One Writing Rule I Break (Kate O'Hara)

Kate asked me to write her blog as she is in the hospital and unable to do so. We talked about the topic and she gave me some insight into her writing style, which I would like to share.

Many writing books tell the writer to write their story, set it aside for a time – four weeks or longer, depending how long the writer’s normal life or another projects gets in their way. Then the writer should re-read their novel and start the rewriting process (looking for typos, redundant words, tightening the story – you know the drill). If you know Kate, even a little, you know she has her own formula, as most of us do.

Here is what she does. After reading her stories, I must say she does it very well. She edits every day what she previously wrote. There is a dual purpose to her method; one is to get her head around the story and remember where she left off, second is to get her mind on to the next scene or chapter of her story. When the final pages are written, she edits them the next day, and the story is ready for publication.

I personally find it interesting Kate writes her stories in first person. The stories are rich in everyday life. The main character and the dialogue gives each character in the story added dimension by creating a complex person. I have enjoyed reading all her stories.

Louise Z. Pelzl

Researching Memory (Kate O'Hara)

Since both of my current series take place in the second half of the 20th century, I can rely on memory a good bit of the time to set the scene. However, memory is tricky. What we did last week somehow creeps into remembrance of what we did decades ago if we aren’t careful. I find I do a lot of “Wikipedia’ research on specific technology or fashions. Here are a couple of examples that might have sneaked by editing if I hadn’t done the research.

In my first Greek Fire novel, Aphrodite on the Half Shell, the female character (me, since I write in first person) needed to make a phone call from her guy’s apartment. I initially wrote he finished his call in the next room and handed her the phone. In reading through later, it occurred to me I’d better find out exactly WHEN cordless phones became available. I was surprised to learn they were not patented until about 1970 and not in use much until 1990. They seem such an integral part of most homes today.

Since the story takes place in 1964, I made a trip down memory lane and visualized what sort of phones I had in my own home at that time. I remembered having a blue princess phone on my kitchen desk, so I gave the same equipment to him with the following comment: “He pointed to a powder blue princess phone on his bed table—just like the one on my desk at home. We even had similar taste in phones.” I did double check the year the princess phone was released and my memory was correct.

In the second of the Greek Fire novels, I wear a borrowed cocktail dress. I looked up the fashions of late 1965 and noted it was the beginning of the mini skirt fad. I used the information in the description of the dress: “A friend at work who was about the same dress size offered to loan me one. I was a lot taller, so the hemline was really short on me. I looked through a few fashion magazines during the week to figure out what I should wear and saw the big splash designer Mary Quant had created with the introduction of her “mini-skirt” styles. Pam’s dress wasn’t quite that short, but it certainly did show plenty of leg.”

In the third book, I comment on using my first in-home dishwasher. I double-checked its availability before 1966 as well as a Jacuzzi tub and a few other renovations featured in the Edwardian home. They all suited both my memory and Wikipedia. I also am careful when referencing music or entertainment of the era. I have changed a song or movie because it wasn’t released at the time of the story.

Of course, you have to keep references current as well or they’re lost on the reader. In my Seeker series, which takes place in the 1990s, I had a line I thought was descriptive, but found most people under 60 didn’t get it. It referenced Ed Wood, one of the early horror movie producers.  I looked up when Tim Burton released his first few strange movies and they fit into the right time frame. The line now reads: “It was like watching a strange collection of Tim Burton cutting room remains.” So, even if you “lived” the era and think you know what was popular, it’s worth a few seconds to do the research and make sure your technology, fashion and even movie references are timely.

Kate O’Hara - who was recently told I don’t write romance, but light erotica! I guess it’s in the mind’s eye of the reader ;-)

Where Do I Read? (Kate O'Hara)

Almost anywhere is a good spot for a good read. My first choice is my cozy bed. I can read until my eyes get tired and doze off dreaming about the characters in the story. I read anytime and anyplace I have to wait: doctor’s office, dentist, DMV, etc.  It makes the wait seem shorter and keeps my brain alert. Reading is something I do every day if I can.

While I do like a real hardbound book with real print when I’m reading in bed, I hate carrying one around when I leave home. I don’t like the small print in paperbacks either. I have adopted Kindle as my reading app and love it! I carry a Kindle Fire in my briefcase on trips out of town. I can adjust the brightness to fit nearly any surrounding and change the font size to suit my eyes. For jaunts about town, I read from the Kindle app on my phone. It’s so handy and has nearly all the features of my larger Kindle.

I do some proofing and beta-reads for other authors. I use to do these on the computer, but now send the files to my Kindle. It’s so easy to tap the screen and make a note to check later. That way I’m not stuck at the computer and can proof anywhere. My only complaint is Kindle doesn’t have a means to print the notes after I’ve finished. I have to either make the corrections on the .doc copy or send a list of changes in an email. I have talked to Amazon and suggested adding that feature to future apps, but they aren’t quick to change something which obviously works well for most users.

