Guest post - Mastering Historical Research with Carla Stewart, author of "The Hatmaker's Heart"

I'm so thrilled to welcome to the Alley today a talented writer who is also one of the dearest souls you could ever meet. If you haven't had the privilege of reading the novels of Carla Stewart, you're missing out on one of the most masterful and powerful voices in Christian fiction. This woman can write! Over to you, Carla!

Karen, thanks so much for inviting me to The Writer’s Alley. What a fun and interesting year this has been! To be truthful, it’s also been the most challenging year of my writing career. When I was growing up and put more food on my plate than I could eat, my daddy would say, “Your eyes are bigger than your stomach.” At times that’s how I felt when I was writing The Hatmaker’s Heart (and the next book A Flying Affair immediately afterward). I wasn’t sure I could finish all the things on my plate that I’d agreed to.

It all started because I wanted to write in a more historical vein than my nostalgic novels from the 1950s and 60s had been. My agent and editor both encouraged me to do so, and I chose an era that’s always intrigued me: the Roaring Twenties. I have a new respect for authors of historical novels—wow! The research alone was daunting, but I learned so much, and I’d like to share a few of my research tips with you and your readers.

1)    Lay down the fear of tackling hard subjects. Remember how geometry once instilled breath-stealing fear from you? And then you learned the first theorem and the next, and they were building blocks. That’s how research is. Take it in small chunks, expanding your knowledge base. For me, it was spending my leisure hours reading a book on hat making. I didn’t think about my novel; I just became knowledgeable of the terminology, material, and techniques involved. Those hours paid off when I began to write the story.

2)    Develop a system for organizing your material. Do it in a way that makes sense and works for you – Scrivener, Evernote, doc files, bookmarks. The main thing is that you want to “save” virtually all your research links somewhere. You may need them for a date, a minor detail, or to answer your editor’s queries. You will save a lot of time if you have a system to fall back on. I do recommend that you keep a physical folder (s), too, for anything you’ve printed out, notes you’ve scribbled on napkins, calendars (great for showing holidays and moon phases), time lines, pictures of your characters, sticky notes, etc.

3)    Visit your setting in person or virtually. I love research trips and would have loved to have returned to England and New York City while I was writing The Hatmaker’s Heart. Sadly, that wasn’t possible, so I relied on books, maps, photo searches, and watching period films. When watching films, take notes on clothing, hairstyles, turns of phrases, slang/special terminology of the era. YouTube is a gold mine as well. Some things I’ve watched on YouTube when researching: an iron lung in operation, a tour of a working oil rig, a black and white clip of the 1923 Royal wedding that takes place in The Hatmaker’s Heart - Yes! It really does exist.

4)    Be aware of rabbit trails. It’s so easy to get caught up in research that you spend too much time on a particular aspect. While it can add texture and authenticity to your writing, the novel will never get written if you veer too far off course. And yet sometimes, following the trail can lead to important discoveries so learn to strike a balance.

5)    Pinterest is your friend. For the last three books, I’ve used Pinterest to capture images of household items, clothing, settings, and anything that might tie in to the story. While brainstorming, you may want to have a secret board that has loads of images that you will pare down later for your public board. The beauty of Pinterest is that almost all pins link back to websites where you can get valuable description. Here’s my Pinterest board for my new novel: http://www.pinterest.com/chasinglilacs/the-hatmakers-heart-a-novel/  

This isn’t an exhaustive list by any means. What I’ve found is that I love the research part of writing, and while it can be exhausting at times, the end result of a carefully researched novel is worth it. Blessings to all of you in your writing!

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Carla Stewart is the award-winning author of five novels. With a passion for times gone by, it is her desire to take readers back to that warm, familiar place in their hearts called “home.” 

She launched her writing career in 2002 when she earned the coveted honor of attending the Guidepost’s Writers Workshop in Rye, New York. Since then she’s had numerous magazine and anthology articles published. Carla was the 2011 trophy winner of the Oklahoma Writers Federation Inc. “Best Book of Fiction”, an Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award (Faith, Hope, and Love) finalist in 2011 and winner in 2012, a two-time Genesis winner, and an Oklahoma Book Award finalist four times. She and her husband live in Tulsa and have four adult sons and six grandchildren (with one on the way!). Learn more about Carla at www.carlastewart.com 

Back cover blurb:

For Nell Marchwold, bliss is seeing the transformation when someone gets a glimpse in the mirror while wearing one of her creations and feels beautiful. Nell has always strived to create hats that bring out a woman's best qualities. She knows she's fortunate to have landed a job as an apprentice designer at the prominent Oscar Fields Millinery in New York City. Yet when Nell's fresh designs begin to catch on, her boss holds her back from the limelight, claiming the stutter she's had since childhood reflects poorly on her and his salon.

But it seems Nell's gift won't be hidden by Oscar's efforts. Soon an up-and-coming fashion designer is seeking her out as a partner of his 1922 collection. The publicity leads to an opportunity for Nell to make hats in London for a royal wedding. There, she sees her childhood friend, Quentin, and an unexpected spark kindles between them. But thanks to her success, Oscar is determined to keep her. As her heart tugs in two directions, Nell must decide what she is willing to sacrifice for her dream, and what her dream truly is.

