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Last updated on April 29, 2012 at 12:00 am EDT by in5d Alternative News
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The human body is alkaline by design but acidic by function. Every living cell in the body creates metabolized waste, which is acidic. The nutrients from our food are delivered to each cell, the cells burn with oxygen in order to provide energy for us to live. The burned nutrients become metabolized waste.
All waste products are acid; the body discharges the waste through urine, bile and perspiration. Our body can't get rid of 100% of the waste it produces which in turn, creates an over load of toxicity. With out proper elimination, the acid waste products become solid wastes, such as micro toxins, toxins, fungus, bacteria and mucus. These accumulate and build up in our blood, organs and tissue. This accumulation of solid waste products accelerates the depletion of minerals and other nutrients, causes disease and accelerates the aging process.
Although our bodies work hard to dispose of acidic waste, eating acidic foods makes it harder and compounds the acid, making it harder for the body to eliminate waste.
Eating our alkaline based foods will help the body to remove and neutralize acidic waste products. Most foods we consume are acidic. Meats, dairy products, sugar and starches are enemies of the human body. It's important to distinguish the difference between food and synthetics. Alot of our foods are either hybrid or genetically modified which in turn makes them unnatural and acidic.
White-brown rice, carrots, corn, potatoes, garlic, beans, soy, wheat, barley are some to name a few. It goes without saying that alcohol, drugs, Pharmaceutical drug , additives, sweeteners and caffeine are acidic and should be avoided as much as possible.
To keep the body alkaline we must supply the body with alkalinity from an outside source. Our alkaline foods will provide an adequate amount of alkalinity in the diet to do this. However, if the body doesn't take its alkalinity from its diet, it will extract alkaline from its organs, tissue and bones to neutralize the acid. This causes the body to become acidic and thus diseased.
Water is the most abundant compound in the human body, comprising 70% of the body. The body therefore contains a wide range of solutions. Ph (potential of hydrogen) is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. The ph of any solution is the measure of its hydrogen-ion concentration. The ratio between positively charged ions (acid forming) and negatively charged ions (alkaline forming). The lower the ph reading, the more acidic and oxygen deprived the fluid is. The higher the ph reading, the more alkaline and rich in oxygen the fluid is. The ph range is from 0-14 with 7.0 being neutral. Anything above 7.0 is alkaline, anything below 7.0 is considered acidic.
Human blood ph should be slightly alkaline (7.35- 7.45) below or above this range means symptoms and disease. If blood ph moves below 6.8 or above 7.8 cells stop functioning and the body dies. The body therefore continually strives to balance ph. When this balance is compromised many problems can occur.
An imbalanced diet high in acidic producing foods such as animal protein, sugar, caffeine and processed foods puts pressure on the body's regulating systems to maintain ph neutrality. The extra buffering required can deplete the body of alkaline minerals such as sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium, making the person prone to chronic and degenerative diseases. Minerals are borrowed from vital organs and bones to neutralize the acid and remove it from the body. Because of this strain, the body can suffer severe and prolonged damage causing a condition that may go undetected for years
Research shows that unless the body's PH level is slightly alkaline it cannot heal itself, so no matter what means you choose to take care of your health, it won't be effective until the PH level is balanced. If your body's PH is not balanced for example, you cannot effectively assimilate vitamins and minerals. Your body PH affects everything.
Acidosis will decrease the body's ability to absorb minerals and other nutrients, decrease the energy production in the cells. Decrease its ability to repair damaged cells, decrease its ability to detoxify heavy metals, make tumours cells thrive and make it more susceptible to fatigue and illness.
An acidic PH can occur from an acid forming diet, Emotional stress, toxic overload and/or immune reactions or any process that deprives the cells of oxygen and other nutrients. The body will try to compensate for acidic PH by using alkaline minerals. If the diet does not contain enough minerals to compensate, a build up of acids in the cells will occur
Cardiovascular damage. Weight gain, obesity and diabetes. Bladder condition. Kidney stones. Immune deficiency. Acceleration of free radical damage. Hormonal problems. Premature ageing. Osteoporosis and joint pain. Aching muscles and lactic acid build up. Low energy and chronic fatigue. Lower body temperature. Tendency to get infections. Loss of drive, joy and enthusiasm. Depressive tendencies. Easily stressed. Pale complexion. Headaches Inflammation of the corneas and eyelids. Loose and painful teeth. Inflamed sensitive gums. Mouth and stomach ulcers. Cracks at the corners of the lips. Excess stomach acid. Gastritis. Nails are thin and split easily. Hair looks dull, has split ends and falls out. Skin easily irritated. Legs cramp and spasms.
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. in5d.com is not responsible for content written by contributing authors. The information on this site is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional advice of any kind. in5d.com assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.


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The 2014 college football season is in full swing, with teams already moving up and down the AP poll, and marketing cloud technology provider Unified did some polling of its own, ranking the preseason top 10 teams in the AP poll in terms of Facebook engagement.
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Facebook Weekly Highlights Brings You Tributes To The Late Harold Ramis
Facebook Weekly Highlights features photos and videos posted to the social network by celebrities and athletes. This week's edition featured this photo of actor and director Harold Ramis, who died Monday.

subset: commoncrawl


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Charleston Newswire (Page 4)
Comprehensive Real-Time News Feed for Charleston, WV. (Page 4)
Results 61 - 80 of 804 for "u:wvmetronews.com" in Charleston, WV
Detroit man sentenced for bringing backpack of heroin to West Virginia w/Photo
Darnez Turner, 26, was en route to deliver the heroin in July 2011 when an off-duty Charleston police officer who was working security at the Greyhound bus station in the Capital City stopped him and found the heroin in Turner's backpack. Comment?
Building better gourd protection w/Photo
School children strained their neck to look into the air and hoped for the best. Silhouetted against a gray Charleston sky two line workers in cherry pickers hoisted an array of contraptions up to the 100 foot mark and on the countdown released their payroll. Comment?
State official on Ebola: "Our job is to protect the public's health" w/Photo
Saying the United States must monitor Ebola in a much more aggressive way, President Barack Obama has called on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to more quickly deploy rapid response teams to areas where Ebola is diagnosed. The President said Wednesday, if already-established health protocols are followed properly, "The likelihood of widespread Ebola outbreaks in this country are very, very low." Comment?
One dead, one charged with murder in Kanawha County w/Photo
Charleston Police arrested Patricia Miller, 50, of Charleston, in the early morning hours Thursday soon after officials said the victim was stabbed on Nancy Street on Charleston's East End. Detectives said the two had been involved in some kind of dispute about a lease and drugs and alcohol were also involved. Comment?
35th Bridge Day on Saturday w/Photo
Saturday marks the 35th anniversary of one of West Virginia's biggest celebration. Bridge Day marks the one day of the year it is legal to walk onto the New River Gorge Bridge in Fayette County. Comment?
South Charleston plans for growth w/Photo
South Charleston Mayor Frank Mullens believes extending the city's utilities to the south is the most important project facing the city long term. Mullens and other city leaders have met with the Tomblin Administration and continue to explore options about how best to extend sewer service down Corridor G in the years ahead. Comment?
