How do authors gather their information? Where do they keep
it? I do things the old-fashioned way.
I have hundreds of lined & spiral bound
paper notebooks that my husband accumulated during his storage unit hunts. For
each book I write, I grab one of those notebooks, use it exclusively for that
story and write down all the specific information about the characters in the
book, including all the secondary characters. I keep that notebook by my side
and when I add a new character, I record it in the notebook. I also keep in the
notebook an outline of the story so I can refer back to it if I think I’m
drifting away. If I travel long distance, I take my notebook with me, and
sometimes, as scenes formulate in my mind, I will write it down. Other times,
like if I’m in my favorite restaurant and a scene comes to me, I’ll use the “Notes”
on my iPhone then transfer it to the notebook later. For Elkhorn in the Moonlight, my husband and I went to a ghost town and
I took pictures of the old town and the mining shaft. We also stop along the
highway in the town I lived in, to take pictures of the 1912 tunnel. Things
like that get kept in a folder I create on my laptop.
I create a board in Pinterest, and have all the things I
need for the story in that board for my visual. For Elkhorn in the Moonlight, I have the pictures I shared with you
last month of the old tunnel and a ghost town with an old gold mine, pictures
of Martin Sensmeier, and another
unknown woman who play the main characters along with a little Native American
boy who is the son in the story.
I create a folder for the book, and in the folder contains
pertinent information I found on the web regarding ghost towns, old gold mines,
rail tunnels and the town history. I also have books that I’ve purchase or gotten
on loan from the library. After my romance book has been released, I file all
the materials away in a file cabinet.
The biggest, thickest file I’ve ever created is for the new
release coming out this summer, called Midnight
Escape. This has 2 folders over 2 inches thick of material. Why do I need
that much material? Have you seen the show, Deadliest
Catch on the Discovery Channel? My story is based on an adventure in the
Bering Sea on a crab fishing vessel. The hero is the owner and captain of the
boat. The heroine, is on an adventure of the lifetime. Not having been on one
of those boats in the middle of the Bering Sea, I needed to research, research,
and research for that story. I had to learn everything about the vessel, the
men who do this work, and the conditions they face. Deep sea fishing is one of
the most hazardous jobs in the world.
Anyway, does my method of a story bible work for everyone?
No. Are there better ways to deal with having your information at your
fingertips? Probably. There are Bible Story programs available, and software
such as Schrivner, that can help. But this works for me.
Information about my upcoming release, Midnight Escape will be coming later this spring or early summer,
for now, I’ll share with you my current release, Elkhorn in the Moonlight.
The search for stolen Sacred
Arrows leads to much more.
Marcus Blackhawk is on a mission to locate the Sacred
Arrows that were stolen from the Cheyenne Nation. When he learns that someone has seen the arrows he leaves
immediately to track the person down and get more information.
Nicole Lancaster ekes out a living in a small town by helping her
brother run a motel and working part-time in a restaurant. Her mundane life
suddenly becomes more exciting when Marcus arrives in town asking about some
arrows that she came upon years ago while hiking in the Elkhorn Mountains. The
gorgeous man makes her heart beat fast, but she knows he’d never be interested
in a Plain Jane like herself.
When Marcus offers Nicole a large sum of cash to lead
him to the cave where she saw the arrows, she takes him up on the offer. After
a three-day hiking trip through the mountains they locate the cave, but then
the unthinkable happens, and they find themselves trapped inside. As they wait,
hopeful they’ll be rescued, they give into the passion that’s been simmering
between them.
Will help arrive in time to save them? And if so, can
their night of passion ever be anything more? Marcus has no interest in an
actual relationship, and Nicole wants the whole nine yards.
Content Warning: contains some sexual content
Genre(s): Contemporary Romance
Don’t forget to enter the rafflecopter Romance Gems have
going on this month,
Click to enter Luck O' The Irish Romance Gems Giveaway.
Thanks Constance. I tend to have scribbles on sheets of paper scattered around in a disorganized fashion. Your way sounds much better. I'm going to get some notebooks and 'take a leaf out of your book'. Right after I grab a copy of Elkhorn.
ReplyDeleteYour new book sounds interesting, Connie. I love to read how other authors work. I keep everything in a binder. When the book is finished, if it's a single title, I put it all of the actual research, plotting, and other story elements in a manila envelope and file it in a box. The "legal" stuff I keep in a folder labeled with the book's title. If the book is part of a series, then the binder is for the series so I can keep all pertinent facts in one place. Oh, I also keep a master file of names, cross-referenced, on an Excel spreadsheet.
ReplyDeleteI always wondered how stories developed, thank you for sharing your process!
ReplyDeleteI use the notebook for each story too. For years I tried doing this on the computer. For various reasons this has never worked for me. Finally I tried this "old-fashion" way. Success. I keep notes on my characters and also if I think of something that I want to add, I write it in the notebook and then I can keep writing and go back afterward to add it in. Happy with this system. Glad to meet someone else using it too.
ReplyDeleteI used to do tons of notes as well but moving into smaller housing and then doing the RV life, made that impossible. I use Pinterest quite a bit and also store lots of information in my Scrivener docs. I still have bits and pieces of paper here and there but have tried to keep it all together on my computer lately!
ReplyDeleteI'm not a writer, but I always have a notebook on hand. You just never know.
ReplyDeletemarypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Old-fashioned all the way! I think it's fascinating how authors create good stories out of scratch.
ReplyDeleteadissidente [at] gmail [dot] com
Thsnks for sharing
ReplyDeleteHi, Karen, what's your email? I'm keeping track for the contest.
DeleteI enjoyed this. I'll never be this organized, but I still admire it in others. :-)
ReplyDeleteI love the concept for the book. I am adding it to my list.
ReplyDeletedebby236 at hotmail dot com
harperyn [at] outlook [dot] com writes:
ReplyDeleteI see you are a fellow stationary lover... I have way too many notebooks to count! And an even bigger collection of pens. xD
My favourite right now are the Papermate Ink Joy gel 0.7 pens (in the rainbow pack). Storing them horizontally will preserve them better. Learned that the hard way when they would leak when stored vertically. :x
I have memory issues bcz of my health so I always have notebooks to write in. I learned that from my father who was a writer. He never went anywhere without a pen and a notebook.
ReplyDeleteMsredk at AOL dot com
I'm with you, Constance, although nowhere near as organized! Bits and pieces, notebooks, napkins, you name it. When the muse hits, I pounce, even if it's at 2am. We writers are good at scribbling in the dark. LOL Your books sound great. Amazon, here I come!
ReplyDelete