The picture on the left looks back to shore from a mid-point on Derby Wharf. On the left side with a cupola, you can just see the red brick Customs House. Next to it, on the right, is Hawke’s House and the next house is Derby House, also built of red brick. Note the Derby House front garden is minimal as was true of most 18th century town houses. These domestic structures at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site introduced me to material topography directly related to the characters in my current project and answered many of my questions about how people lived in 18^th century Salem.

Derby House & Garden

In addition to being an outstanding example of Georgian architecture, Derby House at 168 Derby Street is the oldest surviving brick structure in Salem. Captain Richard Derby built the house as a wedding gift for his son Elias Hasket and his bride Elizabeth Crowninshield. The impressive house doubled as advertising for the family’s prosperity. If someone thought of placing an investment or shipping goods, the Derbys were the best choice for business.

The family lived in the house until about 1778 when they rented another house elsewhere in Salem, and rented out the brick house.

Behind the house, as was customary, the family maintained a formal garden. In 1990 the original garden was a memory, so the Maritime Park hired historic garden expert Suzanne Gentiliuomo to restore Derby Garden to its original glory. I visited the garden while it still slept in winter repose, but in the summer, the garden boasts over 150 varieties of heirloom annuals, perennials and bulbs that document to 1798 or earlier.  Even without floral  blooms, the garden delighted me with the opportunity to better understand how people constructed their city gardens.

Hawkes House

 Timing regarding the various Derby residences is a bit murky. Clearly, by 1778 the brick house no longer suited the family. Now one of the wealthiest men in Salem, Hasket Derby decided to build a new house on land he owned next door his first house. The address now is 4 Custom House Court. The couple hired Samuel McIntire, son of the man who built their first home, to build a 5,000 square foot, 3-story house in the new Federalist style. Numerous windows provided light and air. But the house was never completed. The fashionable residential neighborhood had moved. The family abandoned their unfinished structure without ever occupying it.

The Customs House

The building next to the Derby’s unfinished house at the corner of Orange and Derby Streets is the Customs House, built in 1819. But before that, George Crowninshield’s wooden house stood on the site. George’s wife, Mary, was Hasket’s sister. The land was a gift from her father Richard Derby. The Crowninshield family lived on the site until 1815 when George died. Four years later, the family sold the property to the United States government which demolished the wooden house to construct the Customs House.

Narbonne House

Behind the Derby Garden, Narbonne House faces 71 Essex Street. Occupied continuously from 1675 to about 1905, Narbonne House demonstrates how the middling classes lived in the 18^th Century. Thomas Ives, a butcher, built the house with a single room on the first floor, [usually called ‘the hall’], a single room on the second floor, an attic, and a shallow root cellar. It is probable that a large family filled the spaces before later owners added a kitchen at the back and a smaller addition with a parlor on the first floor and an additional chamber on the second, providing a bit more room.

More Recent History of these Properties

Derby House. After the Derby family vacated their cozy brick house, they rented it for a few years before selling the house in 1796 to Henry Prince, a merchant who built his West India Goods Store next to Derby House. During the Jeffersonian Embargo, Prince’s business failed and in 1811 he sold the home to William Ropes who had married his daughter Mary.

Henry died in 1861; Mary in 1873. After her death, the family sold the building to Daniel Leahy, an Irish immigrant, for $6,700 [about $145,000 today]. The Leahy family occupied the property until 1927.

Hawkes House. In 1801 General Benjamin Hawkes and his business partner William B. Parker purchased Derby’s unfinished house, and turned the structure into a duplex. Eventually Parker moved his portion of the structure elsewhere, and Hawkes renovated the remainder into a single-family dwelling. The house was in a convenient location proximate to Hawkes’ shipyard. Financial difficulties eventually forced the Hawkes family to sell their home. By the end of the 19^th century, the house provided shelter for immigrants and mill workers. The Park Service acquired the building in 1937, restored it, and gave it the name Hawkes House.

Customs House. In 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne described Salem’s Customs House in his introduction to The Scarlet Letter. Once a proud structure, the building, like all of Salem, had fallen on hard times.

“In my native town of Salem, at the head of what, half a century ago, in the days of old King Derby, was a bustling wharf—but which is now burdened with decayed wooden warehouses, and exhibits few or no symptoms of commercial life; except, perhaps, a bark or brig, half–way down its melancholy length, discharging hides; or, nearer at hand, a Nova Scotia schooner, pitching out her cargo of firewood—at the head, I say, of this dilapidated wharf, which the tide often overflows, and along which, at the base and in the rear of the row of buildings, the track of many languid years is seen in a border of unthrifty grass—here, with a view from its front windows adown this not very enlivening prospect, and thence across the harbour, stands a spacious edifice of brick.

From the loftiest point of its roof, during precisely three and a half hours of each forenoon, floats or droops, in breeze or calm, the banner of the republic; but with the thirteen stripes turned vertically, instead of horizontally, and thus indicating that a civil, and not a military, post of Uncle Sam’s government is here established. Its front is ornamented with a portico of half–a–dozen wooden pillars, supporting a balcony, beneath which a flight of wide granite steps descends towards the street.

Over the entrance hovers an enormous specimen of the American eagle, with outspread wings, a shield before her breast, and, if I recollect aright, a bunch of intermingled thunder–bolts and barbed arrows in each claw. With the customary infirmity of temper that characterizes this unhappy fowl, she appears by the fierceness of her beak and eye, and the general truculency of her attitude, to threaten mischief to the inoffensive community; and especially to warn all citizens careful of their safety against intruding on the premises which she overshadows with her wings. Nevertheless, vixenly as she looks, many people are seeking at this very moment to shelter themselves under the wing of the federal eagle; imagining, I presume, that her bosom has all the softness and snugness of an eiderdown pillow. But she has no great tenderness even in her best of moods, and, sooner or later—oftener soon than late—is apt to fling off her nestlings with a scratch of her claw, a dab of her beak, or a rankling wound from her barbed arrows.”

The Federal Government purchased the Crowninshield property and completed the Customs House in 1819. Before the Federal Income Tax Act of 1913, the primary source of fund for the Federal Government came from duties levied on ships’ cargo. In 1819 customs duties nation-wide amounted to over $20 million. In 1826 a carved eagle was installed over the entrance. It was removed in 2004 and replaced with a fiberglass replica. The eagle pictured above resides in the Maritime Museum Visitors’ Center. In 1936, the Customs House became part of the Park Service.

