Sue Babcock
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Finally final

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Sue Babcock in Publishing, self-editing the novel
Twisted Oaths by Sue Babcock

Twisted Oaths by Sue Babcock

It was a long time coming, but the book is finally finished and published through CreateSpace.

After editing it seven times, changing the names of the characters three times, and expanding and contracting various parts, I could finally feel okay about publishing. But first, just to make sure, I asked two more people to beta (gamma? delta?) read the book. One was an avid reader and long time friend from my Girl Scout troop many decades ago. The other is the town historian for Hastings, England, which is where most of the book takes place. I sent out the manuscripts and waited, rather anxiously, for their replies. And waited. And waited.

Deciding they weren’t going to have time for the reviews (it can be very time-consuming), I started thinking about the title and cover again. Changed the title five times and the cover four, and wasn’t really excited about either, but I needed to get off dead center and get this published.

The day I decided it was time, a review from my long time friend popped up into my email inbox. She had awesome suggestions with respect to names, word usage, and details. I had to include these suggestions. So I pulled up the file again on my computer and reworked several scenes, and renamed the blacksmith (again).

I was sure I was done now. A little tweak on the cover and time to publish. This time an email from the Hastings historian showed up just as I was reading through the manuscript “one last time.” More great suggestions and corrections. And she is English, and she is from Hastings, and she is a historian – how could I not use the information she sent. A few more reworked scenes and word replacements, and once again I’m ready to publish.

And then a comment from a friend pops up out of the blue on a forum where I had posted my cover and title. The friend thought my cover needed a little work. Another friend thought my title needs changing. More tweaks. And a decision that the cover was all wrong. A complete redesign followed resulting in the cover shown here. I absolutely know this was the right cover with the right title.

The book is now published via CreateSpace and is available on Amazon, as well as CreateSpace. A Kindle version is also for sale on Amazon.

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Emotions in Writing

Posted on July 12, 2016 by Sue Babcock in emotions

Many stories I read are good, solid stories, but lack emotional content and impact. At my writing group yesterday, three of the stories being reviewed fell into this category – one was a non-fiction textbook excerpt (the author was very angry about how the current system worked, but her passion did not come through in her writing, which was very technical and flat), one was sci-fi (the writer head-hopped and never dwelled long enough with one character to explore his or her emotions), and one was historical fiction (good characters, but never reveals their inner thoughts and feelings). One of the members of the group mentioned that when she was working on her degree in English many decades ago, she broke through the emotion “barrier” in her writing, and she suggested that writers could use an “emotion thesaurus” to help get them started.

Since I do find myself citing the same pounding heart and sweaty palms a bit too often, my ears perked up when she mentioned this. I did a search online, and although there are ones you can purchase (who knew!), I did find a really simple free pdf file that might help some readers. This is just a cheat sheet, not intended to replace a writer’s own imagination and interpretation of how a character responds to a situation – so don’t make too much of this. Writers (IMO) should dig into themselves to find what angers them, what makes them happy, what stresses them, etc., and think about how their own body reacts to these emotions.
writershelpingwriters.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Emotion-Amplifiers-2.pdf

Some other emotion resources I found interesting:
Emotion color wheel: www.do2learn.com/organizationtools/EmotionsColorWheel/index.htm
Emotion adjectives: aliciateacher2.wordpress.com/grammar/adjectives/
Where the body feels emotions: www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/03/body-emotions-finnish-study-video_n_4532617.html

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Anglo-Saxon Words

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Sue Babcock in self-editing the novel, writing the novel

OE_Orosius_Norway_Denmark_&_Sciringes_heal_Cotton_Tib_BiA local writing group, the Wordwrights, recently reviewed and commented on one of the chapters of my book. A couple of the members noted my use of the word “okay,” which was certainly not in use during the 11th century in England. However, a lot of our words we use today also were not in use. A quandary. What words should be used in this Anglo-Saxon tale, and which ones should I avoid.