PSC reviews Mitchell Power Plant settlement w/Photo
Two consumer groups support a proposed settlement that would transfer partial ownership of the Mitchell Power Station in Marshall County to Wheeling Power. Energy Efficient West Virginia and West Virginia Citizen Action Group both signed off on the proposal that was submitted to the state Public Service Commission last week. Comment?
Law change called "a step toward equality" w/Photo
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - The executive director of Fairness West Virginia calls the law change this week in West Virginia - allowing same-sex couples to legally apply for and receive marriage licenses for the first time - "a step toward equality." 142 comments
First marriage licenses issued to same-sex couples in West Virginia w/Photo
Chris Bostic and David Epp of Charleston were the first gay couple to apply for and receive a marriage license in Kanawha County on Thursday. Bostic and his partner, David Epp, 33, became the first gay couple to legally apply for and receive a marriage license in Kanawha County when they paid their $56 fee in Kanawha County Clerk Vera McCormick's office shortly after 4 p.m. on Thursday. 60 comments
Tank law rule up for public hearing w/Photo
There's been less controversy about one part of the Aboveground Storage Act than another. The less controversial section is up for public hearing Thursday evening in Charleston. Comment?
Charleston council member has nothing but praise for Project West Invest w/Photo
A Charleston city councilman from the West Side said a new program aimed at putting officers into homes in that neighborhood is a great opportunity. Rev. James Ealy knows the problems that area faces with increased crime and a feeling of disfranchisement. Comment?
Teacher of Year inspired to teach in Jazzercise class w/Photo
Gail Adams, an English and Fine Arts teacher at Wheeling Park High School in Ohio County, came to the profession a decade ago - at the age of 47. "I had raised my children and I knew that I wanted to still be in touch with our youth and teaching high school English seemed to be the way to go," said Gail Adams on Thursday's MetroNews "Talkline," a day after she was introduced as Teacher of the Year in Charleston. "In the songs, I was always correcting the grammar and the lyrics and I said to my class one day, 'Maybe I should become an English teacher,'" Adams said. Comment?
Hold put on new Charleston to Orlando flights w/Photo
A budget carrier will not begin flights to Florida from Yeager Yeager in Charleston next week as originally scheduled. PEOPLExpress announced Thursday it won't be beginning its operations at Yeager or resuming operations at other airports until after the previously announced Oct. 16 date. Comment?
Fake Boone County mine foreman to be sentenced in December w/Photo
A Boone County man who lied on required mine safety reports faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he's sentenced on a federal charge of falsifying those mandatory documents in December. Shawn Glenn Stover, 29, of Whitesville, plead guilty to the charge in U.S. District Court in Charleston on Wednesday. Comment?
West Invest: Charleston police officers to live on West Side w/Photo
The Charleston Police Department unveiled a new program Wednesday that it believes can help reduce crime on Charleston's West Side and revitalize the community. It's called 'Project West Invest' and it will involve 10 police officers who will move into existing houses on the West Side and then rehabilitate them while at the same time becoming active in the community. 17 comments
Students prepare new HealthNet simulator w/Photo
Students in the collision repair program at Kanawha County's Carver Career Center proudly showed off their work Wednesday in helping to refurbish what will eventually be a state-of-the-art training simulator for HealthNet Aero Medical services. The students have been working to repair and paint a retired medical helicopter from Connecticut which Wednesday was moved to HealthNet's Corporate training facility in Charleston. Comment?
Two U.S. Senate candidates will talk issues on Tuesday night in Charleston during the only scheduled debate for Republican 2nd District Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito and Democratic Secretary of State Natalie Tennant prior to the Nov. 4 general election. Hoppy Kercheval, the host of MetroNews "Talkline," will moderate the 60-minute debate that is sponsored by AARP West Virginia, West Virginia Public Broadcasting, the West Virginia Press Association and MetroNews. Comment?
Lambda Legal attorney predicts same-sex couples will soon be getting married in West Virginia w/Photo
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A senior attorney for Lambda Legal, a national civil rights group, says the three same-sex couples challenging West Virginia's definition of marriage as between one man and one woman should "call the caterer." 6 comments
Two U.S. Senate candidates meet Tuesday for only scheduled debate w/Photo
Two U.S. Senate candidates will talk issues on Tuesday night in Charleston during the only scheduled debate for Republican 2nd District Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito and Democratic Secretary of State Natalie Tennant prior to the Nov. 4 general election. Hoppy Kercheval, the host of MetroNews "Talkline," will moderate the 60-minute debate that is sponsored by AARP West Virginia, West Virginia Public Broadcasting, the West Virginia Press Association and MetroNews. Comment?
Court hearing Monday on proposed Mountain State University settlement w/Photo
A court hearing is scheduled Monday afternoon in Beckley where a proposed settlement involving former students at Mountain State University will be presented for preliminary approval. More than 400 individual suits were filed along with at least two class action suits in state court and two in federal court after the school lost its accreditation in 2012. Comment?
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text: Print News Beat KICK – OFF FRIDAY….FALL IS UPON US On Friday, September 06, 2013 Kansas Heart Hospital executives, nurses, staff and employees were encouraged to wear their favorite high school, college or pro football team jerseys. In keeping ... READ MORE >> Box Tops Benefit Brooks Technology & Arts Magnet Middle School Kansas Heart Hospital, as part of its mission, has partnered with Communities in Schools in order to assist and educate high school students about opportunities in health care. Recently, Teresa ... READ MORE >> WICHITA STATE MASCOT VISITS KANSAS HEART HOSPITAL According to the Wichita State University Shockers website, "legend has it that the name "Shockers" first appeared in 1904 on a poster advertising a football game between Wichita State-then ... READ MORE >> Golfers Hit The Links at The 14th Annual Kansas Heart Hospital Golf Tournament For the past fourteen years the Wichita Country Club, located in east Wichita, has served as the venue for the annual Kansas Heart Hospital Golf Tournament which was held on Saturday, August ... READ MORE >> CONSUMER REPORTS LISTS CAROTID ARTERY SURGERY AT KHH AS A TOP FIVE PROGRAM IN THE US The September, 2013, issue of Consumer Reports rated 2,463 hospitals across the United States in their keynote article, "Your safer-surgery survival guide." Criteria for ratings focused on a ... READ MORE >> Kansas Heart Hospital Selected As a Patriotic Employer The Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESRG) recently announced their 2013 awards and named Kansas Heart Hospital as one its recipients. The ESRG's mission is to "facilitate and promote a ... READ MORE >> 2013 WICHITA BUSINESS JOURNAL CFO AWARDS….CONGRATULATIONS STEVE SMITH The annual Wichita Business Journal CFO Award's luncheon was held at the Hyatt Hotel on Thursday, June 13, 2013. Steve Smith, CFO at Kansas Heart Hospital, was one of fifteen (15) honorees who ... READ MORE >> Affordable Care Act May Not Be So Affordable In Kansas The 35th annual Sedgwick County Health Care Roundtable Conference was held at the Hyatt Hotel in downtown Wichita on May 8th, 2013. Approximately 150 attendees from the insurance industry in ... READ MORE >> 100 Great Places to Work in Healthcare Becker's Hospital Review, May 2013, Vol 2013 No. 5. By Molly Gamble, Jim McLaughlin, Heather Punke, Sabrina Rodak and Anuja Vaidya Becker's Hospital Review and Becker's ASC ... READ MORE >> Fighting Heart Disease in Southwest Kansas St. Catherine Hospital and Kansas Heart Hospital co-sponsored the Fourth Annual St. Catherine Cardiovascular Symposium held at St. Catherine Hospital on Saturday, May 4th, 2013, in conjunction ... READ MORE >> « Previous 1 2 3 4 5 … 8 Next »


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A very different breakfast casserole from the usual baked french toast or egg ones. You will be pleasantly surprised like I was on this one!