 Narbonne House. A final note regarding Narbonne House, named in honor of Sarah Narbonne whose grandfather Jonathan Andrews bought the house in 1780. Sarah was born in the house and lived there her entire life. Sarah’s unmarried daughter Mary continued to live in the house until she died in 1905. In 1963, the Maritime Park purchased the house from the family of Mary’s nephew Frank.

? ? ?

Illustrations

Elizabeth Crowninshield Derby. PEM. Public Domain.

Elias Hasket Derby. Public Domain.

Architectural Drawing. General Benjamin Hawkes House.

Portrait of Nathaniel Hawthorne by Charles Osgood, 1840.

Additional Photos by Author.

___.1761-1762 Salem MA 168 Derby Street Derby House” Archipedia New England.

Nathaniel Hawthorne from The Scarlet Letter Lit2Go

Salem Maritime National Historic Site. National Park Service.

Derek Strahan. “Benjamin Hawkes House, Salem Mass.” Lost New England. Jan. 10, 2019.

Ibid. “Custom House, Salem Mass.” Lost New England. Jan. 12, 2019.

Ibid. “Derby House, Salem Mass.” Lost New England. Dec. 5, 2020.

The post On-Site Research: My Visit to Salem MA, pt. 2 first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

Site visits are an important part of my writing research, because being where my characters’ experiences occurred gives me a greater sense of closeness to their lives. My most recent book, Saxon Heroines, took me back to Whitby Abbey where I videoed waves pounding on the headland.

When writing Rama’s Labyrinth, I visited Mukti Mission founded by Pandita Ramabai near Pune, India. Two Coins took me back to India, this time to Kolkata where I visited the court house where Mary Pigot’s civil case against Rev. William Hastie was tried before Judge Norris.

Researching my current project about the Crowninshield and Derby families in the 18th century took me to Salem, Massachusetts where both families made and lost their fortunes. Today Salem is most well-known for the 1692 witchcraft trials. The association draws tourists throughout the year, but particularly at Halloween. To a lesser extent, the city is also famous for the heyday of commercial voyages to the East Indies.

By 1790, Salem was the 6th largest city in the new United States, and a world famous seaport with a large cod fishing industry. Merchants shipped dried cod and timber to Europe and the West Indies, and exchanged sugar and molasses in the West Indies; tea from China and India; and pepper from Sumatra.

The wealthiest merchant in Salem was Elias Hasket Derby who made his fortune, first, on extensive success sponsoring privateers against the British during the American Revolution, and second, on the East Indian Trade. Though he never went to sea himself, Derby trans-shipped goods throughout the world. He was one of the first merchants to trade with St. Petersburg, and had extensive trading contacts in the East Indies. When he died in 1800, it became clear that Elias Hasket Derby was the first American millionaire.

Though the East India Trade faded after 1820, when Salem created its city seal in 1839, the motto was Divitis Indian usage ad ultimatum sinum [To the Rich East Indies Until the Last Lap.]

Salem is filled with historic homes, many with identifying plaques. The Chestnut Street District is part of the Samuel McIntire History District with 407 buildings, and the Salem Maritime National Historic Site comprised of 12 historic structures and a replica of a tall ship on 9 acres of waterfront land. There is also an area called the Derby Waterfront District which runs east to a junction with Fort Avenue.

Salem Maritime National Historic Site

The Maritime Historic Site, established in 1938, was the first National Historic Site in the United States. Derby Wharf is a key feature of the site, and was an important pathway for me as I walked facing forward on a sunny day with a chilly wind. Facing the sea, I looked left where Union Wharf once stood. Unlike Derby Wharf, Union Wharf, established by the Crowninshield family, is nothing but a memory in time. Looking right, I saw remnants of the Central Wharf, first built in 1784.

Richard Derby began building an 800-foot wharf in 1762. Workers laid timbers on the mud flats when the tide was out and filled in the timber walls with dirt and stones. In 1770, the wharf was complete. Up to twenty of Elias Hasket Derby’s warehouses, including his Counting House, lined the wharf; his massive trading vessels were moored by its side.

From the end of the 800-foot wharf, Elias Hasket Derby could turn to face the shore and his house situated directly across from the wharf’s entrance. The photo on the right is a bit long, but it gives a sense of the length of the wharf. Just under the cloud is a structure with a white dome. Derby’s house is to the left. [More about Derby House in the next blog.]

Six years after Hasket died in 1800, his heirs extended the wharf another 1300 feet. Today there is only one structure by the wharf, the Pedrick Store House, once used as a warehouse and sail loft. There is also one ship, a replica of 1797 Ship Friendship that made 15 voyages to ports in Batavia, India, China, South America, the Caribbean, England, Germany, the Mediterranean, and Russia before being captured by the British during the War of 1812. The replica was constructed in 2000, and sits in lonely isolation beside the historic wharf.

The 0.38 mile pathway to the end of Derby Wharf is now called the Derby Wharf National Recreation Trail. It’s a good name, though it sounds more impressive than the walk is. The Derby Light Station, first lit in 1871, still stands at the end of the trail marking the main channel to the harbor anchorage. The 300-candlepower solar-driven light flashes red every six seconds.

It sounds strange, but walking the length of Derby Wharf, feeling the constant wind, and imagining what once stood on the site brought me closer to my characters, helping me imagine them as they might have been.

Illustrations

Salem Shipping 1770.

Elias Hasket Derby by James Frothingham, about 1800.

Capt Richard Derby by Henry Sargent, about 1790.

Old Derby Wharf & Salem Harbor, postcard, c.1930.

Additional Photos by Author.

Salem Maritime National Historic Site. National Park Service.

The post On-Site Research: My Visit to Salem MA, pt. 1 first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

In 1999 writer Chris Baty, who specializes in helping writers, challenged his friends to write 50,000 words and produce a novel during the 30 days of November. That year, 21 aspiring writers accepted the challenge. Fast forward to 2017 when 306,230 participants from around the world officially accepted the National Novel Writing Month challenge.

The rules are simple. Start writing whenever midnight arrives in your timezone on November 1. Stop on November 30. In between, write 50,000 words, the minimum word-length of a basic novel. It should be noted that these words are not edited or polished. They are grist for a First Draft. The object is to move forward without losing momentum by reading over completed words. Fun Fact: To achieve 50,000 words in 30 days, you need to write 1667 words a day. This isn’t as daunting as it looks, because you only write one word at a time. ?

