Reality and Fiction

Today’s guest is J.R. Lindermuth.  He lives and writes in a hoJ.R. Lindermuthuse built by a man who rode with Buffalo Bill Cody. A retired newspaper editor,  he is now librarian of his county historical society where he assists patrons with genealogy and research. He has published 19 novels and two non-fiction regional histories. He is a member of International Thriller Writers and a past vice president of the Short Mystery Fiction Society.

So, you can see, he is a perfect person to tackle the dichotomy of fiction and reality.

Facts are important if you’re going to write fiction.

Isn’t that a contradiction, you might ask. Not at all. Fiction is a simulation of reality. If you incorrectly present something in fiction a reader knows to be a fact you may be called out for your error or even lose that reader.

When you’re writing a story you can rely on imagination and create a world to suit your purpose. That’s called fantasy. J.R.R. Tolkien did it to the delight of his readers. So does George R. R. Martin. If the reader understands that’s your intention, it will be accepted without question. While Martin’s work is replete with dragons and magick, it’s also solidly grounded in ‘realism’ through his employment of psychology in depicting his characters and knowledge of medieval society.

This attention to facts is even more important if you’re writing about an actual time and place. You can twist things a bit to suit your purpose–that’s called fiction–so long as your reader is willing to accept your diversion from fact. For instance, if you’re writing a western your reader will accept having a character ride a horse or even a mule. Expect a frown if you seat this same character on a unicorn; that would be fantasy.

So, what can you do to help stick to reality when writing fiction? There are two tools that work well. One is called empathy. The other is research.

Empathy is vicariously experiencing the emotion, thought, or action of another person. This is a useful tool for a writer in many circumstances. However, it has its limits. Some characteristics are timeless. But if you live in the 21st century and you’re writing about the 19th century how can you be sure of depicting things accurately?

That’s where research comes in. No one has yet developed a time machine which would allow us to visit other periods and see what life was like then. We do have some good substitutes, though, which can provide an idea of what life was like in other periods.

Reading biographies, journals, histories and even fiction of the time can offer some insight. Even better choices for learning are newspapers and magazines of the period. Such journals reflect the character of the times in which they’re created; they show us what was important to people, their pastimes, their morals, their prejudices. They can give you everything you need to create believable characters of the time you’re writing about.

These valuable materials are available in collections at historical societies, in many libraries and even on line. Librarians are good at telling us where to find newspapers to suit our needs. Reading them is fun and sure to stimulate your imagination.

Such sources have been important to me in writing historical fiction. They were especially important in writing my latest, Twelve Days in the Territory, which is set in 1887 in Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma), an area I’ve never visited. I was especially pleased when my editor, a native of the state, praised my attention to detail and efforts to ‘get it right’ about the territory in those times.

Here’s a blurb for Twelve Days in the Territory:Twelve Days in the Territory

Will Burrows, a mild-mannered school teacher, is the only man in town who volunteers to join Sheriff Gillette in pursuit of outlaws who have taken Martha Raker, the sheriff’s niece, hostage and fled into Indian Territory in the fall of 1887.

Gillette doubts Will’s suitability for the task, but the young man who has been courting Martha insists he must go. Yet even Will has doubts about his qualifications and harbors a secret which raises his fears of what they’ll face in the Territory.

Martha, a strong-willed young woman, will show courage and tenacity in the will to survive, confident in the belief she will not be abandoned by the man she loves or by her uncle.

All three will face trials the like of which they’ve never known before and they soon discover Crawford McKinney, the outlaw holding Martha is the least of their troubles.

……..

If this sounds as interesting to you as it does to me, you can take a closer look at

https://amzn.to/2RluAJ1

I can recommend it.

 

Use Your Sense(s)

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Today’s guest blogger is John Lindermuth, author of sixteen novels, including eight in the Sticks Hetrick series.  John is a retired newspaper editor who now serves as librarian for the county historical society, assisting patrons with genealogy and research. He … Continue reading

Conflict Makes the World Go Around

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Today’s guest is J. R. Lindermuth, a retired newspaper editor and the author of 14 novels, including six in his Sticks Hetrick crime series. He currently serves as librarian of his county historical society, where he assists patrons with genealogy and … Continue reading

Fiction Needs Facts!

Today’s guest is a retired newspaper editor, J. R. Lindermuth.  He lives and writes in a house built by a man who rode with Buffalo Bill Cody. He has published 16 novels, including six in his Sticks Hetrick crime series, plus a non-fiction regional history. His short stories and articles have been published in a variety of magazines. He is a member of International Thriller Writers and is a past vice president of the Short Mystery Fiction Society. He currently serves as librarian of his county historical society, where he assists patrons with genealogy and research

If you write fiction, you have to pay attention to facts.

