kc Dyer and Diana Gabaldon at SiWC

kc Dyer, author of youth-oriented books and Diana Gabaldon, author of adult literature have something in common (probably more than one something, but anyway)... The use of time travel in their books. How they differ is in how they make use of time travel. In this presentation, they discussed some of the principles of and rules behind using time travel in a novel.

Workshop Description:

Travel Through Time with Diana Gabaldon and kc dyer. Enter into a lively discussion as these award-winning authors examine the intricacies of traveling through time when writing for adults and children.

Time travel

• Can you change time? Should you change time?

• Steven Hawking believes it is possible.

How does it work?

• DG - Genetic

• Everybody can - access to time machine.

• kD - Constraints - serious consideration to time travel. Drug induced? Portal?

• It must be integral to the story (framing) - not just everyone bopping around.

• Be consistent with the rules. What happens with clothes? Glasses? Pacemaker? Prosthetics? etc

• Operate by the customs of the past.

• kD - Doesn't read books in era she is researching. Doesn't want to mix up what the place looks like - doesn't want to inadvertently use someone else's description of the place.

Language

• DG - Depicting lower class with a cockney accent is very jarring - don't use.

• Suspend disbelief!

• Use a very light hand with writing accents.

• When in doubt, revert to standard, formal english. This gives a universal tone to the book.

• kD - James Harriot does a great job of handling the dialect of the Yorkshire dales.

Recommended reading:

A Connetticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

Mark Twain

Time Machine

HG Wells

The Doomsday Book

Connie Willison

Websites

kc Dyer and Diana Gabaldon

Blogs

kc Dyer and Diana Gabaldon

Anne Perry, Jack Whyte, Robert McCammon, Diana Gabaldon Moderator: Anthony Dalton at SiWC

All right, here is a new game for you. Take five amazing writers. Put them in a room and let them talk with one another. See what sort of notes you come up with.

Here are the results from the first time I played this game:

Making History. Non-fiction author Anthony Dalton moderates this panel of historical fiction superstars as they share their secrets of bringing real history to life in fiction. With authors Diana Gabaldon, Robert McCammon, Anne Perry, and Jack Whyte.

DG - Her favorite book is the one she is working on.

JW - History has unchanging elements. The writer must demystify it. They need to make it relevant to current readers.

Do you need to write a glossary?

JW - Have to do it for editor.

AP - Having a street map is useful.

JW - (On writing accents) Change as few vowels as possible to differentiate each accent for character. Write in normal, idiomatic english otherwise.

DG - Loch Ness smells like cold mud and dead fish.

Maps, small alleys, bylanes. (Not sure. Describe them? Get historical maps to be more accurate? I don't know.)

JW - Nelson's navy in the 16th and 17th century cut down (clearcut) the oak forests in the Highlands to build the navy. They never grew back.

On including real people in historical fiction

Allow real people to cross the street in front of fictional characters, etc. Otherwise, unless you know they do it (it is written down somewhere), don't make them do it.

And this is all I wrote down.

It would appear I ignored Robert McCammon. I didn't. The man was absolutely spell-binding. He spoke quietly and everyone leaned forward in their seats to catch every word. What I found most interesting is what he didn't say. He took a ten year break where he did no writing. Then he started again. What did he do during these ten years? He went for a lot of walks.

Then he wrote The Queen of Bedlam, a book Jack Whyte described in a later session as a book so beautiful (I'm paraphrasing here), it spurred him to invite Robert to the SiWC. A book with an amazing example of the use of dialogue in one of the opening scenes.

I know they discussed editors. I know they answered questions from the audience. I doubt I blinked more than once a minute through the entire sitting. Like all the other SiWC seminars, it was a truly amazing experience. Bravo to the SiWC planning committee and if anyone is still on the fence about whether or not to attend, I vote you do. You are taking votes, aren't you?

Websites

Anne Perry

Jack Whyte

Robert McCammon

Diana Gabaldon (Did I mention I love her podcasts?)

Diana Gabaldon at SiWC

Diana Gabaldon, author of the Outlander series, the Lord John Grey series and numerous other novels, anthologies, non-fiction and other bits of writing presented on how to include research in writing at the SiWC.

Workshop Description:

I've Done My Research and Now You are Going to Pay. Join bestselling author Diana Gabaldon for a discussion on how best to do research and how not to dump it all over your story.

Here are my miscellaneous university student notes. She gave much more interesting information than this that I never wrote down, having heard similar tips on her podcasts, etc. I would highly recommend giving them a listen.

Historical fiction

• Details must have an emotional stake. You can include any interesting bit of information, as long as it moves the story forward. Don't just dump it in.

• Write not only for accuracy, but historical plausibility.

• Children's books are fact-checked much more thoroughly than books for adults - you can use them as a reference at times.

• Painters from the period can give you an idea of what people looked like.

• Visit museums.

• Diana has written with a goose quill pen / dip pen. Doing things like this can help you to "live" through a scene. Some artifacts will have a certain vibration when you pick them up - give you an idea what it would be like to hold it, use it.

• Diana collects old Southebys catalogues.

Period expressions will add to a story.

Recommended readings:

A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English

-Eric Partridge

The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue*

*This book gives examples of low slang expressions.

-Captain Francis Grose

Good Dialogue

• Consider details important to the character. The way they speak is most important to the character.

• Different people use language differently.

• Use short sentences.

• An old lady and a 12-year old shouldn't speak the same.

Background

• Info dumps vs atmosphere.

• It needs to be focused on (filtered through) the character.

• Experience as the character.

• Something should happen (you want to use action).

• When using description, have at least one sense of action per paragraph.

Randoms

• Trews, waistcoats (pronounced westkits).

• Regional tartan sets - 1 weaver / area (usually men). Waulking = to felt wool. Women used to sing waulking songs to pass the time.

You can find out more about Diana Gabaldon at her website, or on her blog. You can find links to her podcast series on her website, as well as on you can find on iTunes.