Fact Into Fiction: Novelizing SS-5

Well, I'm three-fourths of the way through my SS-5 novel! (If you're new and don't know what that is, check out this post: http://frontnotes.blogspot.com/2009/10/historical-note-teenage-spies.html) Today I'm going to post some of the original diary, and then an excerpt of the novel, showing how I'm turning the fact into fiction.

Here is the diary entry:

MAY 10, 1940

Mother awoke me this morning. One look at her serious face, and I knew that something was wrong. She kissed me and said, “Happy Birthday," but it was so unlike my mother, who is a very jolly person. This morning it was all very sad.

I could now hear distant thuds. "What is it?" I asked.

“The Germans have invaded Holland. I pray for Father, and for our poor country."

I washed and dressed very quickly, and went down into the street. Everybody had a different story to tell. Schiphol airport was on fire, but some soldiers--they were fifth columnists in Dutch uniforms, I learned later--said that we were doing well and beating back the Germans.

And here is the same scene as I've novelized it.

Jan woke again to the dim blue light before dawn. He lay, gazing at the just-visible ceiling, wondering where and why he was. Till he remembered, and lay for a minute longer, thinking of the day before.

It was when he turned over and pulled the covers tight that he sensed it; the sense of something wrong. He could almost smell it, feel it; heavy and prickling like a rough wool blanket.

But not warm.

Dad...

Fumbling back the covers, he scrambled out of bed, grabbed for his slippers, scared without knowing why.

Soft footsteps tapped outside the door. The knob turned, and his mother entered. He couldn't see her face in the shadows, but he smelled the faint scent of coffee as she came toward him, put her arms around him, kissed his cheek. “Happy birthday, Jan.”

She hadn't held him like that since he was eight years old. Then her touch had been all he needed to drive away the nightmare.

Now it only made him more afraid.

He pushed her gently away, noticing with a shock that he was taller than she. “Mum. What's wrong?”

“I'm sorry.” He heard the wobbly smile in her voice. “I don't think we can have your party.”

“Mum. What is it?”

Her whisper shivered through the air. “The Germans have invaded. Crossed the border and are coming into the country. Our army is fighting them...” He heard her swallow. “Come on, sweetheart. I—I made pancakes for your birthday...”

Only half-hearing her words, he yanked open his wardrobe, wriggled into trousers, pulled a shirt over his head. Shirttails untucked, he leaped barefoot down the stairs, shoved his feet into damp boots, and grabbed for a coat.

Outside, red fingers of dawn reached up over the city to the east, lighting the streets with an odd pink glow. Standing on the doorstep, Jan saw his neighbors coming out of their houses, clustering together, or just staring toward the east, as if the red dawn was the fires of invasion.

Slowly, dreamlike, Jan stepped into the street, letting himself get caught up in the surge of people. Snippets of conversation ebbed and flowed around him like paper shreds in a breeze.

“It can't be an invasion, there must be some mistake...”

“...we're neutral, Hitler knew that!”

“I said it all along, I did, never trust a Hun...”

Sharp voices cut through the clamor, and the thud of nail-shod boots on cobblestones echoed as a group of soldiers in uniform turned the corner.

“Attention! Please give us your attention!” The leader, tall and blond, lifted his arm. “There is no need to panic! Do not believe any rumors. Holland will never surrender! Hitler will soon see this and leave. You can help best by remaining in your homes and not panicking. Do not panic.”

“My dad,” Jan thought, then realized he'd said it aloud. “My dad's fighting, he's fighting at the front, can you tell me, is he all right?”

His words were swept away in the clamor as fifty people jabbered their own questions at the soldiers. Jan elbowed his way through the crowd, trying to get closer...Dad's got to be all right. Of course he is. He's Dad. It can't be so bad, anyway, not if there's soldiers still here...but the crush of people pressed him out, and after a moment he gave up, as the soldiers' grey and blue uniforms started to disappear around the corner of the street.

Everything seemed to become quiet, to fade into the distance, as Jan turned a slow circle in the middle of the street. Was everyone here, standing in the streets, waiting for news? The Verdeers, wealthy and superior, had the biggest house on the block—but no stork on the roof—and didn't mingle much, but they were out too, Mr. Verdeer in the middle of the street, wearing evening jacket with pajama bottoms. Mrs. Verdeer was coming back from following the soldiers, a silk shawl clutched around her shoulders, apprehension lining her face.

On the stoop opposite Jan's house friendly, witty Hans Lambert crouched with his camera, photographing the scene. For one moment he lifted his eye from the camera's shutter, and Jan saw fear on his face too.

