What do flight simulators and suits of armor have in common? (Melissa Robbins)

As someone who writes stories from World War Two, I do loads of research. All writers do. We’re walking encyclopedias and that’s why we’re awesome at pub quizzes or maybe it’s because writers also love to read.

For my latest book, my hero’s last name is Ruggles. To get the name I combined rugged and Biggles. Rugged because my teen is a rough and tumble kind of kid. Bigglesworth aka Biggles is my favorite literary pilot who has many flying adventures. Later on in my story, I needed to know the history of flight simulators. Did they even exist in WW2? Oh yes they did since 1910, but I discovered that in 1912, a William Ruggles(!) invented the Ruggles Orientator, a flight simulator. Is that fate or what that I created a name that actually exists and belonged to an inventor of a flight simulator?

But just because I’m writing a story that takes place in WW2, doesn’t mean my research won’t go beyond the 1940’s. Two of my older gentlemen flew in WW1 so I have to know some bits about that timeframe, especially the planes. And just last week, I found myself looking at suits of armor to determine if a girl could hide an item inside one.

Even when you think you have researched all you need for your story, you haven't. Just this morning, before I realized I had to write my blog post, I was researching bodies of water in northern England for a place to hide a rowboat and hopefully avoid beach minds. 

My Top Five Writing Influences (Melissa Robbins)

5.  Men in Uniform – Stop giggling.  It’s not what you think.  Okay, maybe a little, but I get so inspired when I read stories of the brave men and women who fought during WW2.  My Wren story came about when I read about wireless WAAFs in Scotland.  This dashing fellow is Sid, an amazing Royal Canadian Air Force pilot, who was an ace and awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar.  His ‘wolves’ were some of the best pilots in the war.  He crashed into the sea in 1943 soon after achieving the rank of Wing Commander.  Sid wasn’t married that I found, but I wonder if he had a girlfriend.  Was he ever in love with a pretty nurse or WAAF?  It’s those ‘what ifs’ that writers love so much. 

  4.  Bookstores – When I was a kid, my parents, avid readers, always took me to this amazing used bookstore called The Book Alcove.  The shelves were so chaotic, it was like a maze.  I LOVED it!  If you Google “Book Alcove” and Maryland, you’ll find a youtube video of the store and you will see what I mean.  Just imagine what it would be like as a child in that store.  Walking through a bookstore inspires me.  It's a shame so many stores are closing.  I see all those books and wonder if my book will ever grace those shelves.  I immediately want to rush home and work on my story. 

3.  Books – Reading as always inspired me to write.  After reading Treasure Island, I became obsessed with pirates.  In junior high school, I started, but never finished, a time travel pirate YA.  A critique partner thinks I should go back to it.  Who can resist a handsome young blond pirate?  What is it with me and blond heroes?!  I also wanted to write a sequel to Treasure Island where Long John Silver returns and drags Jim, a 20 something guy, back to the island for more treasure and adventure.  Of course, I’m  Annie, the granddaughter/niece/daughter of Captain Flint is Jim’s love interest, not that he could handle the fine American lady who hides pistols under her petticoats when she isn’t sneaking around in breeches and carrying a sabre.

In high school, I started reading Agatha Christie and my love for mysteries was born.  I created a Scottish whodunit with ghosts and a family curse.  Didn’t finish that one either.  :0( 

2.  My grandfather – Comer aka Papa Steve was an awesome man and I adored having him as my grandfather.  The grandkids enjoyed his silliness and loved it when his mischievousness got him ‘in trouble’ with my grandmother.  I imagine my love and obsession with WW2 and the 30’s and 40’s is from listening to his stories.  Papa Steve didn’t have to fight in the war.  He was so good at his job in a furniture factory that the government wanted him to stay, but Comer enlisted in the Army infantry anyway.  He fought in Italy for over a year before getting injured by shrapnel in the neck and sent home.  It’s funny to me how much Papa Steve, a blue-eyed, naughty, motorcycle riding, southern blond with a preference for brunettes is like my character, Jack.  (Not that my grandmother would have EVER rode his motorcycle.)  My grandfather even sent my grandmother coded messages using bible references.  My Jack would be impressed.

1.  My critique partners – As previously mentioned above, I wrote stories since childhood, but I never told anyone I was writing.  It was a secret passion of mine I kept hidden from the rest of the world.  I don’t think my parents even knew.  I became a MUCH better writer when I started showing my work to fellow writers who encouraged and helped me perfect the craft.

Ain't Misbehavin' (Melissa Robbins)

Mistakes in writing.  Made them and some I didn’t know I did, but today, I am posting about the mistakes our characters make or letting our characters make.  I can’t remember where I found it, but someone wrote don’t ‘parent’ your YA characters.  As a parent, I need to allow my kids to fail so they learn from their mistakes.  In my crazy mind, my characters are like my kids, so the same theory applies to them, and like my kids, some misbehave more than others (more about that in a minute.)   Think back to many YA characters.  Where were the parents?  Would you let your kids get away with many of the ‘adventures’ those kids got into?   You wouldn’t have much of a story if your characters did what they were supposed to do.  My husband said he could never be a writer because he couldn’t imagine his characters to doing stupid stuff.   