If you want to be official, you can sign up [no charge] at the NaNoWrMo website. The organzation supports your efforts by helping you set milestones, track your progress, and connect with other writers. You can do all of these things without actually signing up at NaNoWrMo. Full Disclosure: I’ve never participated, but I do set milestones, track my progress, and informally connect with other writers.

Plotters & Pantsters

You may be wondering how, exactly, one sets out to write a novel. There are many possible answers, but I’m going to focus for a minute on two types of writers.

Plotters plan everything. They’re the people with outlines. Confession: I’m a plotter. I want maps, notes, outlines . . . The whole padded box of writing.

Pantsters, as you might imagine, fly by the seat of their pants. They follow the story wherever it leads, even if it’s to a dead end. I admire their verve and fearless drive. However, at some point, even pantsters have to block out their story, usually as part of the editing process.

Pantsters don’t have to “prepare” for NaNoWrMo; plotters do. Either that or they’ll have to increase their daily word count to make 50,000 words in 30 days.

Not the Finished Product

NaNoWrMo is a great incentive for writing a first draft. Among the alumni who have gone on to create a popular finished product are:

None of these books looked like this at the end of NaNoWrMo. They looked like a double-spaced draft ready for editing. These are examples of what is possible, if this is the result you want.

But you don’t have to publish your novel to be a success. You only have to finish it, which is exactly what NaNoWrMo helps you do. You can meet your characters and build their world while building your writing life. You can write for your own satisfaction, for your family and friends, or for a larger audience. It’s your story —only you can tell it.

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Illustrations

Medieval Writing Desk

Fountain Pen Writing Russian Cyrillic by Peter Milosevic

“Does Your Typewriter Match Your Pajamas?” 1928.

Writing Symbol by User: Chris-martin

National Novel Writing Month

NaNoWriMo: A Writer’s Guide. Reddsyblog. Oct. 5, 2020.

“What is NaNoWriMo?” MasterClass. Aug. 19, 2021.

Chris Baty.

The post The Challenge of National Novel Writing Month first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

Who remembers the original “smiley” or “happy” face? Before anyone thought of emojis, Harvey Ross Ball, a graphic designer, was asked to make an icon that could lift employee morale. Within 10 minutes Ball came up with a yellow circle, two black dots for eyes, and an arc for a mouth. Ball was paid $45 for his work. You might think that’s good pay for 10 minutes of doodling in 1963. In 2019 that $45 became $376.

Within months, those smiley faces were everywhere – on buttons, note pads, and stickers. They were such a constant image of happiness, they became downright irritating. I had a supervisor once who gave out smiley faces instead of actual verbal encouragement.

Anyway, in 1972 a Frenchman named Franklin Loufrani launched a similar image, trademarked the design, and founded The Smiley Company which became a multinational corporation. In 1997 Loufrani wanted to register the trademark face in the U. S., and ran into a conflict with the WalMart Happy Face on Roll Back Prices signs and employee vests. In 2002 the issue went to court, and was settled eight years later.

Enter the Emoticon

The next ubiquitous Happy Face was an emoticon, a sideways picture derived from a colon, dash, and closed parentheses mark that began appearing with the rise of email.

Emoticons weren’t the first punctuation mark faces. In 1881 Puck Magazine published four faces and called them typographical art: Joy, Melancholy, Indifference, and Astonishment. All the expressions were made from type, and all of them lacked emotion.

Triumph of the Emojis

As we moved into the digital age, we continued to use typeface emoticons and actual words. But something was lacking. In 1999, Japanese artist Shigetaka Kurita was on the development team for the mobile internet platform of Japan’s main mobile carrier. He envisioned an illustrative interface that could convey information in a simple way. For example, instead of writing out partly sunny with some rain, show a picture.?

Kurita developed 176 emoji emphasizing symbols. The weather might call for sun ?or clouds or remind you to take an umbrella . Or it might add warmth to a message with a heart .

In 2009 developers submitted an official proposal to the Unicode Consortium to include 625 new emoji characters into the Unicode Standard. It’s a lengthy process, but by 2014 the Great Emoji Politicization had begun. Food emoji represented foods from different cultures, for example, a taco ?, or a bento box ?. In 2015, it became possible to change skin tones on people emojis.

In 2012 Apple iOS 6 gave iPhone owners an emoji keyboard. The term emoji entered the Oxford English Dictionary the following year. And in 2015 the Oxford Dictionary named the emoji “face with tears of joy” ? Word of the Year as the word best reflecting the ethos, mood, and pre-occupations of the 2015. Emojis were part of our daily language.

I, personally, haven’t progressed much beyond the Smiley Face ? and I still “spell” out “LOL” instead of using the symbol ? which technically translates as “rolling on the floor laughing face.” Nevertheless, I like emoji. They’re fun, expressive, and often efficient.

New emojis come out all the time. Here are the 117 Emojis for 2020.

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Illustrations

Smiley face by en:User:Mystic

Emoji face with tears of joy by Twitter

“Oxford Dictionaries 2015 World of the Year is an Emoji.” PBS. Nov. 17, 2015.

“The Wired Guide to Emoji.” Wired. Feb. 1, 2018.

The post From Happy Faces to Emoji first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

If I turn a bit to my left, I see my water feature, framed covers from my two books, a picture of myself on the Great Wall of China, and a small bookcase filled with souvenirs and dolls.

If I turn a bit to my right, I have a container of wooden tulips, a clock, a lamp, and a figure of Snoopy advising me to “do what makes [me] happy.” And, oddly enough, there’s a meat thermometer. I brought it up about a week ago, because I want to look up how to check its accuracy. One day, probably when I’m trying to declutter, I’ll look up the directions.

ASSESSING MY WRITING SPACE

A work space is a space for work, but if the occupant is unhappy, the work is not only drudgery, but inefficient. I’ve checked several sites, and whether they purport to take a zen approach or advise an efficient structure, the advice is similar. So I thought I’d compile a list, and see how I measure up.

1. Every site I visited advised the elimination of clutter. Clutter slows our creativity and makes it hard to find what we’re looking for. Clutter makes us late for appointments. Next to stress, clutter appears to be the bane of modern existence.
On the charge of clutter, I plea that my desk top is clearly visible. Therefore, I am presently innocent.