Someone at the meeting mentioned a series of YouTube videos on the history of the English language. The history of language is the history of the culture and the people, and I was intrigued. I easily found the ten part series as part of Maxwell’s Collection. Each video about 50 minutes long and I viewed the first two:

“HISTORY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE 1 Birth of a Language”

“HISTORY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE 2 English Goes Underground”

Very worthwhile, and I recommend these videos whole heartedly to anyone interested in history.

The words castle, jury, justice, army and archer are all Norman, as is Battle, the name of the town tradition says the Battle of Hastings was fought. The word “fight” is Anglo-Saxon, while the Norse added the words “they,” “them,” and “their.” Norse also added prepositions and changed the sentence structure.

From the time of Bede, a monk who famously chronicled the events in the seventh century, until the end of the eighth century was considered the high days of Latin scholars. But by the time of Alfred the Great (ninth century), very few could read Latin. Alfred encouraged reading and writing among his people, but in English, not Latin. He had books translated and encouraged education. By the mid eleventh century, the written English language seemed secure … until the Normans came from across the sea and conquered the land. English, a poor third to Latin and French, went underground. It was not used for writing, but the spoken English survived and evolved. Ninety percent of the people spoke English, but the scholars and nobility all spoke and wrote in Latin and French.

I did some further searches on the internet and, obviously, I learned the “okay” was not in use in the eleventh century (it’s probably a 19th century word). But I also learned the pigeon was a French term, and dove was the Anglo-Saxon word. I found some wonderful old Anglo-Saxon phrases and words I want to incorporate into my story. Words such as

Arsling (backward)
earth-apples (cucumbers)
Elder (respected person)
Breast treasure (heart or soul)
Eaxle – shoulder
Eaxlel-Gestealla (shoulder friend)
Milk-soft – someone gentle, mild-tempered
Sea-flood – incoming tide
Unweder – bad weather, unweather, storm

I also found some Norse words that are common in our language, such as scathing and slaughter.

Using interesting words that were in use in the mid-eleventh century will enrich the novel and give the story an added layer of authenticity. For bringing the importance of words to my attention, I am very grateful to the Wordwrights.

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Self- Editing: How to Find Weak Characterizations

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Sue Babcock in self-editing the novel, writing the novel

editing-characterYour characters can make or break your novel. Interesting characters that are fully fleshed out are essential. When you are editing your novel, how do you determine if your characters lack that special spark which makes readers connect to them? One way is to look at Rick Taubold’s Character Data Sheet, which is available free when you sign up for a free membership at Silver Pen Writers. In this Word document is a list of characteristics that you should know about each of your characters, but most especially about your main character(s). And for your single most important character, you may want to take a look at his Extended Character Data Sheet (also a free download at Silver Pen Writers).

The standard data sheet has four sections: Physical Description, Background and Resume, Personality and Emotional Description, and Story Role. I think most writers give a fair amount of thought to the first two sections, but less to what I would say are the key sections.

Emotions play a huge role in novels. I sometimes feel like a broken record when I tell new writers to up the emotional impact of their writing. Writers must be willing to risk something, and sometimes everything, they have emotionally to produce a book that will touch the reader in a special and long-lasting way. They must pour their hearts into every word, every action and every description. To do this, a writer must dig into their characters and find out who they really are. The data sheets, with questions like “Why is the character in the story?” and “What does the character want?” will help focus and identify the behavior and role and emotions of the character.

Once you feel you, as the author, know your characters, it is time for your readers to get to know them. The best way is by making their actions and dialog fit their personality and emotional state. Bring their characterization to life gradually, not in one great exposition. This may sound like part of the huge “show-don’t-tell” litany that writers are often overexposed to, but what you really want to do is have your reader experience and feel what the character is experiencing and feeling. This goes beyond just “showing” to something more emotionally charged.

Because your characters are key to your story, editing to ensure you’ve done the best possible job with all your characters deserves a pass through your novel all on its own, without being distracted by any other of the myriad of editing tasks.

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Self Editing My Novel

Posted on October 18, 2015 by Sue Babcock in Hastings, self-editing the novel, writing the novel

One of the choices I’ve made is that before anyone else gets a hack at my novel, I will self-edit it thoroughly. What does this mean? It means I will slogged my way through it multiple times looking for gaps in the story, lack of hooks, inconsistency, weak characterization, weak plot, expository writing, passive writing, weak dialog, poor word selection, not enough conflict or tension, etc. Each of these issues may require a separate pass through the entire novel. And when all that is done, a final line editing for spelling, punctuation, and grammar (SPAG) is required.