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Three to Tango
By Emma Holly; Lauren Dane; Megan Hart; Bethany Kane
(Berkley Trade, Paperback, 9780425240939, 352pp.)
Publication Date: May 3, 2011
Shop Local
Enter your zip code below to find indies closest to you.
Four of erotic fiction's most talented authors carry readers away with all-new tales of ecstasy that prove that the most delectable things in life come in threes.
Emma Holly lives in Minnesota where the winters are long and people will use any excuse to warm up. According to Emma, humanity's best inventions are hot showers, the printing press, coffee, chocolate, and bicycle shorts for men. She can be reached at email@example.com or P.O. Box 2591, Minneapolis, MN 55402-0591.


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Tobacco Control Index Page
New CDC Study Reveals Increase in Cigar Use
August 2, 2012 - The American Lung Association is deeply troubled by the findings in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), "Consumption of Cigarettes and Combustible Tobacco, 2000-2011," released today. The study shows that while cigarette use has declined 33 percent since 2000, the use of large cigars has increased 233 percent over this period.
American Academy of Pediatrics and American Lung Association Applaud New Smoke-Free Housing Toolkits from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
June 19, 2012 - The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Lung Association are pleased to support new smoke-free housing toolkits released today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Senator Durbin's Bill to Close Tobacco Tax Loopholes Will Save Lives By Stopping Tax Avoidance
May 10, 2012 - Statement from public health organizations in support of legislation introduced by U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) to close loopholes in federal tobacco tax rates that have harmed public health by encouraging use of lower-taxed tobacco products and cost governments more than a billion dollars in revenue since 2009.
FDA Moves to Crack Down on Big Tobacco Deceiving Consumers
March 30, 2012 - The American Lung Association welcomes the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) announcement and draft guidance released today which will protect consumers from future false and misleading health claims by the tobacco industry about its deadly tobacco products
States Can Cut Youth Tobacco Use in Half in Six Years
March 8, 2012 - The 31st Surgeon General's Report underscores that if states invest in comprehensive programs today, youth tobacco use can be cut in half in just six years.
American Lung Association Lauds New Health Initiative, Encourages Tobacco-free Culture in Navy and Marine Corps
March 5, 2012
American Lung Association Urges Immediate Appeal of Ruling to Block Implementation of Cigarette Graphic Warning Labels
February 29, 2012 - The American Lung Association strongly disagrees with U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon's decision to blocks the FDA's implementation of graphic warning labels on all cigarette packages and advertisements.
American Lung Association Congratulates Tobacco Control on 20th Anniversary
February 22, 2012 - The American Lung Association congratulates the journal Tobacco Control on the occasion of its 20th anniversary.
Federal Government Continues Progress to Prevent Tobacco-Caused Disease While States Fall Tragically Short
January 19, 2012 - Most states' efforts to protect children and curb tobacco-related disease are abysmal according to the American Lung Association's State of Tobacco Control 2012 report. The federal government made major advances but lost one significant opportunity to save lives.
Media Alert: American Lung Association Releases Embargoed Tobacco Control Report Card Results January 18, 2012, at 1 p.m. (ET)
January 5, 2012 - Media Advisory for the American Lung Association's Embargoed Release of its State of Tobacco Control 2012 Report on January 18, 2012, at 1 p.m. (ET)


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November 30, 2012
U.N. climate negotiators from more than 190 countries are expected to wrap up two weeks of talks Dec. 7 in Doha, Qatar, with no major action on a 2015 global agreement.
November 23, 2012
Climate delegates from more than 190 nations will begin two weeks of negotiations Nov. 26 in Doha, Qatar, to hammer out a plan for a 2020 agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions and, for countries that remain committed to the Kyoto Protocol, to decide on a second commitment period.
November 16, 2012
The executive board for the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change will meet Nov. 19-23 in preparation for two weeks of international climate negotations that begin Nov. 26 in Doha, Qatar.
A series of aerial photographs showing the Atlantic Coast before and after Hurricane Sandy reveals dramatically changed portions of shoreline extending hundreds of miles, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
November 9, 2012
California on Nov. 14 will hold its first auction of greenhouse gas emission allowances under its cap-and-trade program.
November 2, 2012
Hurricane Sandy's blow to New Jersey and New York has sparked renewed debate in the climate change arena, raising questions over whether it will be a factor in the Nov. 6 presidential election. ..


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Added Oct 2, 2012
by sewtessuti
Sydney, Australia
Had to share my co-blogger's party frock made earlier this year. Made up from V8723
Blogged here
Cotton/Poly/Metal Satin with Flocked Spots, Invisible Zipper, Grosgrain Ribbon, Lining
Oct 12, 2012, 10.57 PMby nouvellegamine
so pretty! You got a great fit! Is that petersham ribbon on the shoulder?
Oct 13, 2012, 12.31 AMby sewtessuti
Thank you nouvellegamine! Yes that's soft grosgrain/petersham ribbon on the shoulders.
Oct 3, 2012, 03.00 PMby mwelland
Nice job! That fabric is great too.
Oct 3, 2012, 08.33 AMby BridgetDyer
So gorgeous! The fabric looks amazing!
Oct 3, 2012, 07.32 AMby Ivanamania
great dress!
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Mississippi State cornerback Johnathan Banks. Russ Lande
Johnthan Banks, CB, Mississippi State Bulldogs (6-2, 185 pounds)
With Ronde Barber still deciding if he is going to return to Tampa this season, the Buccaneers know it's time to look for a replacement. Banks is a tall cornerback with long arms, good ball skills and good all-around athleticism. And despite Banks' lack of premier speed, he has what it takes to be a good starting cornerback in the NFL. In addition to his talent, Banks is an outstanding young man with rare character, smarts and intangibles, which just add to his value.
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Today I was emailing back and forth with someone and they laughed a bit, commenting that I seem to be "taking a long-term view on things," meaning my writing career. At first I was startled because it was so natural for me to consider the fate of my work once I'm dead. I wasn't being morbid. It's just that for me, when we talk about the rights that we authors grant publishers, my mind
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age range: 10-14 years
setting: Colorado, 1917
Jeannie Mobley's website
Pearl's lively narration reveals her transformation from an old-fashioned, romantic girl into a spirited, courageous champion. Mobley uses the legend of Silverheels to effectively "raise questions about the traditional roles of women and their sources of strength," as she writes in her author's note, against the backdrop of wartime Colorado. An engrossing, plausible story of several unlikely feminist heroines with a touch of romance and intrigue. — Kirkus Reviews
Please tell us about your book.