2. Light. In the category of light, fluorescent light is the enemy. So, if artificial light is needed, it should be soft and without glare. Natural light gives us contact with the outside world and a place to look when we raise our eyes from the computer screen, which we should do every 15 minutes. In the category of light, I pass. In the category of looking up every 15 minutes, not so much.

3. Plants, especially green plants provide oxygen and visual refreshment. Succulants qualify. Cut flowers can lift a room. My writing space has no plants. Instead, I have wooden tulips. In the category of plants, I plead better a wooden tulip than a dead plant.

4. Meaningful pictures. Pictures that inspire. Pictures of family friends and special places.
My pictures fill the bill.

5. A site specifically concerned with bringing “zen” into the office recommends a water feature or sand garden. I’ve got a water feature. When my ideas stagnate, I watch the water flow until my brain unclogs.

A sand garden isn’t such a good idea for me, because my writing lair also includes Koa Kat. Mostly she impersonates pillows and naps all day. But she knows to the minute when it’s time to go downstairs and eat, and she makes sure I know it too.

Virginia Woolf wrote that a writer must have a room of her own if she is to write fiction. I add, it should be a happy, comfortable room, because I spend a lot of time here.

It’s good to occasionally assess the space where I spend the most time. And if my space not only pleases me, but complies with “best practices,” then I can take a few minutes to congratulate myself before getting back to work on my next novel.

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Photos by Author.

“13 Easy Ways to Create a Zen Office Space on a Budget.” Snacknation.

Jacquelyn Smith. “How to Create A Stress-Free Work Environment.” Forbes. Nov. 18, 2013.

Sivana Spirit. “5 Simple Ways to Add Zen to Your Office.” Siolvana East.

The post My Writer’s Lair first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

MARK TWAIN, American humorist, was particularly fond of cats. One true story relates to Twain, his daughter, and her black cat named Bambino. One day, Bambino went exploring and failed to return. Twain took out a newspaper advertisement in the New York American and offered a five dollar reward for Bambino’s safe return. Twain described Bambino as “Large and intensely black; thick, velvety fur; has a faint fringe of white hair across his chest; not easy to find in ordinary light.”

People, hoping to see the famous author, came to his door with cats. All to no avail until Bambino was found across the street. Twain took out another advertisement saying the cat was found, but people still came.

Besides cats, Mark Twain enjoyed pocket billiard. He put a kitten in the corner pocket so he could watch it play as the balls passed by. I’m pretty sure no balls were allowed to land in the kitten’s pocket. This photo shows Twain playing a game with Louisa Paine.

Three Mark Twain observations about cats:

“If a man could be crossed with a cat, it would improve the man but deteriorate the cat.”

“When a man loves cats, I am his friend and comrade without further introduction.”

“I simply can’t resist a cat, particularly a purring one. They are the cleanest, cunningest, and most intelligent things I know – outside of a girl you love, of course.”

As contemporary dystopian author REBECCA CLARE SMITH observes, cats are the best writing partners, because they don’t care how many words you put down, and they listen to your rants without complaint or interest.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY noted that “a cat has absolute emotional honesty.” His Hemingway Cats at The Hemingway House in Key West, Florida are unique. A ship’s captain gave Hemingway a six-toed cat. (Official name: polydactyl) Hemingway called the cat Snowball (though some say he named it Snow White). Anyway, Hemingway let it roam. Today up to fifty of Snowball’s descendants continue to live on the property. As Hemingway said, “One cat just leads to another.”

Canadian novelist ROBERTSON DAVIES explains, “Authors like cats because they are such quiet, lovable, wise creatures, and cats like authors for the same reasons.”

Perhaps the most famous aficionado of cats is T. S. ELLIOT whose Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats (1939) inspired the musical “Cats.” One of the better known poems is The Naming of Cats, “a difficult matter.” Set for the stage, the poem introduces Cats, the musical.

I start my writing time by reading with Koa Kat by my side. When I go to the computer, she settles down in my reading seat, which may have been her plan all along, and goes promptly to sleep. She gets up about five hours later and begins curling around my legs. She knows treats are served downstairs, and she doesn’t want to be late. I can write without her presence, but it’s a more isolated activity.

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Illustrations

Photo of yellow cat by author.

Mark Twain and Louise Paine Playing Billiards. Public Domain.

Polydactyl cat at Hemingway’s Key West House. Attribution: Averette at English Wikipedia

“10 Great (and Cute) Facts About Writers and Cats. Interesting Literature. Aug. 8, 2014.

David Barnett. “Authors’ Mews: Writers and Their Cats.” The Guardian. Nov. 12, 2008.

John Farley. “Fluff Piece: The Meandering Truth About Cats and Writers.” Full Stop. May 21, 2011.

Sam Kalda.”Famous Writers and Their Feline Friends.” Read It Forward

The post WRITERLY CATS first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

Writers are solitary people who play with imaginary friends. We function best in spaces where we can shut the door. If that isn’t possible, we’re known to wear noise-cancelling headphones.

Ernest Hemingway famously said, “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” He failed to mention that afterwards, the writer has to tidy up the blood before it stains.

On a good day, words flow onto the page. On many days, a paragraph is a victory. And on all days, writers look for someone who understands what they’re trying to accomplish. Out of this question, Chris Baty and his writerly colleagues came up with the concept of National Novel Writing Month — a month of dedication enabling participants to produce a 50,000 word novel, which if you ask me is a bit on the short side. But never mind. NaNoWriMo provides a production deadline. The point is to get words on paper, sort of like speed writing.

The event occurs every November. I can’t imagine why the founders picked the month when the real world gears up for the feasting season to encourage creative folks to lock themselves away for a couple hours a day. But then again, what month doesn’t have its distractions?

This year’s participants began their writing journey last month when they planned their book — laid out a plot, or direction, or idea and populated it with enough characters to tell the story. Many participants never register with the official website, but all start writing on November 1.

Fifty thousand words sounds like a lot. It works out to 250 double spaced manuscript pages, which sounds even longer. But the writer is telling a story. She doesn’t think, “Oh, look, I’ve written 250 words today, more if I count the number of times my characters say, ‘ummm.’” She writes about the plucky heroine’s first encounter with the dragon. How ‘Rosamund’ encounters the creature by the roadside and feels sorry for him so she stops to chat. Pretty soon, chapter one will be done.

