72944464010644547272014-10-03T16:26:40.795-05:002014-10-03T16:26:40.795-05:00Done... Do you see it? It's right there. :) An...Done... Do you see it? It's right there. :) And if you don't hurry to grab it, I'll drink it all. :)<br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04880638535934581587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8927727476793944291.post-3258166126867648682014-10-03T14:35:11.427-05:002014-10-03T14:35:11.427-05:00Celia,
This is why my stories take place in Wyomi...Celia,<br /><br />This is why my stories take place in Wyoming, Montana and Virginia (a couple have scenes there before I quickly move West), because I've lived in each state and I think, especially with Wyoming, it helps my stories ring true. There are some things research or a quick trip, or many quick trips, to a state can't give you. I would never write a story taking place in Texas, Kirsten Lynnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05720732595156726142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8927727476793944291.post-69440226573278033392014-10-03T12:55:57.243-05:002014-10-03T12:55:57.243-05:00Thanks for clearing this up, Kathleen. When I use ...Thanks for clearing this up, Kathleen. When I use that term, it's usually in response to someone asking, "Why are all your books set in Texas?" Why? Because Texas is what I know, and although I know Texas pretty well, that's always something to research. I think my stories have a Texas feel to them, by the characters, where in the state they reside, and what they're up to-Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16272417114895975742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8927727476793944291.post-41519776412369003282014-10-03T12:51:41.521-05:002014-10-03T12:51:41.521-05:00I've always thought the "write what you k...I've always thought the "write what you know" mantra was ridiculous. How many people know from personal experience what life in the Old West was like, or Civil War, or how many of us have lived among fairies, vampires or werewolves (don't answer that). But saying that I think if you're going to write what you don't know you better do some darn good research, because Kirsten Lynnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05720732595156726142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8927727476793944291.post-50001800648758708152014-10-03T12:04:32.458-05:002014-10-03T12:04:32.458-05:00AHA! I knew it! You're a dangerous subversive ...AHA! I knew it! You're a dangerous subversive who probably ought to be carted off to a secret prison for writers. ;-)<br /><br />You and Jacquie Rogers -- mixing genres with reckless abandon. I'll swear. You just can't trust some authors to stick to the manual.<br /><br />I sneak adverbs into my writing, too -- but only under cover of darkness. We'll probably both be arrested.<brAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05740371055384281988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8927727476793944291.post-10308335898508220562014-10-03T11:59:30.883-05:002014-10-03T11:59:30.883-05:00Kathleen,
I wrote a contemporary cowboy vampire s...Kathleen,<br /><br />I wrote a contemporary cowboy vampire story (that I just got the rights back on and will publish ASAP as a second edition...somewhere). My point is, while I know the cowboy world and write in it with comfort, I'm not a vampire, I don't know any vampires, and I really don't want to meet a vampire. lol But by golly, I penned an entertaining story by "writing Kaye Spencerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13530735658588595790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8927727476793944291.post-64987142081082096382014-10-03T11:45:56.186-05:002014-10-03T11:45:56.186-05:00Sarah, I don't know what we'd do if you ha...Sarah, I don't know what we'd do if you hadn't decided to go with "what you don't know" and create the Wildings. That is such a wonderful series of stories, and thank goodness you're not done yet! :-)<br /><br />I may have gone overboard with the alleged humor in this one. Usually, I'm not half as funny as I hope. :-D<br /><br />HUGS!!!!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05740371055384281988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8927727476793944291.post-69867861636620247172014-10-03T11:35:25.011-05:002014-10-03T11:35:25.011-05:00I guess if I only write what I know, I wouldn'...I guess if I only write what I know, I wouldn't be writing any Wilding stories in Wyoming. That sure would take the fun out of things for me. Research is half the fun.<br />I loved this excerpt, Kathleen. I have a fondness for Gypsies and fortune tellers. That your hero is part Romany really intrigues me. I laughed when he let her know he was on to her act. Typical you to include some good Sarah J. McNealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17749991094677728042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8927727476793944291.post-86731948355783209042014-10-03T11:27:50.923-05:002014-10-03T11:27:50.923-05:00Thanks, Lorrie! I had fun with Pansy and Tombstone...Thanks, Lorrie! I had fun with Pansy and Tombstone, and the research into Old West "freak shows" was fascinating. Talk about rabbit holes! :-DAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05740371055384281988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8927727476793944291.post-9664781699417728372014-10-03T11:22:17.402-05:002014-10-03T11:22:17.402-05:00Liette, I wholeheartedly agree. For me, at least, ...Liette, I wholeheartedly agree. For me, at least, research is one of the most fascinating parts of writing fiction. I'm a journalist in the day job, so research and interviews are part of my daily grind. Still, I enjoy digging into things I wouldn't encounter except for some wild notion about a story. Sounds like you're the same way.<br /><br />Go get that capuccino -- and bring me Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05740371055384281988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8927727476793944291.post-89089016719327416292014-10-03T11:19:29.055-05:002014-10-03T11:19:29.055-05:00Okie, I thought The Education of Little Tree was b...Okie, I thought The Education of Little Tree was brilliant, too -- and I was so disappointed when I found out Carter made up his whole life story. On the other hand, I admired that accomplishment and the chutzpah it took. The backstory he created was so much more interesting than the one he actually lived. Maybe that's what all fiction authors do: Write the lives we, on some level, wish we Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05740371055384281988noreply@blogger.com