I am in my second edit with weak characterization and inconsistencies being my targeted issues. When I started the novel, I only had vague ideas of who the characters really were. I now realize that at the beginning of the book I had depicted my male main character too weak and another character too powerful. My female main character was inconsistent in her responses. A priest was too evil, while another priest was not evil enough. After I finish this second draft, I will create data sheets on each character and read through it again quickly to ensure my characters’ dialog and actions are consistent with my final (I hope) characterization of them.

Other inconsistencies I’m examining include historical facts, the layout of the Hastings burh, and the movements of the characters through the burh and the surrounding countryside. For the layout issue, I created a 3D model (see previous post) of my fictional Hastings. The location of Alfred the Great’s burh at Hastings is unknown. No archeological data has been found for the burh. All that is left, at least for now, are historical records which point to the burh being located where the Norman castle was built: i.e., on top of the cliff. Other has postulated different locations, such as near Wilting Manor on the east bank of Combs Valley. But until hard proof is obtained, I’m sticking with the top of the cliff.

The layout in my 3D model is based on other burhs that have been excavated, on the Burghal Hidage, an ancient document summarizing Alfred’s burhs, on other historical documents, and on discussions with a local historian.

Once I am done with the consistency issues, the next focus will be on tension and conflict. Every chapter needs its own story arc, with tension and conflict, a climax, and some kind of resolution that leaves the reader turning the page to the next chapter. Intertwined in the tension and conflict focus will be the identification of too much expository writing, weak dialog, weak action, passive writing and poor word selection. All of these issues can lead to a loss in engagement by the reader.

Keeping the reader engrossed and totally engaged, as well as educating the reader about the historical times, are my ultimate goals.

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One more upgrade to 3D model

Posted on October 12, 2015 by Sue Babcock in 3D model, Hastings, Research

Hastings burh looking north, made with Sketchup. The location of the fortified burh is unknown and controversial. I have placed it on the top of the cliff, where the Norman castle was later built, based on assumptions by some historians and because it suited the story line in my historical fiction novel.

Hastings burh looking north

Hastings burh looking north

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Updated 3D model of Hastings

Posted on October 9, 2015 by Sue Babcock in 3D model, Hastings, Research

I also added some cliff contours, which are approximated since so much of the cliff at Hastings was damaged by storms. I’m not entirely satisfied with the cliff – I think it should be steeper – and I need to move the blacksmith to nearer the cliff, away from the Manor House. I figure that since it probably emits a pretty steady stream of smoke, it would be located away from anything or anyone important.

The size of the burh (about 500 ft across) is based on the estimated 2000 ft wall inferred from the Burghal Hidage and the 500 hidages shown for Hastings. I included an inner wall around the manor and a field that would have belonged to the manor. In my novel, the manor houses the Reeve, since the I am assuming Earl Harold owned the town and its land, and he had no need for a manor house in Hastings. My novel also includes a dovecote that I’m pretty sure was not in Hastings at the time, but I need for my story. I’ve include about 120 homes in the burh, plus many shops and merchants, as well as the mint. I’m also guessing there were other houses outside the wall in what is now called Lady’s Parlor, as well as people living in the port town on the west side of Combe Valley. All totaled, I’m assuming there were upwards of 500 families in the Hastings area.

Here’s an updated model with the cliffs.

hasting-burh2-10-8-2015

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3D Model of Hastings

Posted on September 29, 2015 by Sue Babcock in 3D model, Hastings

I created this using a free 3D modeling program called SketchUp. This is my first rough draft of the Hastings burh layout I plan to use in the novel.