“John!” From next door their newlywed neighbor stumbled out, her hair straggled out of curlers. “My John's in the army! Has anyone heard anything?”

Kindly Mrs. Smit pushed out of the crowd, putting an arm around the trembling young woman. “Hush now, it's all right. You heard the soldiers. John will be all right, dear. He'll be all right.”

All right...all right...all right...

Dizzily, Jan kept turning, his eyes searching automatically for the flag above the government buildings. He saw it every day on his way to school. How many times had he taken it for granted?

Then he saw it, flapping slowly in the early morning breeze.

Still flying.

“Well, of course it would be.” In the sudden relief he became disgusted with himself for panicking. “It isn't like they've exactly reached the palace yet!”

That couldn't happen, obviously.

Of course not!

..............................................................................

In that scene I was able to follow very closely what the diary said. The scene is expanded, but most of the details (information about the neighbors, the government building, some of the dialogue) I gleaned from other entries.

But not all the scenes are that simple. This project is proving to be an incredible challenge! There are so many places where Jan hints or mentions something in passing, and when I research it I realize it's a major event in the war. Filling in the gaps is one of the biggest problems, since sometimes the diary isn't clear as to what happened.

Creating a good piece of fiction, while remaining true to the events and characters, is like nothing I've ever done before. It's difficult and extremely scary. But I'm hanging on because this story needs to be told and it won't let me go!

Interview with K.M Weiland

Today I get to interview one of the most talented writers I know, K. M. Weiland! She runs writing blogs, manages a critique service with two other writers, and has published two novels, including her brand-new release, Behold the Dawn.

Thanks for coming! Could you tell a little about yourself?

Well, to paraphrase Anne Shirley, it would probably be a lot more interesting if I made it up! I live in western Nebraska, just shy of the Wyoming border, on an acreage with probably the densest tree population in the state—which really isn’t saying all that much. I work for a local church ministry and spend the rest of my day obsessing over imaginary worlds and characters and the finer points of plot and grammar. I have a black Lab named Crazy Bob and a fluctuating number of cats (three at the moment).

What is Behold The Dawn about?

Behold the Dawn is set in the Middle Ages, in the midst of the Third Crusade—probably the most well-known of all the Crusades (think Robin Hood and King Richard). It’s the story of Marcus Annan, a rogue knight who’s trying to escape his past in the gore and glory of the tourneys—the hugely popular and hugely lethal gladiatorial battles that preceded the more familiar jousting tournaments. On the field of a tourney in Italy, he’s accosted by a mysterious monk called the Baptist, who knows things of Annan’s past that only a few could possibly know. This meeting drives Annan to the war in the Holy Land, where he is captured by Saracens and promises an old friend to see his widow to safety in a French convent. But between the unexpected relationship that blossoms between Annan and the English countess and the enemies who dog them at every turn, he’s forced at last to stop running and turn to face his past—and the God he thought had abandoned him years ago.

Who's your favorite character? Why?

It should be hard to pick, since I really love all of these characters. But Annan definitely has a special place in my heart. He’s my favorite of all the characters I’ve ever written. I love his bluff, gruff, sometimes brutal exterior, juxtaposed against the depth of his compassion and his inherent integrity.

Do you have a favorite scene?

There’s hardly a scene I don’t like—which is unusual! But I do have two scenes in particular that still give me chills when I read them. But I can’t tell you what either of them are without giving away plot twists!

Did you put any real people in Behold The Dawn?

King Richard the Lion-Heart makes an appearance in one scene, as well as Blondin, his favorite minstrel, although Blondin remains unnamed. Annan himself was inspired by William Marshal, “the greatest knight who ever lived,” who was a famous tourneyer and, eventually, an English statesman.

What inspired you to write this story?

I happened to pick up a children’s storybook about William Marshall. The melees—the huge mock battles of the tourneys—and the Crusades immediately grabbed my attention. I’ve always loved the Middle Ages, so it was hardly a stretch for me to decide to write a story based in the period.

Have you always been interested in the Crusades?

Yes, although my association with them, up until I started researching Behold the Dawn, was almost entirely based upon the Robin Hood legends, which, of course, refer to the Crusades only in passing. But the Crusades’ presence as the most significant battles of the early Middle Ages have always held an interest for me. Once I started researching them, the Third Crusade in particular, I couldn’t get enough!

Both of your books are historical. Is that your favorite genre?

I’m really not a fan of the distinction “genre.” Necessary as it may be for commercial purposes, I dislike having to pigeonhole either my reading or writing choices. I read very eclectically, in all genres. But I do have a predisposition to books that fall into the historical, speculative, and literary genres. And almost all of my own stories are either historical, speculative, or a combination of the two. So, the short answer is, yes.