Searching for Silverheels is the story of a romantically minded 13 year old, Pearl, who works in her family's café in the small mountain town of Como, Colorado in 1917, just after the United States has entered the First World War. She loves the local legend of Silverheels, a dance hall girl of the gold rush era, who saved a town from smallpox. However, Josie, a cynical old women's suffragist, scoffs at Pearl for telling the story to the tourists, arguing that Silverheels was more likely a crook after the miner's gold than a hero. They enter into a bet, each trying to prove their version of the legend, but in the mean time, accusations of sedition and anti-patriotism arise in the town, threatening both Pearl's family and Josie. Pearl is forced to decide what she really believes in and to act, even if it costs her.
What inspired you to write this story?
I have known the legend of Silverheels for as long as I can remember, being a Colorado native that spent a great deal of time in the mountains in the area where Silverheels lived, and where there is, to this day, a mountain named after her. I hadn't thought about the legend for a long time, but when I heard it again I realized there are some odd inconsistencies in it that made me think that Silverheels had the perfect set up for a scam–tend the dying miners, seduce them with her legendary beauty, and then take their gold. As a kid, I had loved the legend for its romantic, tragic beauty, and having this new vision of it as a more cynical adult, I thought, what an interesting story it would be to debate the story from the two sides.
I also realized what a good set up for exploring the roles of women in traditional society, and all the ways that women are called to be strong. So, I chose to set it during World War I so I could bring in the suffrage movement as well as all the things women did on the home front to keep the country going during the war.
Could you share with readers how you conducted your research or share a few interesting tidbits you learned while researching?
I did very little book research before I started writing this story. Since I've known the legend of Silverheels and the area where the story took place since childhood, I tried to draw on deep childhood memories to shape the character of Pearl and her experiences and feelings about her mountain home. While Pearl's story is entirely fictitious, her feelings and personality are drawn very much on who I was as a kid. So, I did a small amount of research about the home front in various wars, and settled on World War I, mostly because the National Women's party, one arm of the suffrage movement, came to blows with the authorities over criticizing the president during war time.
I researched details as I wrote, stopping when I needed to fill in a detail–like when the first Liberty Bonds were issued, what they cost and how the program worked, or what the train schedule was like in Como, a railroad hub of the era, or how long it might have taken by train to get from one location to another. Sometimes those details would draw me into an hour of research, sometimes I'd have to work on research for a day or more. And there were a few times I found things out and had to back up and rewrite things I had gotten wrong. That is a definite problem with my system of research-as-I-go, but I don't know what I need to research until I get there.
Always, when I am writing a piece of historical fiction, I am "researching" in my time away from the writing desk, too. I watch TV programs or read novels set in that era or written in that era, I listen to period music, and I daydream, to get my mind steeped in the deeper feeling of the time period.
What are some special challenges associated with writing historical fiction?
Of course, there is always the challenge of getting the historical era right and finding the balance of including enough historical detail to get a sense of the era without overdoing it. I think it is also important to hit the right balance of making it feel familiar and also exotic. Historical fiction appeals to readers for its ability to help us escape into a different world, but at the same time, I think historical fiction has a romantic appeal too. There is something warm about the "good old days," even if they weren't all that good in reality. I think many readers like the comfortable warmth of stories set in the late 19th/early 20th century. The sense of family and of home that linger in the memories of adults who read the Little House books as kids, for example.
So for me, I try to evoke some of those same feelings in my work, while still being true to all the things that made the "good old days" not so good. Because there was a lot of hard work and discrimination and sexism in those days, and there was a struggle to survive. I try to keep all of that present in my work.
What topics does your book touch upon that would make it a perfect fit for the classroom?
My book looks at traditional roles of women, the home front during war, and the suffrage movement, all topics of interest in American History. We are now in the hundredth anniversary of World War I, which began in Europe in the summer of 1914, and continued until 1918. For the United States, the centennial of our involvement in the war doesn't begin until 2017, but there is a new focus on that war right now, and this book fits into that topic very neatly.
I also think that historical fiction can fit in nicely with the focus of the Common Core on increased attention to informational texts, which include things like non-fiction and primary sources. One of the intriguing things about historical fiction is it creates a personal interest in history, because it gets the reader emotionally involved with people in the past. And once that emotional involvement is there, it is much more interesting to do the background research (for example, people who never study history often love researching an ancestor).
So, I think historical fiction can be a wonderful gateway into those informational texts, as readers of the novel say, "Did that really happen?" or "Did people really do that back then?" Those questions can be used as starting points for digging in deeper and finding out the truth. For example, in my book, suffragists are arrested at the White House in July of 1917, which triggers a protest rally on the steps of the State Capitol in Denver. Readers might then ask, did that really happen, and they can turn to the history books or old newspapers to find out. Toward that end, I do include various links to research resources in my teachers guides and on my website.
The post Classroom Connections: SEARCHING FOR SILVERHEELS, by Jeannie Mobley appeared first on Caroline Starr Rose.
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A flattering view my food garden this week It's been a productive couple of days. I submitted a children's story I wrote to a mainstream publisher. I really really hope they like it. I'm making the distinction (in italics) because I also submitted 6 children's stories written by someone else to an indie publisher. I hope admitting to forwarding someone else's manuscript is not going to come
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I'm so excited to share with you a recent conversation I had with Sarah MacKenzie of the Read Aloud Revival Podcast. We talked poetry, how I stumbled into writing verse novels, and what three books I would take to a desert island.
Swing by and have a listen!
The post A Conversation with Sarah MacKenzie of the Read Aloud Revival Podcast appeared first on Caroline Starr Rose.
Blog: STORYPOT (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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One of the toughest things I've tried to articulate to my non-writer friends about the writing process is the craft required to ensure that a children's story meets editorial guidelines. Or maybe they just don't get it because it doesn't sound very creative.. it sounds like a trade... maybe like laying the story out brick by brick, or panelbeating what's already there? LOL! I think the "
Blog: Ingrid's Notes (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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I'm participating in NaNoWriMo this month. It's a mad-sprint to write 50,000 words of a novel in a month, and we just reached the half-way mark. This means we're wading through the murky middle of our novels when it feels like nothing is happening and it's hard to keep our momentum.
If you're like me and you need a little internet inspiration, I'm happy to provide these pep-talks of writing wisdom:
Why are you still here?
I thought all that was pretty clear.
Get to your keyboard, and remember…
Happy writing everyone.
I entered NaNoWriMo a couple (I think!) of years back. I never did quite understand the point of it all and could not find anyone to explain it to me. Could you shed some light, please?
As a fellow NaNo participant, I really appreciate these. I need that Stephen King one to follow me everywhere I go! :)
Thanks for sharing!
Reblogged this on Racconti di Marina.
Mick – What don't you understand? The idea is to write the first draft of a novel in a month. It's a great way to get your ideas on the page without over analyzing it.
Keep writing Jackie! Happy NaNo-ing!
I want a poster of Keep Calm and Write On :) Also…the Doctor!
Thought I'd take a little break:saw this. Guilt works. Salut!
[…] another writer and blogger, Ingrid Sundberg, posted a bunch of inspirational images for NaNo writers. One of them struck me as particularly […]
I love all of these! I didn't get to participate in NaNoWriMo this year but I hope to next year.
Then I still don't understand. It seems it is all down to me, exactly as if NaNoWriMo was not there. I don't see what NaNoWriMo brings to the party.
