Among the presentations I routinely offer is, “Capturing Family Memoirs”. It is often a popular topic and especially applicable to my peer group. Many of us are reaching a stage where we are concerned about losing family stories we may have grown up with that haven’t been committed to paper. As our parents, aunts, and uncles pass away, if we don’t have those stories written, they disappear. I will make the point that capturing a memory first-hand doesn’t always mean it is an accurate portrayal; merely it is the memory of the individual writing/telling about it.

There are really only three significant points about writing memoirs and everything else is linked to those. Point One is people tend to bog down by trying to go in some kind of chronological order. Content is what matters. An early memory might branch into something related that happened later.  An event of special importance was likely to have happened at an older age. Capture the memory as it becomes clear, or as clear as you (or the individual you are listening to) can. Once the content is down, it becomes a matter of sequencing as part of editing. This can be critical  for older individuals who may be providing oral history. Allow him/her to simply talk so as not to interrupt the memory process. In general, questions can be asked later. Point Two is it doesn’t matter if the memories are captured in sentences, fragments, bullet points, etc. Smoothing those is also a function of editing. Point Three is perspective. Individuals will often recall the same event in different ways or something one recalls as incredibly important may have been forgotten by someone else. In some cases, there can be objective information provided to clarify a situation/event. For example, the whole ancestry industry provides access to dates, places, and names that might have been either forgotten or errors perpetuated over time.

There are other interesting aspects I discuss during the presentation, but the essence is for all we may have in common, in other cases, we do have stories of unique things/events or obstacles/successes dealt with that later generations may want to know about. Even if the plan is not to share it with others, writing for oneself can have value.

No, not the famous Supreme Court case. The reference is to my two different series of scuba-themed mysteries. I may have mentioned before I hadn’t intended to do a sequel to Shades of Murder, but one thing led to another. Nor did I intend for the character of Chris Green to be anything more than a great character I created for Shades of Truth. I can’t honestly recall when I started thinking about a spin-off series with her. I suppose it was because I had crafted the persona of Detective Bev Henderson in such a way that I wanted a character who was, shall we say – a bit “looser” in her views of life in general. Bev can be a bit judgmental and she won’t be traveling away from Verde Key.

When I wrote Deadly Doubloons, I wasn’t planning to do False Front and Georgina’s Grief back-to-back. It so happens the plot lines developed in my head and were more compatible with Chris than Bev. Then I certainly didn’t intend to get involved in the Small Town quilting series or the other non-fiction projects I did which ultimately caused Bev to languish for 11 years. In fact, I was startled when I looked one day and realized how long she’d been neglected. No, I don’t exactly think of them as real people; on the other hand, there is an element of that. I’ve been getting a fair amount of feedback about the murderer I developed for Shades of Deception, and yes, she is disturbing. It was an intriguing concept and I wasn’t sure how well it would work until I really got going with the story. The sequencing of events was rather tricky since four chapters in the first part of the book might not seem to be related until the reader approached a certain point. Not that those chapters were clues, per se, but instead wove a theme that came into focus later.

Ah, I thought I was managing all my to-dos for my return and realized I missed a breakfast meeting on Thursday. That’s what I get for not putting something on my calendar once I schedule it. I suppose when the function exists to sync my calendar with making an appointment I should actually try that. I know a number of people who do so and they can seem to master it. On the other hand, as I have mentioned, I use a very limited number of the functions on my smart phone.

Anyway, if I can manage to get through tomorrow, things will be a little better. We’ve been struggling for over a year now to get the whole-house standby generator project completed – a process that should have taken about 4 months. I admit having Hurricane Irma thrown in last year was not the fault of the individuals who were part of the process. The constant delays at virtually every step, however, and more irritatingly, not keeping us advised of why there were delays were the source of our frustration. Ironically, with recent improvements to the power grid and underground wiring, we might never actually need the generator. In consideration of the high cost, that would seem to be a questionable decision, but it does provide a distinct degree of peace of mind. It also means we can look for a new home for the portable generator which does take up a fair amount of space in the garage. One load of old electronics did get carted to the appropriate disposal spot so that gives another couple of feet.

I do owe a follow-up email or two from my travels and I will get those done soon, although tomorrow is especially hectic. In fact, most of what I am doing today is because I simply can’t fit it all in tomorrow, even though I’ll be up early as usual. Ah well, it’s not as if this is the first time I’ve been super busy and I suspect it won’t be the last.

One of the interesting aspects of writing is working through the use and type of subplots to include in a novel. In some cases an author has already developed them as part of the main plot and it’s a matter of how much detail to include and the sequencing of them. At other times they may literally emerge as the main plot is being crafted. When writing a series, it can be a subplot is created specifically to serve as either a main plot later or more often, it’s to continue to fully develop a character/characters. The relationship between characters is probably the most common subplot because the entire range of family, friends, romance, and even enemies is available. Geography, culture, history, activities come in to play as well. My scuba-themed novels of course enable me to describe the underwater realm we love and provide either adventure for the character to pursue and/or pose a danger. As I have mentioned in previous posts, the reason I’m adamant about being technically correct when I write about something like treasure hunting is because I want readers to feel a part of whatever experience I put the characters through even though it is fiction.

Metaphorically speaking, subplots serve as curves, hills, and scenery along the trip of the story. In some cases, a subplot can appeal to a reader almost as much as the main plot. Someone ask me the other day what new book I was working on and I had to confess I’m hung up a bit with trying to create an extra subplot to weave in. It may be one of those situations where I need to simply work on the main plot and subplots I’ve already decided on and see if anything else emerges/unfolds during the process. It’s not the infamous “writer’s block” that can cause angst – it’s more like deciding to tackle another part of a puzzle until you can sort out that mass of pieces in one spot.