You must have researched extensively for Behold The Dawn. Did you complete research before you began writing, or did the research and writing processes merge?

I outline my stories first, so that I have a good idea of what questions I’ll need to be asking during research. Then I set aside several months specifically for pouring over the mountain of books I’ve gathered on the subject.

What was the best moment while writing this book? What was the worst?

There were a lot of good moments, but the one that definitely sticks in my mind is the huge energy high I got after acing a tough scene. I went around smiling and dancing for two days! As for the worst… the beginning of the book was difficult, both because beginnings are always difficult for me and because I was dealing with some things in my own life that had me questioning whether I was even supposed to be writing.

How long did it take to write the book, from conception to the final draft?

I don’t remember when I initially got the idea for the story, but from the time I began sketching my preliminary ideas in a notebook to the final proof was just over five years.

Did you use any new writing techniques?

Actually, I did. I solidified many of my writing methods during this story. I started outlining intensively before writing the actual story. I set up a filing system for my research, so that I could easily find pertinent facts. And I started what I call the “fifty-page edit,” which has me editing the entire manuscript every fifty pages—something which helps keep me grounded in the big picture of the story.

Was it difficult writing about settings and events that you couldn't experience first-hand?

Not really. Isn’t that more or less the whole point of fiction writing and reading? I have no interest in writing what I already know about. I want to experience new places and people through my writing—not just rehash my own life. However, I’m also a firm advocate of writing what you know. That’s why research is so important, particularly for historical novelists.

Do you think you'll ever return to the setting and characters for a sequel?

I doubt it. It breaks my heart not to be able to return to these wonderful characters. But their story is finished. I’ve never been fond of sequels or series. I like stories to be self-contained. The arc of a story is best delivered in one installment.

What new projects are you working on?

I have several projects in the works. I have a completed fantasy, Dreamers Come (about a man who discovers that his dreams are really memories of another world) waiting for another round of edits. I also just started outlining my next project, a historical novel called The Deepest Breath about the passion, betrayal, and vengeance that dog two men and the woman they both love through the trenches of World War I, corruption in colonial Kenya, and the criminal underbelly of London. And I’m also working on a fun co-writing project that asks, “What if Robin Hood met Sleeping Beauty?”

What's your best advice for aspiring authors?

Don’t worry too much about “the rules.” It’s easy to get caught up in the dos and do nots, but as helpful as many of these “rules” are, ultimately you have to remember that they’re only guidelines. They’re certainly very helpful guidelines—guidelines that will probably help you invaluably if you hope to be published. But they’re not hammered-in-solid-granite laws. Writing is an art. And art, by its very definition, is a form of expression that must ultimately be free of something as confining as rules.


Thanks so much for coming!

***********************************
Behold The Dawn

The sins of a bishop.
The vengeance of a monk.
The secrets of a knight.

About the Author: K.M. Weiland (http://www.kmweiland.com/) writes historical and speculative fiction from her home in the sandhills of western Nebraska. She is the author of A Man Called Outlaw (http://www.amazon.com/Man-Called-Outlaw-K-Weiland/dp/0978924606/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253051593&sr=8-1) and the recently released Behold the Dawn (http://www.amazon.com/Behold-Dawn-K-M-Weiland/dp/0978924614/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254172766&sr=8-2). She blogs at Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors (http://wordplay-kmweiland.blogspot.com) and AuthorCulture (http://authorculture.blogspot.com).

Pages From Jan's Diary

After all the interest shown in the SS-5 story, I've decided to post excerpts from the actual diary for you all to read! As my writing journey continues, I may also post excerpts from the novel, showing how I'm taking the diary and converting it to fiction... but for the present we'll stick with fact! Here are the first four entries in Jan Jonkheer's diary.

(if you like this idea and want to read more of the diary, let me know and I'll post more!)


MAY 9, 1940

This is the first diary I have ever had, and I am itching to write in it. It also has a lock and key.
Tomorrow is my birthday, and it is a present from my parents. It was given to me yesterday, because my father, who is a doctor, was called up to join the army. But I am sure that this mobilization is another false alarm, because Hitler has promised faithfully not to invade Holland. So we expect Father to get leave to spend my birthday as we planned it.

I will be fourteen tomorrow, and my four best school friends, Piet and Charlotte, the "carrot twins," because of their fiery hair, and Hendrik and Jos are joining Father, Mother, and me.

We live in a suburb of Amsterdam. We will begin my birthday celebration with a tour of the city by boat, gliding through the famous grachten [canals]. (This is really to please Charlotte.)

