WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW ... OR WHAT YOU DON'T

WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW ... OR WHAT YOU DON'T
Friday, July 12, 2024 by AMANDA CABOT

Categories: Friday's Fiction / GUEST AUTHORS

PLEASE WELCOME

AMANDA CABOT

FICTION FRIDAY

THE AUTHOR’S STORY

Like most writers, I’ve heard the adage “write what you know” more times than I can count. It’s an excellent piece of advice and one I urge everyone to heed. Why? Because writing about what you know adds authenticity to your book.

If you’ve been trained as a chef and have a character who’s also a chef, you’ll be able to add details about the culinary profession that bring the story to life. But if you’ve never set foot inside a commercial kitchen and rely on your imagination, beware. Readers are smart; they’ll catch your mistakes. And while one or two mistakes might not be enough to stop them from picking up your next book, they might be. You don’t want to take that risk, do you?

I believe in following the “write what you know” advice … to a point. My Secrets of Sweetwater Crossing trilogy features three sisters, each with her own story. Since I’m one of three sisters, I could (and did) tap into my memories to create realistic sibling relationships.

The heroine of Into the Starlight is in training to be a concert pianist. Although I’ve never been a concert pianist, I did study piano for four years and was able to incorporate aspects of those lessons into Joanna’s backstory.

All three books are set in a small town in the Texas Hill Country. I spent my early childhood in a small Texas town, so I knew what life in a small town was like. Admittedly, the town wasn’t in the Hill Country, but I’ve visited that part of Texas often enough to be able to describe it.

So far, so good. But my stories take place during the late nineteenth century and my hero Burke is a physician. How could I make those aspects of my story ring true when I’ve never lived in the nineteenth century and have no experience with medical care during that era?

The answer, as you probably guessed, is research. Careful, thoughtful research.

My favorite places for research are museums since their exhibits allow me to see what things looked like. Nineteenth-century surgical tools made me cringe! In addition to the exhibits, most museums have docents who are more than happy to provide details that may not be included on the signage.

Of course, we can’t always find a museum that has what we need or, if one exists, it might not be possible to visit it. That’s when I rely on books. Time-Life Books has an outstanding series of books called This Fabulous Century, with each one detailing a decade of the twentieth century. And, fortunately for me, the series begins with Prelude: 1870-1900. What a find that was! There are chapters about how holidays were celebrated, what occupations were common, the state of education, the press, and so on. Best of all, the book is filled with pictures, giving me an insight into how people dressed, what their houses looked like … in other words, how they lived. This one book brought my story’s era to life.

If you’re wondering why I haven’t mentioned internet research, it’s because that’s third on my list. I’m sure you know that you need to be careful about sites on the internet since not all of them are accurate, but occasionally you’ll come across a treasure. For me, that was discovering Kean’s Domestic Medical Lectures in 1879. This is a PDF version of a book from the Library of Congress and, as you can guess from the title, it provided the details I needed to make Burke’s treatment of various illnesses authentic. I’ll admit that I shuddered when I read about some of the medicines used during that period, but the descriptions of the symptoms and progression of various diseases allowed me to include enough details that readers would understand what Burke’s life would have been like.

For me the beauty of research is that it turns what I don’t know into what I do know, and so I can follow the time-honored advice to write what I know.

ABOUT INTO THE STARLIGHT

Neither of their lives has turned out the way they planned—and they certainly never planned on each other.

After more than a year in Europe, Joanna Vaughn returns to Sweetwater Crossing, her dreams of becoming a concert pianist shattered. As if that wasn’t enough, her husband, whom she married after a whirlwind courtship, has died. The only thing sustaining her on the journey back to Texas is the thought of her childhood home. But to Joanna’s dismay, the place she once loved no longer feels like home.

When personal and professional crises throw his entire future into question, Dr. Burke Finley believes it’s time for a change. A quick trip to Sweetwater Crossing with his almost-aunt Della Samuels turns into an extended stay to discover what happened to his uncle and her would-be husband. But the beautiful and musical Joanna makes it more than bearable.

As the two join forces to help Della, there is no denying the attraction felt on both sides. But ghosts from the past aare coming to call—and threatening to destroy any chance at happily ever after.

Buying Links

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Into-Starlight-Sisters-Mystery-Romance/dp/0800740661/

B&N https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/into-the-starlight-amanda-cabot/1144111588?ean=9780800740665

Christian Book https://www.christianbook.com/into-the-starlight-softcover-3/amanda-cabot/9780800740665/pd/0740665?event=ESRCG

ABOUT AMANDA CABOT

Amanda Cabot is the bestselling author of more than forty books and a variety of novellas. Her books have been honored with starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Library Journal and have been finalists for the ACFW Carol Award, the HOLT Medallion, and the Booksellers’ Best.

Social Media Links

www.amandacabot.com

https://www.facebook.com/amanda.j.cabot

https://twitter.com/AmandaJoyCabot/

http://amandajoycabot.blogspot.com/

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Comments

marilyn leach From colorado At 7/12/2024 3:14:21 PM

Linda, Amanda, thank you. I appreciate your sources of research making the internet the 3rd choice, Amanda. With AI becoming more and more accepted, it seems research is becoming a lost art. Keep up the good work. Cheers