Day 11 - Snowflake Challenge

[alexcat]

Day 11

In your own space, talk about your creative process(es) — anything from the initial inspiration to how you feel after something’s done. Do you struggle with motivation or is it a smooth process? Do you have any tricks up your sleeve to pull out when a fanwork isn’t cooperating? What is your level of planning to pantsing/winging it? Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.


MY writing process… hmmm. I’m a pantser. I get an idea and go with it. Sometimes a photo, a line in a song or poem, or a bit of canon give me a tiny idea and I go with it. I tend to write short one shots for the most part but I have written longer fictions. If I don’t need to research then I write and go where it takes me.

If I need to research, I hunt and read and read and hunt all the info I can about whatever I am researching. For example, I wrote a story set in the era right after the Civil War up until 1876 – I researched preserving foods, making hardtack, the typical soldier's life, the particulars of the area where it is set from 1864 – 1876, the Battle of the Little Big Horn, World War I (since the ending spanned decades), Civil War aftermath for Southern soldiers, appendicitis in 1865. You get the idea. I am a stickler for historic details. They set a story in time and place like nothing else can. Even modern settings. If I don’t know a place, I look at photos and read about it. If I do know a place, I do the same thing. Many times I do the research as I write, even in long fics.

Do I plan long fics? Yes, in a large, sweeping sort of way. I kind of know where I’m going from the beginning but getting there is not planned. Sometimes I brainstorm with my hubby. He is great with plot advice or to help me see if something will or won’t work. I am not the world’s best plotter… give me a plot and I can build you a lovely story though. That is why I love prompts with a lot of plot.

I also like to play with words… I prefer simple words that paint the picture plainly and vividly to lots of flowery prose about things that distract from the actual tale. I don’t want the story lost in the description.

I guess that’s about it.

Comments

[wendelah1]

I'd love a list of your Civil War resources, if you kept one. And a link to the story itself, if you wouldn't mind.

[alexcat]

The story is not posted anywhere... it was a Nanowrimo and I still haven't done the rewrites. I'll see if I can find any of the sites i used... I mostly just looked up specific things, even the tutorial on making hardtack!

[wendelah1]

No, no. That's okay. If it was something easy, but I don't want you to go to any trouble. I've been researching for a Civil War AU since forever so I was curious. This is the year I'm going to write the damn thing. I'm not getting any younger--or smarter.

Is this original fic or fanfic?

[alexcat]

I actually found my bibliogrpahy - it's over 10 years old so i don't know how many of the sites are still up and there are many more about the Battle of the Little Big Horn than the Civil War but here it is:

This is a list of the websites and books that I used as research in my story. They are in no particular order. I also visited Little Bighorn Battlefield in 2006 and some of the observations and the cover art is from my own observations and photographs.

Bibliography:

Wikipedia:
George Armstrong Custer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Armstrong_Custer
Marcus Reno: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_Reno
Frederick Benteen: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Benteen
The Battle of the Little Bighorn: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Little_Bighorn
The Battle of Washita River: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Washita_River
Fort Abraham Lincoln: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Abraham_Lincoln
Fort Supply: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Supply
Custer’s 1874 Black Hills Expedition: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Custer%27s_1874_Black_Hills_Expedition
Black Hills War: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hills_War
World War I: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Bighorn_Battlefield_National_Monument
Mark Kellogg: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Kellogg_(reporter)
Gulf War: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_War
American Expeditionary Force: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Expeditionary_Force


Other sites:
Fort Abraham Lincoln.com: http://www.fortlincoln.com/default.aspx
Hardtack History and Recipe: http://users.lmi.net/mcm20me/20th_Maine/CompG/research/hardtack.htm
Friends of the Little Bighorn Battlefield: http://friendslittlebighorn.com/
Timeline of the Civil War 1865: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/cwphtml/tl1865.html
George Armstrong Custer Home page: http://www.garryowen.com/

Books:
Little Bighorn ~ Battlefield Official National Park Handbook
Crazy Horse and Custer ~ Stephen E. Ambrose
Boots and Saddles ~ Elizabeth Bacon Custer
Son of the Morning Star ~ Evan S. Connell

Films:
Son of the Morning Star ~ Republic Pictures Home Video

Article:
In a Pickle: Types of Food Preservation in the 19th Century by Virginia Mescher

[wendelah1]

Thank you. Your protagonists were in the Battle of Little Big Horn, prior to the novel's beginning?

[alexcat]

The novel is more about the aftermath of the Civil War - the main character joins the Confederate Army at 15 after his father and brother are killed. He joins the US army after the war because he has no family left and is with the Army still in 1876 when the Battle occurs in Montana.