Then we will go to the Rijksmuseum, which is our National Gallery. It makes me proud to be Dutch, when I look at the paintings by Frans Hals, San Steen, Vermeer, and especially Rembrandt. I am going to buy a copy of his best-known work The Night Watch. Then we will have lunch at Zandvoort aan Zee. I like this seaside resort.

In the evening we are going to Haarlem, because there is to be an organ recital in Saint Bavo Church. We are all fond of music, and I love this organ, which is one of the most famous in the world. It has three keyboards, sixty-eight registers, and five thousand pipes. It was built in 1738, and my father tells me that Mozart and Handel played on it. It must have been wonderful to hear the play­ing of such famous musicians, and I get a tremendous feeling of peace and happiness whenever I hear it.

The weatherman says it is going to be fine tomorrow. Hurray!

*********************************************


MAY 10

Mother awoke me this morning. One look at her serious face, and I knew that something was wrong. She kissed me and said, “Happy Birthday," but it was so unlike my mother, who is a very jolly person. This morning it was all very sad.

I could now hear distant thuds. "What is it?" I asked.

“The Germans have invaded Holland. I pray for Father, and for our poor country."

I washed and dressed very quickly, and went down into the street. Everybody had a different story to tell. Schiphol airport was on fire, but some soldiers - they were fifth columnists in Dutch uniforms, I learned later - said that we were doing well and beating back the Germans.

*********************************************


MAY 11 , 12, 13

These have been chaotic days. The Queen has moved from her house Hrris ten Bosch into the palace in the center of The Hague. No news about Father. We are worried.

*********************************************


MAY 14

We leave been told that the Queen has decided to leave the country. A British destroyer took her to England yesterday, where she has been joined by her Cabinet.

For a moment it looked like desertion, but, as my mother explained to me, the struggle against Hitler will be carried on from there, and from here, I hope.

Still no news about Father.

Fictional Families

A few years ago I discovered my characters are all orphans. That discovery led to some uneasy speculations about Freudian significance...until a writing mentor noticed the same thing and gave me an explanation. Apparently, most fictitious characters are orphans. Speculation on why ranges from engaging the reader's sympathies to necessary freedoms. But one of the biggest reason is: it's hard to make a realistic fictional family.

Someone once said "A family is the most complex civilization" and I believe that. In my new novel SS-5, for the first time I have two main characters with families. It's weird how difficult it is to realistically replicate the workings of a large family, particularly if the familes aren't central to the plot. Because in fiction, just like in real life, families take over. They dominate. I'm getting so interested in my family I'm losing track of the story!

I suddenly understand the attraction of the orphanage.

Seriously, though, some things I've found helpful in family-building are 1) twisting cliches till they're fresh ideas - sibling rivalry is fascinating if you freshen it up, 2) give each family member a history and story of their own - my MC's father is a WWI vet, her sister's boyfriend is a POW, her mother smuggles Jewish children from the Nazis, 3) use enough tension to make the family realistic.

And then I just have to keep all that lovely information in the background, a vivid setting without strangling the rest of the story. Lovely. Such a simple task.

Orphans are definitely easier.

Historical Note: Teenage Spies!

When the Nazis invaded Holland in 1940, they announced that the Dutch had meekly accepted their fate, and life went on quietly. But under the surface, civilians rose up to fight for freedom with everything they had. Very few had any military or espionage training, but they became one of the most effective Resistances during the Second World War. Corrie Ten Boom may be the best known of these resistance fighters, but stories like hers are found everywhere; they only need to be told.

I stumbled across such a story a year ago, when I picked up an obscure book about WWII which included a diary kept by a teenage boy who fought in the Resistance. Together with four of his schoolfriends, he founded a secret group called SS5 to fight back against the Germans. With no adult support whatsoever, the five young people (Jan, Piet, Charlotte, Hendrik, and Jos) struck back at the German overlords.

At first it was small things, clever ways for civilians to show support for the exiled Dutch government; switching street signs so German convoys ended up in canals; carrying messages from forbidden radios.

Then a local farmer, who also happened to be a major part of the Resistance, recruited them. Overnight, they started smuggling food, exploding German warehouses, and convoying Jews and others at risk to safety. Charlotte went to work at the Nazi headquarters, spying for the entire Resistance. They weren't allowed to tell their parents, and they were responsible for the lives of thousands of people. Every day they expected betrayal; they could trust no one.

The journal is painful reading, as you sense the pain of these five young people, who end up losing friends and family. They are constantly placed in horrible moral quandries, as they have to choose between equally ghastly possibilites. Yet, it's incredibly powerful as the children mature and gradually understand what's really important in life.