The key is to write the chapter without looking back. Don’t change the punctuation. Don’t worry about phrasing. If the writer stops to fix things, she won’t make the deadline.

According to the official website: National Novel Writing Month believes in the transformational power of creativity. We provide the structure, community, and encouragement to help people find their voices, achieve creative goals, and build new worlds—on and off the page.

After eighteen years, National Novel Writing Month is a phenomenon. The Young Writers Program promotes writing in K-12 classrooms with writing workbooks, Common Core Curriculum, and virtual class management tools. Website sponsors support writers with on-line coaches, word count trackers, and structures for local community events. Participants challenge each other to word sprints and share tips. Writing is solitary. NaNoWriMo creates a writing community experience.

At 11:59 p.m. On November 30, participants take their last keystroke. The frenzy is over. At midnight participants are entitled to congratulate themselves. They did it. The novel is there.

On December 1, the real work begins. The anguish of reading one’s work. The slog through editing.

Over the years, 449 traditional published novels began as NaNoWriMo projects. One of these is Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, published in 2006 and made into a movie in 2011. That sort of success is every writer’s dream. NaNoWriMo set Sara Gruen on the path to make her dream come true.

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Illustrations in the Public Domain from Wikimedia Commons.

Gerrit Dou, artist. Scholar sharpening his quill. 17th Century.

Girl Holding Pen While Writing.

Underwood Typewriter Keyboard.

Water for Elephants logo.

NaNoWriMo.org

Jaxon Boog. “NaNoWriMo Is Big for Writers.” Publishers Weekly. Oct. 27, 2017.

Charlotte Runcie. “NaNoWriMo: How to Write a Novel in a Month. The Telegraph. Nov. 1, 2013.

The post NANOWRIMO aka National Novel Writing Month first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

“No, No,” Calliope said wagging her finger and pointing at my desk. “That’s much too dull. First you must write about writers and coffee.”

She gazed at the sprawl that is my desk while writing, shook her head, and disappeared. I suppose she has a point. Reference books, notes, and pencils surround my computer. And next to the mouse, a mug of coffee growing cold.

Coffee & Writers

Coffee has a long linkage with creativity. (So does alcohol, but we won’t go there today.)

In 2013 Michael Koh referenced a study by the National Writer’s Association that concluded 110 per cent of poets and authors “have taken or take this certain easy-to-obtain mind-enhancing substance to complete their work or get through the day.”

Gustave Flaubert, author of Madame Bovary, claimed “Coffee: Induces wit. . . take it without sugar—very swank: gives the impression you have lived in the East.”

I ran across one reference that reported Ludwig van Beethoven, composer of Ode to Joy, breakfasted on coffee he made himself at precisely sixty beans per cup. I hope it was a large cup.

J. S. Bach, another famed composer wrote, “Without my morning coffee I’m just like a dried up piece of roast goat.” This led me to wonder how much roasted goat Bach consumed.

Lest you think creative coffee consumption has waned since the nineteenth century, Michael Koh reported that Americans consume an average of three cups of coffee daily, with writers doing their share to keep the numbers up by consuming four to five cups of coffee a day.

Honore Balzac, a prodigious French writer, explained the phenominon. “Coffee glides into one’s stomach and sets all of one’s mental processes in motion. One’s ideas advance in column of route like battalions of the Grande Armée. Memories come up at the double, bearing the standards which will lead the troops into battle. The light cavalry deploys at the gallop. The artillery of logic thunders along with its supply wagons and shells. Brilliant notions join in the combat as sharpshooters. The characters don their costumes, the paper is covered with ink, the battle has started, and ends with an outpouring of black fluid like a real battlefield enveloped in swaths of black smoke from the expended gunpowder. Were it not for coffee one could not write, which is to say one could not live.”

Which leads me to believe Albert Camus should choose coffee over death, because as an Unknown source wrote:

“Life’s too short to drink crappy coffee and cry over boys who don’t care.”

Photo of Writing Desk by Author.

Other Illustrations from Wikimedia Commons.

Calliope, extracted from The Muses Urania and Calliope by Simon Vouet. Public Domain.

Inside a Coffee House in Sheridan, OR by Visitor7. Creative Commons Attribution.

Michael Koh. “Coffee: The Writer’s Addiction.” Thought Catalog. Oct. 14, 2013.

“The Write Track: How Famous Writers Drank Their Coffee.” Mr. Coffee Blog. Nov. 23, 2014.

Mason Curry. “Coffee!!!” Daily Rituals. Slate. April 19, 2013.

Kyle Van Pelt. “3 Ways Coffee Boost Creativity & Makes You a Better Writer.” Goins, Writer.

The post “Should I Kill Myself, or Have a Cup of Coffee?” – Albert Camus first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

Calcutta is situated on the banks of the Hooghly (Hugli) River, a major distributary of the Ganges River. In Northern Bengal the Hooghly splits to form a large delta that empties into the Bay of Bengal.

The lower portions of the river were once navigable enough for large ocean vessels, which made it a desirable location when the East India Company built Calcutta.

The Maidan, literally “open field,” or parade ground, is proximate to Ft. William, originally constructed by the British East India Company in the 18th century and presently a military facility for the Indian Army. The Maidan itself is an urban park which includes Eden Gardens, the second largest cricket ground in the world.

St Paul’s Cathedral is at the southeastern end of the Maiden, near the Victoria Memorial. Completed in 1847, the church is noted for its Gothic architecture. Some modifications were made for the Indian climate. These include open verandas, and cane chairs rather than church pews.

St. Paul’s has what is said to be the finest stained glass in India, designed by Edward Burns-Jones and installed in 1880 after a cyclone blew out the original west window.

I doubt if Mary Pigot visited this church. The Scottish Ladies’ orphanage was to the north, on the opposite end of Central Calcutta. This location was close to the British enclave further south.

Calcutta’s civic center is north from the Maidan. Here is where the earliest colonial structures are found, clustered around what was once called Dalhousie Square after Viceroy, Lord Dalhousie. Originally from Scotland, Dalhousie served as Governor-General for the East India Company 1848-1856. He left office just before the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Today the Square is called B.B.D. Bagh. The initials B. D. D. stand for Benoy-Badal-Dinesh Bagh. In 1930 these three men killed the Inspector General of Prisons while he stood on a balcony of the Writers’ Building.