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Christmas holidays are all about catching up with friends and family, and catching up on all the books that I haven't had a chance to read during the year. I'm not a fan of reading on the beach – too sunny, too many kids to watch, too many friends to chat with. But once I […]Add a Comment
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That has been my mantra for the past couple of days. On Tuesday I focussed on writing a children's story (early reader). It's finished and I sent it to a writer friend to read through and comment. She likes it. Yesterday was the day of completing a concept proposal for a possible funder for a project. We've already met and they suggested the proposal, so I had some guidance on what their Key
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|all will be revealed...
|sometimes you need people
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It was so, so lovely to talk a few weeks ago with Sarah and Beth Anne of Brilliant Business Moms. They sought me out after reading this guest post at Modern Mrs. Darcy. Here are a few of the things you can expect in the podcast:
01:15 – Roald Dahl, the Oregon Trail, and My Journey
04:24 – The Most Honest Thing I've Ever Written
07:48 – What about Mr. Chapman?
09:59 – The Apprentice Stage
13:34 – Maniacal Optimism
16:54 – Why a Traditional Publisher?
19:29 – How to Get Published
22:50 – Finding an Agent
24:59 – Advice for Apprentice Authors
29:31 – Does a Web Presence Matter?
31:02 – A Day in the Life
34:34 – How Much Does an Author Make?
38:56 – Resources for Aspiring Authors
44:30 – What My Boys Think About Having an Author for a Mom
The podcast is live! Click through to have a listen.
The post A Podcast with Brilliant Business Moms appeared first on Caroline Starr Rose.
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For the past three years, I've been using this old Nokia 3500 to keep in touch with my family and a handful of friends. Assuming I remembered to charge it and was carrying it at the time of the call. I know, I know. It's a disgrace for a former telecoms journo to be using this old clunker, right? Thing is, it really suited me. I could make and receive calls and texts. And most days, I
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For years I've written some stories just so the noise the characters made would stop. I didn't have a potential market for them. I even planned to self-publish some of them. So, the other day when an indie publisher got in touch with me about some work I might end up doing for them, my first thought was, "do I even have the time to look at the work?" I'm still trying to establish a new rhythm
Blog: Ingrid's Notes (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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I've been tagged by Sweet Sixteen debut writer Shannon M. Parker, author of the forthcoming novel CRUSHING, to find 8 Terrible Titles within my manuscripts. The irony is that I have about 300 bad titles that I brainstormed for ALL WE LEFT BEHIND, before my editor and I came up with one that stuck (and I'll admit, my editor named my book!). Horrible titles are in my blood. So this challenge is right up my alley!
Challenge rules: Scroll through my manuscript and stop at a random spot. Wherever my cursor lands…That's my title. There's no hunting through my pages for the perfect phrases. This challenge is to see how truly awkward my title could be.
Here are my #8TerribleTitles from my YA Contemporary novel ALL WE LEFT BEHIND:
1. This Should Be Our Best Year
2. She Riles Me Up
3. Dripping Sticky Gold Onto Wax Paper
4. How Blind We Must Be
5. Swinging Against My Elbow
6. Far Less Important Than a Soccer Ball
7. Skin Through Soaked Cotton
8. Blinking From Orange to Ash
There they are, in all their terribleness. Wahooo! I tag Melanie Fishbane and Mackenzi Lee for this challenge. Happy title-creating ladies!
Some of those actually sound interesting (though would be hard to follow up with an actual story). Sounds like it was fun putting together. :)
I like "Dripping Sticky Gold Onto Wax Paper" – the story of one girl's fight for the right to craft. I also like "Skin Through Soaked Cotton," though that one might be new adult. Thanks for sharing! Can't wait to read your book.
Some days I fear writing dreadfully, but I do it anyway. I've discovered that sometimes writing badly can eventually lead to something better. Not writing at all leads to nothing.
— Anna Quindlen
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I found it today. Location: my home office, at my desk. Time of day: after 8pm, when supper was done. The device: my laptop In the background: Blitzen Trapper, playing Furr, followed by The Lumineers (the whole album). On my desk: a big mug of cold coffee, a notebook and pen, a buge mess of files, receipts, a glass, two more mugs (empty), a hard copy of a draft manuscript, sleeping pills,
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I know everyone isn't a morning person. I wasn't always a morning writer. I used to be a mid-day writer, believing I was like a flower that fully bloomed when the sun was high in the sky. But in the last few years I've changed my tune. I've started to brave the dark cold morning hours away from my cozy bed. It isn't easy. Who wants to give up those precious hours and minutes of sleep before the day begins? But I gave it a shot, and I've discovered I'm a lot more productive as a result.
I know morning writing won't work for everyone. But I want to share a few of the ideas that influenced me to give it a try. Finding a process that works for you is essential to being a successful writer. For me, morning writing has become a staple of my process. It affects both my productivity and the quality of my work. Who knows, maybe it will work for you too.
Three reasons to consider writing in the morning:
1) It Helps You Find "The Zone"
One of the most inspirational reasons I started writing in the morning comes from Robert Olen Butler's craft book From Where You Dream. Butler argues that to write you must enter a dream-space away from your intellectual thinking brain. This dream-space is a "zone" that lets you tap into the unconscious, which is where true creation comes from. Writing from the unconscious allows "a work of art to become an organic thing, where every detail organically resonates with every other detail."
Tapping into this space is not an easy thing to do. Butler suggests writing in the morning because it helps you to find "a way to clear your sensibility of abstract uses of language," which is important for helping you get into the zone. The problem, according to Butler, "is that we naturally use language in so many non-sensual ways all through the day. It's helpful, then, to buffer those hours in which you necessarily use language in those analytical ways from the hours in which you dive into your unconscious and seek language in quite another way. One obvious way to do that is to put your night's sleep in between. You go to your writing space straight from another dream state and go to language before you've had a chance for all those other uses of language to intrude on you. So after you wake up, don't read the newspaper, don't watch CNN; if you have to pee don't pick up the back issue of The New Yorker in the basket nearby. You go to your fiction without letting any conceptual language into your head."
Of course, there are different philosophies on writing. I was pretty skeptical of Butler's "unconscious dreaming" concept. But I'd never tried it before. I'd intellectually talked myself out of its benefits before giving it a whirl. I'm a convert now. My writing has new depth because I write in the morning and I'm able to tap into that dream-zone.
For more information on this writing process, I highly suggest reading Butler's craft book From Where You Dream.
2) It Creates a Sense of Accomplishment
Admiral McRaven's gave a commencement address to the University of Texas earlier this year in which he said, "if you want to change the world, start off by making your bed." That may sound odd, but consider his outlook: "If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter. If you can't do the little things right, you will never do the big things right. And, if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made—that you made—and a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better."
Morning writing works in the same way as making your bed in the morning. Many of us say writing is a priority in our lives and yet we struggle to find time for it. If you start off your day by writing, then this important priority has been accomplished first. Now you can meet the rest of your day without guilt because you've already accomplished your writing goals.
3) Don't Check Your Email
Tim Ferriss' book The Four Hour Work Week suggests you never check your email before noon. He makes a strong case, pointing out the importance of making room for the tasks you need to get done before you open your email and see what the rest of the world wants from you. Sid Savara adds to the conversation with his 7 reasons you shouldn't check email in the morning. Both authors point out that checking your email first thing in the morning makes your day about someone else's to-do list, not yours. Write first! Resist the temptation to check your email and put your priorities first.