            So what is a writer to do?  Let your characters fail, even if it breaks your heart to see them hurt.  We have all screamed at the TV, “Why did you do that!?”  Use those emotions you feel toward your characters’ feelings.   There’s that GMC (goals, motivation, and conflict) rearing its ugly head.  It is times like this that I prefer mystery writing over romance writing.  I want my characters to be in love, not fighting or apart because of some world war, but that stuff really happens/happened, so you have to do it. 

            Back to my characters misbehaving.  Reminds me of the B-17 ‘Ain’t Miss Behaven’ (there were several ‘Ain’t Miss Behavens’ by the way). It’s funny to me how characters can take on lives of their own.  Not parenting them can be rewarding.  They know better than us, sometimes, but then as parents, I mean writers, we have to interfere when things get really out of control and nudge them in the right direction.  I have one pilot (not my hero) that’s so naughty, he corrupted my heroine and I had to rewrite an entire chapter and one scene.  I know what you’re thinking.  That corruption could be good story telling, but no, they both carried on completely out of character.  Okay, maybe my pilot acted like he feels (he can’t help it, he’s wicked that way), but not my heroine. 

            That’s the joy of storytelling, unlike real life, even if our characters do major mistakes, they get giant do-overs.  In the end, it all works out for our characters.  At least, I hope it does.  Torture your characters, but for the sake of my heart, give me a happy ending. 

**side note – The B-17 ‘Ain’t Miss Behaven’ of the 452^nd bomber group was named by the pilot Oliver Wright, because of his newly marital status just before the crew went to England.**

Reading other genres, but not truly getting away from romance (Melissa Robbins)

As a member of WARA that writes more mystery than romance, I tend to read genres outside of romance. But as any great reader knows, romance is in almost any book.

Reading Young Adult books makes me feel young. I'm currently reading Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan. It's Book Two of the Kane Chronicles about a brother and sister who are saving the world using Egyptian magic. Along with his Percy Jackson and the Olympians (Greek Mythology) and Heroes of Olympus (Greek and Roman Mythology) books, Riordan has gotten a generation of kids reading again. Kids want to pick up his books and (shh don't them) might actually learn something in the process. I still get my romance fix with them. In Throne of Fire, poor Sadie likes two guys, Walt, a fellow magician who is dying from the same affliction King Tut died from and Anubis, yeah that Anubis, the God of Funerals or as Sadie calls him, the God of Toilet Paper (humor abounds in the books). For those of you who are familiar with Egyptian mythology may be scratching your heads. Anubis doesn't always have the head of a dog. He's a god. Anubis can be a handsome teenager in a black leather jacket if he wants to be, although Sadie says the kilt and kohl around the eyes, which would look weird on some guys, really works for him. ;0) Talk about your crazy love triangles. I'm dying to know how Riordan solves this girl's romance issues.

Also on my new Nook color shelf to be read is Headwind by KK Brees a mystery about Professor Katrin Nissen, a spy for the OSS in the early days of WWII. Haven't heard of Brees? This is her first published mystery book and a fellow Sisters in Crime Guppies writer (the 'Great Unpublished'). We Guppies are all about reading fellow Guppies' work. I'm all over it, because it features WW2. I have a shelf dedicated to WW2 books, fiction and non-fiction. Other great ones on my WW2 shelf are by Connie Willis, Blackout and All Clear. The story starts in Black Out and finishes All Clear. Waiting for that second book just about killed me. Willis normally writes science fiction and these two books do involve time travel as the characters travel back in time to WW2, but as a writer who is also writing a WW2 mystery, Willis' research is amazing. And guess what? There's romance in that one too. As Polly is stuck in WW2, Colin, who Polly didn't care for at first, tries desperately to find her and bring her back. Tears, people, tears.

Another favorite series of mine is the Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare. I know. I know. I've mused about this series before on this blog. Jace is the snarky hero the reader can't help but love. Since the YA fantasy book has demon hunters trying to save the world, I wouldn't call it a romance book with all the demons, vampires, werewolves, warlocks and fairies running around, but it definitely has romance in it. Love is a theme of the book, but not completely for the reasons you might think. If my writing buddy Fran wants to know how I wrote that one chapter (she knows which one), a particular airfield scene, or the scene involving a motorcycle from my work-in-process, it's because I read this series. Learn from the masters, people.

With the joy of being a writer, I also have the privilege of reading work-in-process stories by fellow writers. Although Fran's WIP is a Regency romance, it has mystery in it, so I get the best of both worlds and Cheryl's paranormal mystery has romance in it too, because as she says, a book without at least a little romance would be dry and no fun to read.