My current WIP is the novelization of Jan' diary. I'm honored and a more than a little afraid to tell this story. It's by far the most difficult I've ever done: not only because it's true, but because the emotions and conflicts are overwhelming. But as usual, the lure of a challenge is proving too strong! I only hope the novel holds the qualities of the diary itself!

NaNo Survival Tips!

Only two weeks until NaNo! I'm scrambling to get all the last-minute details ready. As usual, there's a tinge of panic (am I SURE I want to do this? do I really want to increase my chances of heart failure?) but on the whole, I'm amazed at how much better prepared I am this year than last. Chalk it up to learning the hard way.

Anyway, I've had some people ask for suggestions on how to do NaNo. Upon perusing my writing journal and scribbled notes from last November, I've put together a sort of Survival Guide for anyone doing NaNo! Here are a few ways to smooth your passage through the stormy November seas.

Have an OUTLINE. Truly. Even if you never use one. It can be as rough as character sketches and a general plotline; or as detailed as a 60-page scene-by-scene outline with full character development. Whichever works for you is best.

Plan Your Goal. Figure out what you want to do this NaNo. If you're simply shooting for 50,000, that's easy, but if you plan to write more than that, your daily word count will need to go up.

Know Your Word Count. Based on your goal for November, figure out exactly how many words you need to write each day to make it. Then, check your calendar. If you think you'll be able to write every day, then simply divide your word count goal by 30, and plan to write that number of words per day. But if you think there'll be a day you can't write (Thanksgiving will throw the best of us) subtract that day and figure accordingly.


This plan of action should get you nicely set up. What I always do, once I've got my goal and daily word count worked up, is to make a table of how many words I need to write each day, and then, as November progresses, how many I managed to write.

Here's an example from last year:


Nov. 1: Words Written: 2,383 Extra Words: 716

Nov. 2: Words Written: 3,205 Extra Words: 1,538

Nov. 3: Words Written: 2,085 Extra Words: 418

Nov. 4: Words Written: 3,669 Extra Words: 2,002

Nov. 5: Words Written: 1,984 Extra Words: 317

Nov. 6: Words Written: 4,025 Extra Words: 2,358

Nov. 7: Words Written: 2,103 Extra Words: 436

Total Words For First Week: 19,478 Total Extra Words: 7,809


This was based on my 50,000 word goal. I continued to keep this table throughout November, and it was incredibly helpful, both as motivation (beat last week's word count!) and as a way to tell me how on track I was.

Finally, make sure writing becomes your absolute first priority during November. Write before eating, before sleeping, before reading or watching TV, before doing anything that is not absolutely necessary to maintain life. (You will note I don't consider eating or sleeping necessary.) That way, you'll be sure to make your word count. There were a couple of disastrous days last year where I put off writing, thinking I'd have plenty of time later...and then ended up not having any time at all!
_________________________

Disclaimer: I'm definitely not an expert on NaNo--the views above are simply what helped me last year and what I'm following this year. If you want to read a book by a true NaNo expert (and laugh yourself to death along the way) read Lazette Gilford's book NaNo For The New And The Insane, a free download on the NaNo site.

Stop, Smell, Listen: Sensory Description!

Well, my recent editing binge has got me focused on learning the craft. I'm studying pacing, plot flow, and something which I believe draws the line between ordinary writing and extraordinary writer: sensory description. The absolute best writers know how to envelope a reader in a full sensory experience, simply through words. That's pretty amazing.

It's also quite tricky. But I believe there's some easy ways to improve sensory description in our writing! One quick way I've discovered works like this: go through your work and find all the places where you describe things only with visuals. Then see if you can take the same description and portray it using the other senses. For instance, take the example of fresh-baked bread.

Visual: The golden loaves contrasted vividly with the fresh parsley and mint leaves in the basket.

Sensory (touch): The warmth of the fresh bread seeped through the cool wicker gaps of the basket.

Sensory (smell): Warm yeasty-gold fragrance of the bread mingled with the sharp spice of the mint and parsley.

You then have three options for description for the exact same scene. Taste and hearing didn't come into that particular example, but it would be possible to incorporate them by describing the rustle of the herbs against the crusty loaves, or the flavors on the tongue. I find that smell and taste often go together, and can be used interchangeably. Saying someone "tasted" instead of "smelled" often puts a surprising, appealing twist to things.

Using this technique, I've been going through my writing and incorporating all of the senses into description. The loveliness of this "find and replace" method is that it doesn't add word count, yet it vastly improves your WIP!

Now, time to take a walk in the rain and experience it with all my senses...