Anyone else out there a morning writer like me? Have you found it beneficial? Please share in the comments!
I've never tried writing first thing in the morning, but you might have convinced me to try it. When my youngest child was still napping, I would nap with her for twenty minutes and then write for an hour or two while she was still asleep. This was an incredibly productive strategy in spite of the fact that I'm completely useless in afternoons without a nap. Of course, a large cup of coffee also helped.
There's always a large cup of coffee at my side in the morning! :)
I've made morning writing a habit. Even when I have a busy (non-writing) day planned, and I only get a few hundred words down, I feel successful.
Also, I agree with the idea of being less intellectual about the writing first thing in the morning. It flows from a deeper place. Will check out Butler's book.
The no-email-before-noon rule is a wise habit to form…still struggling with that one. :)
I may have to try this. I struggle to make time to write on a daily basis so maybe writing in the morning will help. I'm also a huge proponent of making the bed. It's the first thing I do before I even leave my room to shower. I can't sleep in a bed that hasn't been properly made.
Reblogged this on Racconti di Marina.
Blog: Caroline by line (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Darcy opens her book by stating everything a first chapter must accomplish:
- grab the reader's attention
- ground the reader in the setting
- intrigue the reader with a character
- give the reader a puzzle to solve
- set the pace
The first chapter sets the stage for the rest of the book. The first sentence builds on the first page, which builds on the first chapter. And to grab an editor's attention, all three must shine.
In order to produce that strong first chapter, an author must lay some groundwork. Darcy suggests taking a story idea and brainstorming possible scenes. To decide what kind of story structure might work best, she points readers to the "29 Plot Templates". Here readers will find brief overviews of standard story structures: the quest, the escape, the underdog, to name a few. "Each plot pattern…require[s] a different set of scenes, emotions, and motivations." The approach an author takes will affect how possible scenes play out.
Darcy then discusses protagonists with one key element in mind: the character's pain. "What is the character most afraid of; what could make the character hurt the most? Of course, you must make your character face this very thing." With the protagonist's pain pinpointed (and the things she must face to bring about change), the beginnings of the character's arc emerges.
Adding these three elements together — scene ideas + plot pattern + character arc — equips an author to begin a first draft.
Because I hadn't yet committed hours and hours to writing at this point, there was plenty of freedom to play with my ideas: adding scenes, deleting them, changing a character's motivation or the type of story I wanted to tell. As someone who's written a few books and many more "trunk manuscripts," I appreciated this experimental phase. It's something I need to do more of before my drafting begins.
I consider myself a "plotster" (or "planster", as Darcy would say) — someone who doesn't fully plot a story but also doesn't fly by the seat of her pants. Darcy says her approach might feel overly rigid to pantsters or too loosey-goosey to plotters. For me, her system felt like the perfect fit.
"The function of a first draft is to find your story. The function of the next few drafts is to find the best way to tell that story."
To that end, Darcy spends much of her book showing authors how to experiment with different approaches, such as the type of sentence structures an author can use to start a book. Darcy identifies twelve types of opening sentences, gives examples of each, and then tries each type for her own novel-in-progress. In studying her opening from different angles, she shows readers what might best work for their own book.
The one thing I can count on when starting a new manuscript is the feeling I've never written a book before. Each of my stories has to find its own way. As I planned and then drafted during NaNoWriMo, START YOUR NOVEL was an invaluable guide.
The post What Darcy Says About Starting Novels appeared first on Caroline Starr Rose.
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age range: middle grade (10 and up)
genre: contemporary fiction
study guide
Tracy Holczer's website
"A lovely and captivating debut . . . Holczer writes with depth, heart, and a poetic lilt . . . nuanced characters engage from beginning to end." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Holczer expertly crafts the characters and dialogue to create a story readers will identify with, and thoroughly enjoy… More than simply a book about grief and the death of a parent, Grace's story is about the search for identity. An essential purchase for middle-grade collections." —School Library Journal, starred review
Please tell us about your book.
The Secret Hum of a Daisy is a story about love and loss and what it means to be a family. It takes place after the sudden death of twelve-year-old Grace's mother. Grace is forced to live with a grandmother she's never met in a small town she's never heard of. A town Mama left years before—with Grace in her belly and a bus ticket in her pocket—and never looked back. It doesn't take long before Grace desperately wants to leave, too.
Until she finds the first crane.
A mysterious treasure hunt, just like the ones her mother used to send her on, takes Grace on a journey to find home. And it might just be closer than she thinks.
What inspired you to write this story?
I read a blog post recently where it talked about artists being "fundamentally inconsolable."
This knocked my socks off for about two days while I thought about the reasons I sit in my chair to write. While "fundamentally inconsolable" isn't the way I would talk about my life—I'm rather happy, actually—I do find that in my artist's heart, this is very true. I feel compelled to write about themes of love and loss and belonging. These are deep rooted and wind in and out of my earliest memories, so when I sat down to write about Grace, it seemed natural to draw upon these themes that have special meaning to me.
Could you share with readers your writing process?
While I'm writing, my brain resembles something of a Jackson Pollack painting. Actually, even when I'm not writing, my brain tends to look like that. Ha! So, mostly, the writing process consists of me trying to figure out the order of things. As an instinctual writer, outlines don't particularly work for me, but with my second book, I'm finding Blake Snyder's beat sheet to be very helpful.
My books always start with a character and a situation. Family comes next and how that character interacts with the world. Once I see whatever it is that particular character yearns for, in their most secret heart, then the story begins to unfold. So the first few months of a book has me chasing down dead end roads and backtracking, and chasing down more dead end roads. It's a little crazy making, but it's what I've got. I am completely lacking a left brain, it seems.
What are some special challenges associated with writing contemporary middle grade?
Plot is so very tough for me to wrap my mind around. Especially in a contemporary story where the character isn't questing for anything on the outside, like winning a competition or landing the lead in the school play. I mean, how to you write about yearning for a ten and up audience and keep them engaged? So, what I do is read writers who have mastered this. Kate DiCamillo. Linda Urban. Sharon Creech. Then I pray that things rub off.
What topics does your book touch upon that would make it a perfect fit for the classroom?
There is poetry from Robert Frost and from the main character, brief clips from different poems that felt very true to the themes of the story. I liked the idea of using clips since they can be easier to grasp and might encourage young writers to start small, as Grace does. The poetry also lends itself to the bigger idea that great sadness is always healed little by little, clip by clip.
The book touches on Sadako Sasaki and her thousand paper cranes, how we all have to find our own ways to heal. Magical thinking is part of that and children are so very good at it.
It would also tie in well with abstract art.
The post Classroom Connections: THE SECRET HUM OF A DAISY by Tracy Holczer appeared first on Caroline Starr Rose.
What I try to do is write. I may write for two weeks "the cat sat on the mat, that is that, not a rat." And it might be just the most boring and awful stuff. But I try. When I'm writing, I write. And then it's as if the muse is convinced that I'm serious and says, "Okay. Okay. I'll come."
— Maya Angelou
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Blog: Ingrid's Notes (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Are you participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) this year? It starts this Saturday (November 1st) and is a mad dash to write 50,000 words of a novel in one short month! I participated for the first time last year and loved it. It's true, I was a big snob about NaNoWriMo before I tried it, but now I'm a complete convert.