3D Model of Hastings Burh

3D Model of Hastings Burh

3D, Hastings, model, Sketchup Read More

Viking Ship Model

Posted on July 24, 2015 by Sue Babcock in Research, ships

ship-bow-with-oarsmen-and-oarsThe Vikings invaded and conquered Normandy a couple of centuries before the battle at Hastings. The Vikings also were frequent invaders of England, and I image that many of the English were descendent from these unrelenting warriors. So the battle of Hastings in 1066 was a battle between fierce men with similar ancestries and with long histories of aggression and war. One of the things that made the Vikings so successful in their pursuits for riches that took them to England, Normandy and beyond, even as far as Asia, was the design of their ships.

It took awhile, but my model of a Viking ship is just about done. I’ve never built models, so this was a first for me, and to make sure I had the full experience, I even added a crew. The oarsmen were from Emhar (Viking Oarsmen 9th-10th Century) and were a close match to the scale of Revell’s Viking Ship.

ship-hullOne of the steps that took me awhile to figure out was the painting of the ship. I didn’t want a ship that looked like it just came out of the shipyard, and so I research how to give wood a weathered look. It took several layers, with both dry brushing and using a dark wash. The other step that I got hung up on was the sail. My first attempt at painting it was pretty awful, and I decided that I hated the sail that came with the model. Off I went on a tangent to figure out how to make a cloth sail. After reading a few dozen websites about model sails, I decided this wasn’t going to happen. It was way more of a learning curve than I wanted to engage in at this time. Back to the sail that came with the ship. I repainted the whole thing off white, and used masking tape to carefully mask the white stripes while I painted red stripes. To give the whole thing a weathered look, I used an ochre and white wash over both the red and white stripes.

Satisfied with the sail, I moved on to the rigging. It’s been years and years and decades since my little bit of sailing I did in high school, and the knots and general concept took awhile to work out.ship-with-rigging-and sail

With most of the oarsmen installed along with some oars, the ship is shaping up satisfactorily. Not perfect, by any means, but the effort accomplished my goal of learning more about the ships that were probably still being used by the Normans and Saxons in 1066.

Emhar oarsmen, Revell, Viking ships Read More

The Viking Langskip (Longship)

Posted on June 8, 2015 by Sue Babcock in ships

Tapisserie_bato1My search for 1066 has led me to a wide range of topics, including “what did they eat,” “how did they light fires,” and “what were their homes like.” My latest search is to learn what their ships were like.

The Bayeux tapestry depicts several ships and from what I’ve been able to learn, many of the Normans and English ships of 1066 were not too far from the Viking langskip of earlier times.  This ship design had been used for at least three centuries to carry Vikings on their restless quests of new lands and new riches. The ships had broad beams and shallow drafts, with high prows fore and aft. Their hulls were constructed from planks in a clinker style, in which each board was lapped over the one below it and fastened with iron rivets. The shaping of each iron rivet requires up to a hundred hammer strikes, which gives the process its name of klinking. They were powered by sails and oars, wind and brawn. Incredibly well designed, the Norwegians and Danes built them in various sizes and for different purposes.

Barco_vikingoPerhaps the most famous design was the drekar – large, troop-carrying dragon ships, so called because of the fierce dragon heads mounted on the prows, and because of the fear they invoked in their hit-and-run attacks.

DRAKEN_HARALD_HÅRFAGRE._9._BORDGANG_SNART_PÅ_PLASS-smLiving here in the desert southwest, a long, long ways from the seas of the world, I don’t expect to experience a Viking longship first hand, not even an exquisitely crafted replica, but I wanted to know more about them. I read articles and watched videos of the building and sailing of the replicas, in particular the Dragon Harald Fairhair, constructed in Norway starting n 2010 (see the YouTube video at https://youtu.be/eQ3u0jjWCkc, a fascinating documentary of the building of this ship). The ship was built by ten men who worked on it over a twenty month period.

revell-viking-shipMy hands-on experience of building a Viking ship would need to be much, much smaller and simpler. I only wanted to be engaged in the process for a few weeks, not months. I went online and found a well-rated plastic model of a drekar made by Revell. This model is a decent scale of the Gokstad, which was a ship found in a burial mound in Norway and from dendrochronological dating, appears to have been built in about 890 AD. In my next blog, I’ll talk about assembling and painting the model.

Gokstad, Revell, Viking ships Read More
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(c) 2014-2015 Sue Babcock