Libra
The character is already somewhere in my head, and it just grows and grows until I need to get it out on paper, especially when the character is historically based. Dora was already inside me before I wrote The Birth House.
I do tons of research, start making notes and then it just sort of hits this critical mass. I had visited the adult daughter of the midwife who had actually lived in my house, and through our conversations, her voice kind of stayed in my head for quite a while. It sort of then became Dora’s voice.
I can actually say that there was a night when I woke up in the middle of the night and I started writing, and it was different than the notes that I had taken before. All of a sudden, Dora’s voice was there and she was telling the story.
I was so grateful. (laughs) It was such a relief actually to have that voice of this young girl there, because it is what I’d been hoping for.
I think also in the process of discovering the history of my house, it's the thing that you long for when you can't find those pieces of history. You want to find someone's journal hidden under the floorboards, and I never did. So that's what Dora is - she's just the manifestation of all the things that I longed to know but wasn't getting from anything else. I found I really couldn’t resist her. It was quite a magical thing actually.
I’ve always adored magical thinking, and magic also comes from being here in this part of the world.
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Re: Giving Life To The Birth House
By Heather Wallace, December 8, 2007 at 12:19Crikey Michelle! Good thing you have lots of energy to go 'round. Orato has come to rely on you for hockey news, since the community building editor and I are less than sporty...(although Robyn does seem to be into the football - mostly David Beckham).
I can't wait to see what goodies you have in store for us.
Heather
:)
Re: Giving Life To The Birth House
By Michelle Kenneth, December 8, 2007 at 11:23Hey Heather~
Yes, I am pretty busy with my own novel and 2 hockey columns. LOL. Now that I'm covering the NJ Devils in depth, life has gotten to be much busier than ever before.
My novel, in brief, is about the moment when God first created 'love.' That's about as far as I'll go into describing my novel. I plan on writing this as a series, rather than just a one-time story. It is a fictional story based on over 15 years of research.
Since Thanksgiving weekend, I've been finding it more difficult to find time to write my novel, b/c hockey tends to have a bit more control over my time. In the mornings, I'm writing about the Devils. In the afternoons, I'm running errands, trying to self-promote and network. By the time evening comes around, I have between 2-4 hockey games I have to watch and review (or I'm at the game). I'm up until 3AM researching and writing about hockey.
Believe me, I take solace in any hockey breaks I can have to write my novel. Like today, my NJD column is done for today, so I can write. That is, after I'm done with all my errands. But I have something special I've been working on for the holidays for Orato that I'll be posting today. I'm also working on a special NY Rangers holiday segment for the Sports section...but that'll come later in the month. : )
MK
Re: Giving Life To The Birth House
By Heather Wallace, December 7, 2007 at 12:36Hey Michelle - I bet you're pretty busy with your own novel...what's it about?
Re: Giving Life To The Birth House
By Michelle Kenneth, December 7, 2007 at 09:39No, I haven't read it, yet. I plan on reading it soon. I like Robyn's thoughts. Curling up with the book this winter and a cup of hot tea sounds like heaven right now.
Re: Giving Life To The Birth House
By Robyn Stubbs, December 5, 2007 at 14:25A lovely book - I think I'm going to read it again this winter, curled up on the couch with a cup of tea and the fire roaring. Thanks Ami - I'm looking forward to your next one.
Re: Giving Life To The Birth House
By Heather Wallace, November 30, 2007 at 12:04Michelle - have you read The Birth House yet?
Re: Giving Life To The Birth House
By Michelle Kenneth, November 30, 2007 at 11:21I enjoyed reading Ami's story. I am in the midst of writing my first novel, so it is always a joy to read about the processes other writers go through to complete their works. Sometimes I think I'm crazy, but the book keeps flowing out of me. Like you said, once it gets started, you have to keep going. I always feel like I'm winging it all the time and just making things up as I go along, but the more I read about other writers' processes, I think it's just an innate feeling we all get inside of ourselves. We research. We take notes. We hear that person's voice inside of our heads telling a story. Then, only then when we decide to embrace that storyteller do we begin to write.
Congratulations on all your successes.