If you're taking the plunge and trying NaNoWriMo this year, I have a few quick suggestions that I learned from my experience last year. Hopefully these will help you stay on track and reach your 50,000 word goal.
1) Make an Outline
Make a list of scenes you want to write for your novel. This doesn't need to be fully formed outline. All you need is a list of events or moments that you think might be a part of the book. The fun thing about NaNoWriMo is that you're writing so fast that everything you try counts toward your 50,000 word! Even if you cut it later, you can try it now and it's productive. You can pick a scene to write each day and see where it takes you. If it doesn't go anywhere, try another scene on your list. You'd be surprised to see how many scenes will snowball into whole sequences, chapters, and eventually full novels! An outline gives you a place to start each day, and a new scene to jump to if the one your working on isn't going anywhere.
2) Create Scene Cards
After you make your outline, create scene cards for each of your scenes. These cards outline the major action and emotional change of the scene. This will help you to make sure you have a plan and direction when you write. This way you won't sit down and stare at a blank page. When I re-read my novel after NaNoWriMo, one of the big things I learned was that scenes I had a plan for were worth keeping. Scenes I didn't use a scene card for often got cut. Read more about scene cards and see examples here: Scene Cards Blog Post.
3) Don't Edit
I know it seems counter intuitive to not edit. Part of writing is choosing the right phrase and sentence to communicate your ideas. But when the end goal is word count, editing is your worst enemy. NaNoWriMo is about getting your ideas on the page and moving forward. It isn't about writing a masterpiece in the first pass. That's what revision is for. Who cares if you've added adverbs everywhere. Who cares if you spend half a page describing a character's hair style. This draft is about creating the raw material that you can shape and mold later. It's easier to revise a novel once you have that raw material to work with, rather than trying to come up with a brilliant and perfectly crafted page out of nothing. Yes, your NaNoWriMo novel isn't going to be spun gold. That's not the point. The point is to get material on the page that you can revise with.
4) Write the Fun Scenes First
We often think we have to write in linear order. We also think we have to finish scenes. I give you permission leave scenes half-finished and to write out of order! Write the scenes you're most excited to write first. Those scenes are going to have the most energy and excitement behind them. They're going to create inertia that gets you excited to get up and write again tomorrow. If a scene isn't going well, don't finish it. Leave yourself a big note that says: finish this scene later and move on. Don't worry about it right now. There are going to big plot holes, sure, but you can fix them in revision. Focus on what is fun and keeps you excited to keep writing this project. That's the trick to writing faster than you should. Have fun and forget all the rules you've made for yourself in the past. Create, enjoy, and fall in love with your story.
5) Write in the Morning
Not everyone is a morning writer. I understand that. But personally, I've have found that writing in the morning during NaNoWriMo keeps me motivated. It allows me to get through my 1600 words a day early on. This also means any additional words I write that day are a bonus and help get me closer to 50,000 words faster! If you get behind in NaNoWriMo it can be discouraging. So don't wait. Write first thing and make it a habit. One of the great side effects of this exercise is the way it motivates you to work on your project every day.
Looking for more tips to help with National Novel Writing Month? Try these:
- 5 More Quick Tips for NaNoWriMo
- How to Up Your Word Count Like a Boss (Part 1)
- How to Up Your Word Count Like a Boss (Part 2)
Great tips! Especially the advice to not edit. I find that ends up being a big time sucker! I also agree about writing the fun scenes first. That really helped me last year.
I have participated in NaNoWriMo several times, and last year was the first time I made it to the 50,000 word finish line! This year, I'm not participating officially, though I will be working on my current WIP and doing word sprints with my daughter to keep myself motivated.
Thanks, I will work on my list of scenes. It sounds like a brilliant idea!
Thinking, thinking after the LMM journals and the Laura Ingalls Wilder class* just what it means to capture a life on the page.
- Is it ever really possible to get distance and perspective?
- Are memoir and autobiography ever fully "true"?
- How much can a writer truly reveal in public or even private writings?
- Are these things fully known to the author herself?
- How much do emotion and distance color things?
- In the shaping of a life story, should a reader "listen in" on what is omitted?
- Where is the moment autobiography shifts to autobiographical fiction?
- What does it matter in the end?
I keep circling back to the ideas infallibility and omniscience — two things no one has, but two things that would be needed to fully recored a "true" life. I don't write memoir or autobiography so I am no expert, but I can't help thinking what a challenge both formats would be. Memoir allows for more artistic license, (focusing on portions of a life rather than a whole life, for example, or in arranging events for thematic purposes), but both genres are expected to speak truth.
Perhaps the windows autobiography and memoir afford us are enough to catch a glimpse of a true life. Perhaps journals, though they don't tell the whole story, remove the public filter enough for a reader to know the author intimately. Maybe fictionalized accounts like the Little House books can give readers as strong a sense of a life as non-fiction.
Thinking, thinking, thinking.
* Laura Ingalls Wilder herself used fictionalized accounts of her childhood to get at greater truths. She said about her book, BY THE SHORES OF SILVER LAKE "All I have told is true, but it's not the whole truth."
The post Writing A Life appeared first on Caroline Starr Rose.
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In the past couple of years, I've fallen in love with Mondays because no matter how wrong things may go in any given week, Monday will come around again and psychologically, it means a new opportunity to try again. It's like having a reset button, but you get to keep the benefits of the last go-round. Mostly. I didn't sleep well at all on Thursday and Friday nights and spent a lot of Saturday
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Our Story: American History Stories and Activities You Can Do Together (1801-1861) :: Smithsonian's History Explorer (this ties in nicely with May B.!)
Research Matters :: Avi
Five How-Two Tips for Writing Historical Fiction :: Live, Write, Thrive
Crafting Historical Fiction :: Caroline Starr Rose
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J. Anderson Coats is the author of historical fiction for young adults that routinely includes too much violence, name-calling and petty vandalism perpetrated by badly-behaved young people. Her first YA novel, THE WICKED AND THE JUST, was one of Kirkus's Best Teen Books of 2012, a 2013 YALSA Best for Young Adults (BFYA) winner, and a School Library Journal Best Books of 2012 selection. It also won the 2013 Scandiuzzi Children's Book award (the Washington State Book Award for teens).
How long do you typically research before beginning to draft? At what point do you feel comfortable beginning to draft? How does your research continue once you begin writing?
The answer is, maddeningly, it depends.
With W/J, I had an advantage when it came to research. I was the kind of unbalanced teenager that had research interests, so I was deep in the DA section of the library* by the time I was thirteen. So most of the background content I had going in. If I ever were to write about lumberjacks or samurai or galley slaves, I'd have to do a lot more research up front. But as long as I'm in the medieval or early-modern British Isles, I'm off to the races.
Basically I write along until I encounter a detail I either 1) don't know or 2) am not sure of. Then I make an educated guess and put the affected content in [brackets] and look it all up at the end (or when I'm stuck and need to justify taking a break, whichever comes first).
What sorts of decisions have you had to make about "muddy" historical figures or events in order for your book to work?