The Writers’ Building, completed in 1780, has outgrown both its name and its original design. The building began as a plain 3-story structure to house East India Company clerks (aka writers). There were nineteen residential quarters, each with three sets of windows to light the clerks’ desks.

In 1821, Fort William College took over the site. Trustees added a 128 foot veranda with Ionic columns, each 21 feet tall. Inspirational statues decorated the facade, including one of Minerva, Greek goddess of wisdom, on the top pediment. In 1857 the British government took over the administration of India, and converted the Writers’ Building into an administrative secretariat. The length of the Writer’s Building equals one side of Tank Square.

The term ‘tank’ is used in India to denote any man-made body of water. As Calcutta grew, sourcing clean water became an increasing challenge. In 1709 engineers converted an existing pond fed by a spring into a reservoir for “sweet” water. The resulting tank covered about 25 acres and supplied water to the growing city. The British called it the Great Tank, or the Red Tank. Today the tank is known as Lal Dighi (Red Pool) and is popular for recreational activities.

Did Mary Pigot spend much time in or around Dalhousie Square?

It’s hard to say. Most people in and around the Square had connections to British administration. And Mary was far to busy for idle wandering.

Next week we’ll visit some buildings I think Mary visited often, particularly the High Court.

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Map from a 1749 French Manuscript. Public Domain. Wikimedia Commons.

All other photos by Author. Hand drawn map by Author.

Srinath Perur. Writers’ Bldg, Kolkata. The Guardian. April 10, 2015.

The post KOLKATA, MARY PIGOT, & ME – Where She Wasn’t first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

Happily the solution to our dilemma was across the street. We’d often noticed Da Mario. It was reputed to have been one of Princess Diana’s favorite places. But it didn’t seem like a place for a quick lunch. On the other hand, I was hungry and decided to check it out.

Da Mario is a simple neighborhood cafe serving pizzas, pastas, and antipastos. Even better, they make gluten free options for almost everything on the menu. The price is reasonable and the food outstanding. I went every day I wasn’t t the library.

At Da Mario’s everything is fresh including the langoustines (Metanephrops Andanicus). These warm water crustaceans are harvested in Mozambique, Tanzania, and South Africa. The langoustines harvested from northern waters are considerably smaller, so when I first walked into Da Mario’s and saw these specimens resting on the table I was impressed.

Strolling in Kensington Gardens

The weather was chilly the first week which was just as well since I was in the library almost every day, but on the way back home we had another few days in London. This time, it felt like summer, and I happily spent some time among the flower beds of Kensington Gardens. The park is one of eight Royal Parks in London and covers 265 acres. There’s nothing so pleasant as formal beds filled with English flowers.

The seven mile Diana Princess of Wales walk goes through the Kensington Gardens and also includes St. James Park, Green Park, and Hyde Park. It’s one of two memorial projects dedicated to Diana, Princess of Wales. The other is the Diana Memorial Playground also located in Kensington Gardens.

The cupola of the Albert Memorial peeks through the trees in this photo. Queen Victoria commissioned the Gothic Revival style monument to her husband which was unveiled in 1872. The memorial took ten years to complete at a cost of £120,000 which was met by public subscription.

KINGS CROSS STATION

After a week at the British Library, it was time to move on to the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh. The departure point for all trains going north is Kings Cross Station.

The term Kings Cross comes from a long ago statue of George IV that once stood at the crossroads of Gray’s Inn Road, Pentonville Road, and what is now Euston Road. The statute came down in 1845 and the first rail station went up in 1852.

After World War II, the area became an industrial wasteland and Red Light District. But in 2005 refurbishment of the station began to revitalize the area. The £500 million project restored and reglazed the arched roof (shown here) and constructed an open plaza of shops and restaurants. In 2007 the Eurostar terminus located at nearby St. Pancras International Station. Four years later the University of Arts, London moved into the area, bringing the new energy and student life.

PLATFORM 9-3/4’s

The most famous sight in Kings Cross is Platform 9-3/4s – the platform where Harry Potter and other young wizards boarded the train to Hogwarts. Located near the Travel Center and Information Kiosk, the platform draws Harry Potter fans from around the world. And it is here that I said farewell to London and took my laptop north.

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All Photos by Author. All Rights Reserved.

Da Mario.

Food & Beverage Online. Langoustines.

Kensington Gardens

Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Walk

Albert Memorial

Kings Cross

The post London Highlights first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

I first encountered Mary Pigot while researching Rama’s Labyrinth. Now I want to learn Mary’s story more fully, and where else to begin but at the British Library which holds one of the largest collections relating to British India.

Portrait of George III

The collections at the British Library are composed of many parts. In 1753 Parliament established the library as part of the British Museum. A few years later George II donated the royal library. But the core of the new library was the royal donation of George III’s book collection in 1827.

George III was an avid book collector with agents acquiring volumes from throughout Europe. When George III’s collection became part of the British Library, it was with the stipulation that it could never be broken up. Initially, it was housed in the King’s Gallery of the British Museum. Now the King’s Library Tower is literally at the core of the British Library collection.

British Library courtyard walls with turrets

of St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel in the background.

Over the years the British Library became one of the largest libraries in the world due to the privilege of Legal Deposit which meant that most books, periodicals, newspapers, maps, and printed music produced in what is now the United Kingdom were added to the collection. Other collections, including the India Office Library and Records which includes the entire archives of British India from the foundation of the East India Company in 1600 to Independence in 1947, joined the main collection. Among the national treasures hosted in the British Library and open for public viewing are the Magna Carta, Lindisfarne Gospels, and original Beatles’ lyrics.

Initially access to the collections proved challenging because there was no adequate building in which to house them. In 1972 Parliament passed the British Library Act to establish an entity separate from the British Museum. Two years later the government purchased a derelict goods site near St. Pancras tube station for £6 million. Construction costs were about £445 million. The library opened in 1998.

Dominating the library piazza is Sir Eduardo Paolozzi’s sculpture of Isaac Newton.

William Blake’s 1795 painting inspired the massive sculpture. Blake didn’t approve of Newton and other rational scientists. A display caption from the Tate Modern suggests Blake saw Newton as a man who couldn’t see past his compass. In the painting Newton sits on a rock representing the natural world.