That may sound like a contradiction, but it isn’t meant to. Fiction offers a simulation of reality and if you wrongly portray something your reader knows as ‘fact’ you may be called out on it.

Suppose you’re writing a story set in Arizona in the 1870s (as I did with Geronimo Must Die). You can rely on imagination and create a world to suit your purpose. That’s called fantasy and, if your reader is informed that’s the intent, it’ll probably be accepted without question.

On the other hand, if you want your reader to believe the story is set in this place and time, it becomes important to express things as they actually were. You can twist things a little to suit your purpose (that’s called fiction), so long as your reader is willing to accept them. For instance, your reader will accept your character riding a horse or mule but may frown if you seat them on a dragon (that would be fantasy).

There are two methods. One is called empathy. The other is research.

Empathy is vicariously experiencing the emotion, thought or action of another person. This is a useful tool for a writer in many circumstances. However it has its limits. Some characteristics are timeless. But you live in the 21st century and attitudes today differ to a certain degree from those of the 19th century. How can you know what’s true today was also true then?

The answer is through research. You don’t have a time machine, but we do have a good substitute to give us some idea of what life was like in those days. Reading biographies, histories and fiction of the period provides some insight. These sources were important to me in accurately depicting the Apache and life on the San Carlos reservation. An even better choice for general historical fiction is newspapers of the period. Newspapers reflect the character of the times in which they’re created–they show us what was important to people, what they did with their time, their morals, their prejudices. Everything you need to create a believable character of the period.

These newspapers are available in collections at historical societies, in many libraries and even on line. Librarians are good at telling us where to find newspapers to suit our needs. Reading them is fun and sure to stimulate your imagination.

Here’s a blurb for Geronimo Must Die:

Geronimo and rascally half-breed Indian scout Mickey Free have never been friends.

Yet, Mickey has already saved Geronimo’s life twice (without acknowledgement) and is the only one who can keep the great Apache leader out of the sniper’s sights now. The sniper has already murdered several tribal leaders and Mickey believes it’s all a plot to prompt a great runaway from the hated San Carlos reservation.

Mickey’s efforts are stymied by Al Sieber, head of scouts, and John Clum, reservation agent, as well as suspicion of other Indians. Adding to his problems, Mickey is in love with a girl whose name he keeps forgetting to ask and who may be allied to the plot.

Only perseverance, risk to his life and, eventually, Geronimo’s help will enable Mickey to resolve this dangerous situation.

Lindermuth’s  latest novel, Geronimo Must Die, a classic Western, was released on March 28 by Sundown Press.

 https://www.amazon.com/Geronimo-Must-Die-J-Lindermuth-ebook/dp/B06XFZJG5H/ref=la_B002BLJIQ8_1_20?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1490444850&sr=1-20&refinements=p_82%3AB002BLJIQ8

 

 

Cowboys Saved Her Career

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Today’s guest is Shannon Taylor Vannatter, a stay-at-home mom and a pastor’s wife.  She also happens to be a traditionally published,  award-winning author with series books in more than one genre.  She says it took her nine years to get … Continue reading

Imagination, not invention

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Today’s guest is John Lindermuth, a retired newspaper editor, and the author of 14 novels, including six in his Sticks Hetrick crime series. He currently serves as librarian of his county historical society, where he assists patrons with genealogy and research. … Continue reading

An Amazing Writer – You Won’t be Disappointed

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This week, we have an extraordinary visitor, Dr. Judy Alter. She was director of a university press for many years, has written dozens of books, both fiction and non-fiction, and achieved high recognition with the Western Writers of America.  Because of … Continue reading

Jory Sherman – He Paints Pictures with Words

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Today, we continue the interview with Jory Sherman.  If you didn’t read the first part, you should.  It’s right below this post.  Start with it and then continue with this one.  It’s worth your time. Jim:  Okay. Last week, you … Continue reading

Jory Sherman – A National Treasure

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Today, we are especially honored to have Jory Sherman visiting The Author’s Blog.  Jory has been called a national treasure by Loren Estleman, a rather impressive author himself.   One of the amazing things is that Jory has achieved success in virtually every … Continue reading

Multi-Award Winner Dusty Richards

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We’re back visiting with Dusty Richards, an author with 120 books published and almost as many awards.  If you missed the first half of this interview, you can find it immediately below this part.  I recommend you scroll down and … Continue reading