One of the most significant challenges for W/J was a scarcity of pre-rebellion primary source material concerning Edwardian planted towns, since a lot of the records kept by English authorities in Caernarvon were lost in the rebellion itself. The rebels were aiming for the tax records, but everything else went up too. (There's a lot of stuff on the castles and the minutiae their construction, but not on the towns themselves, although since W/J came out, this book was published.)
I had to approach the problem creatively, researching other towns founded by Edward I in other places, general medieval urban culture, and the North Wales planted towns in later ages when the records are better. When you're a writer of historical fiction, you're part garbage collector, part treasure hunter, part psychologist and part microfilm wrestler.
Why is historical fiction important?
I'm not sure how it's important in a cosmic sense, but here's why it's important to me.
There are budding teenage history geeks out there, and I want to be on the front lines of handing them books that let them know they're correct that history is in fact awesome. And that they're not alone in thinking so.
There are kids who don't think much of history because all they've ever had to judge it by is "social studies." I want to hand them real stories about real people who feel familiar, who have the capacity to be cruel and kind and stupid and thoughtful and loving and vindictive just like we all do.
There are kids who might like history if it was more real. Or maybe it's not so much that I want kids to like history, but to understand that it's not as foreign or irrelevant as they think. I can't unindoctrinate them, but I can hand them a story that doesn't pull any punches, that presents the past in all its corrupt, seamy glory, and let them decide for themselves.
How do you conduct your research?
I research iteratively, and I love to compile.
Mostly I use books and articles (it's rare I find a good online resource), and I record all my research notes on the back sides of sheets of recycle paper I scavenge out of the bin. I write the title of the research book I'm working with at the top and number the sheets as I need to. Each book gets its own set of note-pages.
I go through books chapter by chapter and jot down individual pieces of evidence followed by its page number. For articles, I underline and annotate in the margins. If there are images, maps, charts or graphs, they get scanned/copied and the bibliographic information logged at the top.
After I work on a topic for a while, I'm able to compile my evidence into charts and tables or timelines for quick reference. I'm a big fan of spreadsheets, and I'm especially fond of my spreadsheet o' swears. It cross-references rude, vulgar, and otherwise unsavory terms; when each one came into the language, its context, terms that are similar and/or related, and how it changed over time.
F'r instance, if I need someone to insult someone else's parentage, I just need to look up a term I know was used and I'll get all the rest, plus some idea whether it's appropriate for the era. My other spreadsheets work this way too, but this is the one I use the most.
What's one of the most interesting things you've learned while researching?
Medieval people were really pretty raunchy. A lot of people in the modern era have this impression that medieval people were straight-laced and humorless, either because their lives were hard or because religion played a central role in their world. This really isn't true. They had a deep and abiding love of poop and fart jokes, and they adored what we would call slapstick humor. If people were getting hurt, they thought it was hilarious. Medieval people were also fans of wordplay, especially the double-entendre. They could make dirty puns like you wouldn't believe.
* History. Particularly medieval history. Particularly medieval Welsh history.
The post Straight From the Source: J. Anderson Coats on Writing Historical Fiction appeared first on Caroline Starr Rose.
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RATINGS: 39 MEAN: 4.25/5.0 WEIGHTED AVG: 4.04 SEASONAL: Special ABV: -
Bottled 05/2013: "Imperial Stout aged in Port & Bourbon barrels Damon (1993-2004). The time spent with loved ones, no lost, seems to affect our mind and body perpetually: memories happen upon us, unsuspectingly, and bring about tears and fond remembrance. Damon was our brother - devout and patient in an age of busyness and distraction. In his honor, we crafted and conditioned this Imperial Stout in both Bourbon and Port Barrels for more than 2 years. We still reflect, daily, upon our Damon and his scruffy chin of grey - of his loyalty and his love. Share. Consider. Enjoy.
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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Tax software's maker not guilty; eateries are
In Winnipeg, two restaurants were fined more than $700,000 for evading taxes, but the company that sold them the software found itself celebrating a court victory in British Columbia.
The case with the two very different outcomes played out in two courtrooms thousands of kilometres apart in different jurisdictions.
They hinge on digital footprints and the trace they left.
This spring, the owners of the former Foody Goody on Ellice Avenue and the Buffet Square on Ness Avenue pleaded guilty to using the Zapper, a software program that deletes selected sales. It's used to underreport income for tax purposes.
The Canada Revenue Agency slapped the corporations that owned the two Chinese-food buffets with a total of $731,986 in back taxes and fines and issued a detailed statement about the prosecutions to act as a deterrent.
Owners of both restaurants pleaded guilty to tax evasion; Foody Goody for 2007-09 and Buffet Square for 2006-08.
Few media picked up the news item May 1. It named Joe Chung, Chee Cheung, Andy Tsz-Wei Chung, Kenneth Wa Chung Ng and Gibson Mei-Chi Lam, all of whom pleaded guilty as shareholders of Foody Goody. The shareholders for the numbered company that controlled Buffet Square weren't named. Both restaurants were shut down.
Manitoba's 2,000 restaurants are represented by hospitality group, the Manitoba Food and Restaurant Association. Executive director Scott Jocelyn said he gets a lot of calls from restaurant owners to clarify rules and laws and it's never good to hear about cases such as this.
"I can paint the picture for them; I wouldn't get excited about software like this to beat the system," Jocelyn said. "You're always worried about bringing attention this way to the industry." Two other Winnipeg restaurants share the name Buffet Square and one of them is owned by the same corporation as the restaurant on Ness but neither one was named in the Canada Revenue Agency case. They are still in operation.
Meanwhile, hundreds of kilometres to the west, a B.C. company that made the Zapper software was fighting a conviction for fraud.
The B.C. Court of Appeal concluded Wednesday the B.C. company that created software to underreport sales couldn't be convicted of fraud. It reversed a lower court conviction against the company.
The panel of three justices ruled there was no evidence the Zapper software, created by InfoSpec Systems Inc., was ever used by the two Winnipeg restaurants.
In Winnipeg, the B.C. court ruling didn't raise any eyebrows.
It turns out there's no digital footprint, in court documents, to tie the two cases together.
"It did not come out in court where the software was purchased from," said Canada Revenue Agency spokesman Kevin Lloyd. "As such I cannot confirm that the Vancouver ruling is related to the restaurants in this prosecution."
The B.C. company created and marketed point-of-sale software known as Profitek, that allowed restaurants to keep track of sales. It also made the Zapper software available to clients.
Zapper allowed clients to delete selected cash transactions from sales records and as a result, underreport their incomes.
According to court records, InfoSpec president Pius Chan sold Zapper to two Winnipeg restaurants, knowing the programs would be used to facilitate tax evasion.
There was, however, no evidence the restaurants installed the software they purchased from the Vancouver company. News reports from Vancouver don't identify the Winnipeg restaurants.
The Canada Revenue Agency didn't specify where the two Winnipeg restaurants got their software.
The Vancouver case covers an extended period between 2000 to 2008 but without the digital footprint, the Crown couldn't prove its case.
The court also ruled against the Crown's bid to have the company convicted for attempted fraud. Selling Zapper software was not illegal at the time.
The Canada Revenue Agency is closing that loophole. The 2013 budget proposed new sanctions for the possession, use, sale and the offer to sell, upgrade, update or maintain suppression software of this kind to both the Income Tax Act and the Excise Tax Act that cover GST/HST tax.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 19, 2013 B4
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