Wherever you read, enjoy yourself. Reading changes lives, opinions, outlooks and hearts. Be the change you want to see in the world.

Kate

The Recycled Tech Writer’s Toolbox. (Kate O'Hara)

I worked in a construction area for a time and was required to wear a hard hat. Mine was labeled “Recycled Tech Writer.”  I’m a techie – a true geek. I learned to compose on a manual typewriter keyboard with my first full-time writing job in 1964. I kept a notebook and pencil by my bedside to write down dream induced ideas, but any actual writing was done at the keyboard. That same year I wrote my first computer program in an obscure language you’d now call assembler. I bought my first home PC, a TRS-80 Color Computer (affectionately called a CoCo), in 1980. Since it didn’t have a writing “app,” I programmed my own word processor in basic so I could do my freelance tech writing jobs on it. I have owned and worked with so many different computers, peripherals, devices and software over the years I can’t even remember all of them, much less list them. So, what’s in my writer’s techie toolbox today? A 2007 desktop computer with Windows.

Doesn’t sound too cutting edge to you? Well, I have to admit I rebuilt it 2 years ago and it has a few performance enhancements, but it was a multimedia monster at conception. Sure, I have a lot of current software for special purposes, but my primary one for writing is Microsoft Word (in Office 12). I know there are spiffier writer apps and newer versions of Office, but at my advanced age, having a trustworthy old friend I know intimately is a comfort ;-) I have used Word as my primary writing tool for decades (and decades before that) since it first became available. Learning the quirks and capabilities of this versatile software over the years has made composition easier for me in many ways, so I stick with it despite trials of newer software that try to lure me away. I’ve tried various laptops, notebooks, tablets and countless software, but have slowly abandoned them as adding more trouble than value. So, I am now reduced to composing on one old desktop computer with an old version of the oldest graphical interface word processor software. Some geek, right?

I did grudgingly add a new piece of software last fall that I like a lot, Scrivener from Literature & Latte. I wasn’t won over to their word processor, but the organizing tools are terrific for someone like me. Being a techie, I admit to still being a plotter now that fiction is my passion. Scrivener can organize my writing projects by a variety of types: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Miscellaneous (like poetry) and even Scriptwriting with appropriate tools and layouts for each. The project is then built of parts, chapters, scenes, etc. These can be displayed several ways, but I like to use the corkboard so I can see all my notes and rearrange scenes or plot points by simply dragging and dropping them. The tools I love best and use most are the character and setting descriptions. This is a reasonably priced piece of software for writers who might like to organize ideas all in one place instead of using multiple notebooks, file cards and whiteboards.

To be fair, I have a Kindle tablet and use it for proofing and markup away from home. I also get a lot of help from online technology like Google for quick research without a trip to the library plus dictionary, style and thesaurus sites. I can send files around the world for collaboration and loosely translate them into nearly every language instantly. The computer age has made writing both faster and more immediate, but not necessarily easier. You still have to do the tedious chore of putting words on paper—or at least on a screen. The motto for techie writers is “Save early, save often.”

Where do my characters come from? (Kate O’Hara)

I’ve been writing for less than a year, so am a novice at the various elements of structure like character and plot development. I also have to admit to feeling a bit like a fraud in that my writing is memoir driven. A disclaimer preface in all my books states: The following story is like many movies today—based on “true” events. Literary license allows me to leave out some of the boring parts and enhance some others for your entertainment.

So, the obvious answer to the source of my characters is real life people. Luckily, I am of an age where most of the characters I have written about are long gone and can’t be either flattered or embarrassed by inclusion. Each of the characters is based on someone specific with name changed (of course). I don’t always make these characters as well-rounded as they were in real life, but emphasize certain traits to tell the story from the perspective I have chosen. A few of the characters are composites of several people who played a similar part in propelling the plot along. In all cases, the characters are people I thought were important enough in my own life to earn a spot in print.

Character names come from a variety of sources, of course. I like to give a nod to my current friends by using their first names for characters. This is always with permission, of course, and their approval to be associated with such a character. My tall, dark gun dog judge friend in Washington lent her name to the petite, blonde ballroom dancer in one story. Another writer with an unusual first name was pleased to become a rather flamboyant character in my “Seeker” series of short stories. I always send her clips of the stories where I use her name to make sure she likes them.

I’m past seventy and the “Greek Fire” series I write takes place in the 1960s. I found myself checking for obituaries of those people I wanted to include so I wouldn’t “out” them or some of their less glorious behaviors from that era. Recently I discovered that one minor character I had outlined for a little subplot was alive and still in the media. Even though I had not seen him in nearly 50 years, I took a few minutes to call and say hello. He barely remembered me, of course. I wasn’t even a blip on his radar at the time, but he did have an impact on my life back then. I opted to cut him and the whole subplot from the story rather than take a chance someone would recognize him in his wilder days. You’re welcome, Don. J