Paolozzi viewed both Blake and Newton as men representative of nature, poetry, and art. The synthesis embodied in the conflicting approaches of these men would, Paolozzi thought, embody the spirit of the knowledge to be found in the British Library.

I find the British Library to be a perfect place to delve into my subjects. When I researched Rama’s Labyrinth, the bulk of the materials were in print. This time the collections I accessed were preserved on microfilm. But the British Library holdings are one of a kind, and well worth the effort to access them.

Next stop in the trail of Mary Pigot – the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh.

Rama’s Labyrinth now in audio format.

While I was engaging with my new project, the final piece of Rama’s Labyrinth fell into place.

Rama’s Labyrinth is now available as an audio-book through Audible, iTunes, and via Amazon Whispersync. Deepti Gupta’s voice brings all the characters to life.

You can listen to the Audible Sample here.

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Featured Image: Entry to British Library. Photo by Author

Pictures:

George III in Coronation Robes by Allan Ramsay. Public Domain. Wikimedia Commons.

British Library with turrets of St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel in the background. Photo by Author.

“Newton” sculpture by Sir Eduardo Paolozzi. Photo by Author.

Painting of Newton by William Blake. Public Domain. Wikimedia Commons.

British Library at St. Pancras Receives Highest Listed Building Status. 

Jonathan Glancey. “What Took Them so Long?” Independent. July 10, 1994.

William Blake & Newton. Tate Modern.

Eduardo Paolozzi & Newton. Tate Modern.

The post “MALICE” AT THE BRITISH LIBRARY first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

November is National Novel Writing Month, a time when every aspiring writer can set her or his challenge to complete a 50,000-word novel in thirty days. Last year 325,142 participants registered at the official web site, and a large number of people wrote without bothering to register.

At the end of the month, every participant, known and unknown, is a winner. She or he has put 50,000 connected words on paper. The product isn’t done yet. There will be edits and rewrites, gnashing of teeth and tears of frustration. But the basic premise, the seed that could bloom into a novel, is done.

Writing is portable. Even before laptop computers, there were various options. This damsel with a quill pen has a portable writing desk placed on a table. But since she’s sitting on a sofa and leaning forward, I would guess her arms, shoulders, wrists, back and neck were all complaining before she finished her letter.

Rama, the subject on my historical novel, used a lap desk. I can’t sit the way she does, and can’t comment on whether she was comfortable or not. Rama exhibits excellent posture for the portrait, but I would guess she was leaning forward quite a bit while actually writing.

This charming lady seems to have perfect posture – and also to be ambidextrous.

Jessamyn West, contemporary librarian and blogger, sits at a desk which many writers can relate to. Reasonable lighting, clutter, water bottle, and coffee cup at the ready.

WRITERS WRITE
But Environment is Important

Through my own experiences I have discovered that most of the advice for a productive home office is relevant. Here’s what I find most useful.

      1.    Every home office should have a door. It allows the occupant to separate from everything else. Walk in and close the door. You’re at work. Day over? Walk out and close the door. You’re off duty.

      2.    Surround yourself with what makes you happy and positive. Pictures. Souvenirs. Anything that sparks the creative muse. Build a space you like to be in.

     3.     Try to keep desk clutter to a minimum. Otherwise, you’ll keep losing things. Trust me, I know about this hazard.

     4.     It’s important to have adequate storage and office supplies. Otherwise, you’ll keep leaving to find more folders, or the stapler, or whatever.

5.    Bring in some life. Hardy plants. Flowers that last. Plants boost positive energy and help clean the air. But pay attention. Dead plants are not helpful.

6.    Pay attention to lighting, windows, and furniture. Get a desk chair that supports your back and encourages you to sit upright. Configure your keyboard at the proper distance for your hands.

7.    Remember to get up and walk around. Sitting all day isn’t good for you. Your eyes need to take breaks.

I’ve moved my office upstairs. Can you see how many of these principles I’ve managed to use?  Answers below.

Answers:

I’ve got lighting covered and the lower desk for the keyboard. My main desk is on the messy side. Did you catch the jar of peanuts I keep for stress munching? I usually keep anthuriums as fresh flowers because they last so long.

Though you can’t see it, there is a door. And this space is upstairs. Once I arrive, I can’t hear anything going on in the house. A luxury.

What’s your Home Office like? How many of these features do you have? Remember, if you have to, you can make a work space in any spare corner. Lots of ideas on Pinterest.

Acknowledgements:

Featured Image: The desk I used while writing Rama’s Labyrinth. Photo by Author.

National Novel Writing Month. Here.

“17 Surprising Home Office Ideas.” Real Simple. Here.

Annie B. Bond. “13 Do’s and Taboos for Feng Shui Office.” April 15, 2008. Care2. Here.

Amy-Mae Elliott. “10 Tips for a More Beautiful and Functional Home Office.” July 30, 2012.Mashable. Here.

Alyssa Gregory. “Check List for Setting up Your Home Office.” About Money. Here.

John Patricik Pullen. “5 Secrets to Making Your Office Ultra-Productive.” Oct. 23, 2015. Time.com. Here.

Rodika Tchi.”Increase Your Office Success with Feng Shui.” Here.

Jessamyn West. Web Page.

The post The Writer’s Lair first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

Rama’s Labyrinth is a biographical historical novel. We meet Rama in India when she’s a child of eight and follow her through her marriage, widowhood, and travel to England and America. The reader is with Rama when she establishes a school for child widows, converts to evangelical Christianity, and builds a community for famine victims near Pune, India. It’s an amazingly captivating journey.

Almost as exciting as the book itself is the video trailer, which captures the essence of Rama’s struggle.

There’s also a Pinterest Board for Rama’s Labyrinth. I’ve been posting roughly one photo per day of the people and places associated with Pandita Ramabai’s life.

New Look for the WebPage

No doubt you’ve noticed that the webpage has undergone a modernizing refreshment. The camel is having a well-deserved rest, and we’ve left the desert for a land of tropical flowers. Take a few moments to look around. Let me know what you think.

The post Rama’s Labyrinth first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

If I gambled, I’d bet you expect me to write about Halloween again. Normally I would, but this post is even more special than things that go bump in the night. This is my 100th blog post. WoW – Triple Digits!

It all began with the first post on September 17, 2012. I was so excited when I received my first comment from louis vuitton damier canvas – an Internet Robot of discriminating taste.
“The posts are very short for novices,” the Bot said. Could you please lengthen them a little?”
I batted my digital eyelashes. “I’m so glad you enjoy the posts.” Then I put in a spam filter.