You can purchase "The Hatmaker's Heart" HERE!

Thanks so much for being with us today, Carla!

Carla Stewart on Finishing the Book, Sneak Peak and a GIVEAWAY!!

BEST WRITING TIP:

Finish writing the book. It sounds simple, but it’s not. There are so many things that can trip you up. And only by writing can you put to use all the craft things you’ve learned and find your writing voice.

The other thing that sort of goes along with that is that you shouldn’t be afraid of being unique. Yes, there are many conformities that you must adhere to, but having a unique story to tell and a voice that captivates will get you noticed and on your way to success.

SWEET DREAMS BOOK BLURB:

Dusty Fairchild and Paisley Finch are close-knit cousins but opposite in every way. Blonde and top in her class, Dusty has lived a sheltered life, raised on a Texas ranch by her widowed, oilman father. She’s never lacked for material possessions but yearns for a life of adventure and studying geology in college. Instead, her daddy sends her to finishing school in East Texas.

Paisley, has grown up traveling the country with her bohemian mother, and is wise to the ways of the world. Dark haired and clever, she’s grateful to her uncle for letting her join Paisley at Miss Fontaine’s. She’s weary of the “grasshopper” lifestyle of her mother and ready to live a settled life.

At Miss Fontaine's, their loyalty to each other binds them, but when they fall in love with the same handsome young man, their relationship teeters on shaky ground. Only after a tragic accident do they learn where their true hearts-and dreams-lie.

SWEET DREAMS EXCERPT:

Prologue

Two Forks, Texas ~ 1947

She found the stones the day they buried her mama. Three of them catching the sunlight, twinkling beyond the grave site. Her daddy clamped her small hand in his beefy, calloused one while she busied herself with sniffing the air, the smell of fresh earth tickling and sweet, mixed with the heavy perfume of roses. She itched to break free, to muster her way through the skirts that swished this way and that, to run past the stiff black britches of the men who stood like wooden soldiers at the ends of the box they said held her mama.

She craned her neck, keeping watch on the shiny stones. They winked back from their nesting place along the fence row. 

When her daddy’s hand went slack, she dashed for it and dropped to her knees on the grass, the scent of sage sharp from the field next to the graveyard. With plump fingers, she reached shyly and touched the stones. They were warm like the summer sun, one of them full of sparkle with rough edges that bit into her fingers, another smooth, the size and shape of a pecan, black on the top and bottom with a ribbon of white through the middle. And the last one, dull brown and rough to her fingertips but flecked with a million black dots. When curled in her palm, it had a perfect indentation to rest her thumb.

“Whatcha got?”

She jerked her head around, then smiled. Her cousin, Paisley, stood with her hands planted firmly on her narrow waist, the taffeta of her dress noisy.  

“Nothing.” The spiny stone, the prettiest one, bit into the palm of her balled fist.

“Yes, you do. Show me.”

One by one, she uncurled her fingers. “Here, you can have it.”

“Really? Oh, look, it’s covered with diamonds.”

They plopped their bottoms on the grass and had just gotten settled when a shadow crept over them. Aunt Edith reached down and snatched Paisley up by the arm. “Come on. You’re getting your dress dirty. It’s time to go. Tell Dusty goodbye now.”

When Paisley offered the stone in her open hand, Dusty shook her head. “You can have it and bring it tomorrow when we play.”

Aunt Edith had already started toward the iron gate, pulling Paisley with her. Just one quick wave, and they were gone.

Paisley didn’t come over the next day. Or the day after. Dusty’s daddy said it was good riddance, and the way he spit the words out, she knew Paisley was gone for good. She squeezed her eyes to shut out the tears. Daddy didn’t like crying. No tears for her mama. None for her cousin. All she had left was two stones—one with a skunk stripe, the other dull brown. She carried them everywhere in her pocket, the lumps as familiar as the dimple in her chin and the blue of her eyes when she stood on the bathroom sink and looked in the mirror.

She knew as sure as her name was Dusty Agnes Fairchild that the earth that swallowed her mama had given the stones in exchange. There was no other explanation. Later, when she told her daddy about them, he said she was mistaken about when she got them, that no three-year-old child could remember such a thing. He said there were a dozen places on the ranch she could’ve picked them up, and that her imagination would get her in a heap of trouble.

She left him to his opinions and didn’t mention that she also knew someday Paisley would return. She didn’t know how or when, but the feeling never left her, like a tiny suitcase packed by the door, waiting for the day when the door would burst open and life would return to normal.

Thanks so much for having me at WRITER’S ALLEY! May this be the summer you pursue your dreams with fervor!  

Links:

E-mail address:  carla@carlastewart.com

Website:  www.carlastewart.com

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/carlastewartauthor

Twitter handle: www.twitter.com/ChasingLilacs

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/chasinglilacs/   

Thanks so much, Carla. Let us know what has been your biggest barrier to finishing the book or leave a comment or question for Carla along with your email address:

writersanonymous (at) writersalleys (dot) com

and we'll enter you for a $5 amazon gift card.