We were off and running, my blog and I, under the banner of “Writer, Historian, and Traveller” with two “L’s.” We’ve covered a lot of ground under that heading. Thirty-four posts chronicle my travels – from exotic India to “stay-cations” in Hawai`i. Historian gets to play in Holidays, the next largest category with twenty-four entries, including the very popular No Housework Day.  [Disclaimer: The blog has little to do with housework. It describes some of April’s special occasions.] In my effort to keep things interesting, I kept the entries pertaining directly to writing down to five. Of these, Ten Reasons to go to a Writers’ Conference proved somewhat popular.

I began using Mail Chimp in 2013. The thoughtful monkey points out my Top Five newsletter opens.
No Housework Day posted on April 7 came in at 57%, followed by

Rotarians, Runners, and Wine – August 18 – 55%

The next three all relate to December Celebrations

Let Us Commence Our Celebrations (My son receiving his Masters Degree) – Dec. 23, 2013 – 54%

Songs of the Season – Dec. 10, 2013 – 53%

Why is There a Tree in the Living Room? – Dec. 2, 2013 – 53%

I’m sort of sorry Fish Liberation Day didn’t make the list. After nurturing those tiny koi from fingernail to finger length, I became surprisingly attached. But you know what they say, if you love something, set it free. I like to think of them happily enjoying the koi pond at Hilo Lagoon Center. I’m sure they don’t think of me at all.

But that’s how it goes. We’ve got lots of interesting topic potential coming our way. New twists on old holidays, a bucket list journey to the Galapagos, and a book (hopefully) in publication.

Enjoy Halloween on Friday whether you fly by broom, bob for apples, or sing on a hayride.

The post THE 100-TH POST first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

The Top Ten Reasons Writers Go to Conferences

& How They Matched my Experience 

10. To attend autograph parties —

Yes, there was an autograph party, and no, I didn’t attend, because it started after 9:00 p.m. and my coach turns into a pumpkin after 8:30. I was lucky to be awake for the keynote.

9. To eat catered meals with people uncomfortable talking to each other

— Since I prepaid for the meals, I ate them. And I bonded with my fellow writers over two gripping questions.

First, if there are eight place settings per table, why are there only six desserts?

Was is a secret social mixer?

The atmosphere tingled with the unanswered question — Who would be the first to say, “I never eat dessert?” No one.

Next question: Are there more desserts in the back?

Final question: If we grab for the desserts, should we just start eating before we know if everyone receives a dessert? Because otherwise we might have to offer to share?” These questions extended beyond the dinner hour into every session I attended the next day.

Second Question: If there are over 600 people in attendance, why is there only one bar station? Surely they know many writers drink. People were reluctant to voice this question with the same intensity as the mystery of the missing desserts, perhaps because they don’t want to come off as a people who drink. But I figure, hey, no one stopped reading Hemingway because he drank.

8. To learn how to self-publish a book.

I failed this class.

7. To learn how to write a successful novel.

Edit-Revise. Repeat endlessly. Put this novel aside and start the next one. Question – what is meant by the term “successful”?

6. To find out how to use social media.

After you set up the accounts, you pretty much have to figure that out yourself. Thanks – that doesn’t help.

5. To find out what a platform is.

Social media + Web page + Blog. And, you should know your audience. So if you’re writing a book on dog grooming, blogging about cats probably won’t help. OK.

4. To learn about tax write-offs.

Alas this topic wasn’t covered. Possibly because few attendees earned enough to qualify for write-offs.

3. To find out why editors are so critical.

Possibly the wrong question. The first issue is to figure out what sort of editor you need. Developmental editors look at the whole piece to make sure you have a coherent story. Copy editors make sure that the character with a limp in chapter 2 still has the limp in chapter 18, unless, of course he’s had a miracle cure. Finally, there are proof readers handle typos, commas, etc.

2. To learn how to sell a book.

It’s all about marketing. *head bang*
Finally, the number one reasons writers, despite their voiced intent to self-published, to to conferences: To meet an agent –

This I managed to do. Two publishing editors and seven agents thought my description was interesting enough to request email submissions. This, of course, made me happy. The tricky part is whether my written work catches their interest.

So, there you have it — how I spent my weekend. I learned a bit. I met nice people. And I affirmed that I’m on the right path to bring my story of RAMA to publication. If you’d like to know more about that project, you can read about it by selecting the “Project” tab above.

The post Sandra & The PNWA Conference first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

So, what do you call it when 400 or so writers congregate in the same place? A Writers’ Conference. These events occur across the country this time of year, and, as social events, they’re distinctly odd. People clutching bags or briefcases line up alphabetically to retrieve their registration packets. Most keep their eyes straight ahead, trying to remember why they wanted to come to the conference. Which is why today I’m sharing my version of the Top Ten Reasons Writers Go to Conferences.

Top Ten Reasons Writers Go to Conferences:

10. To attend autograph parties filled with people gushing around a successful author hoping the fairy dust will rub off. – Wow! So that’s what success looks like.

9. To eat catered meals with people uncomfortable talking to each other, but trying to be pleasant. – Are you going to eat your dessert?

8. To learn how to self-publish a book in 18 excruciating steps. – What do you mean by “upload the manuscript”? Up to where?

7. To learn how to write a successful novel. – Noooo. Don’t make me take out the prologue.

6. To find out how to use social media. – I don’t want to and you can’t make me.

5. To find out what a “platform” is and how to build it – My book is my platform.

4. To learn about tax write-offs. – The trip to Paris should be tax deductible. It was research.

3. To find out why editors are so critical – I’m not cutting the scene and you can’t make me.

2. To learn how to sell a book – Honestly, it’s so fabulous it’ll sell itself.

1. And the Number One reason writers emerge from their caves: To meet an agent who will fall in love with my book and get me a six-figure advance. – Please, please, please like me.

I’ll be attending the Pacific Northwest Writers’ Conference at the end of the week. Once again held at the Sea-Tac Airport Hilton. I’ll let you know what happens.

Acknowledgements:

Featured Photo – a Portrait of Jean Mielot by Jean Le Tavernier, 15th Century, US Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

The post TEN REASONS TO GO TO A WRITERS’ CONFERENCE first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.