Dear Reader,
Linda Stewart Henley, today's guest author writes:
I enjoy writing historical fiction, especially when I have a connection with the place or period where the story takes place. I grew up in England in the area South of London and my book Kate's War is set there. I find the year in Britain after the declaration of war but before the Blitz fascinating: people prepared for a war that didn't seem to be happening, and for a while, they called it the "phony war." My book is about ordinary people and how they adjusted to the reality of World War II.
Learn more about Linda at https://www.lindastewarthenleyauthor.com/
Email: [email protected]
How I learned to write fiction
When we moved to the Pacific Northwest after retirement, my husband Vince announced that he was going to write a novel. He is an avid reader and had written many technical and business documents, but never a long work of fiction, so I asked him how he would go about doing this. He replied that he would start by taking classes in creative writing.
And he did. We both did. But our teacher only expected students to write anecdotes or short memoirs, usually no longer than a page or so. There were no classes available locally on how to write a long work of fiction. So Vince decided to offer the class himself. He ordered dozens of books, read them all, wrote a murder mystery novella, and then advertised his class. The first time he taught it, about four students enrolled. He insisted that I take it, despite my protests that I was sure I couldn't write a book.
He has now written two novellas and two novels, and he has taught the class ten more times. As his understanding about the craft of writing increased, he developed a comprehensive syllabus and class format. Now twelve attendees meet once a week, January to May, in a three-hour session for a total of eighteen weeks. Each class includes a lecture and peer critique session, and everyone writes between 2,000 and 3,500 words each week. By the end of the class, participants have completed either a novella (minimum of 30,000 words) or a novel (minimum of 50,000 words). During the last week of the Seminar, he reads everyone's entire manuscript and provides a final written evaluation.
To my surprise, and no small thanks to my husband's excellent teaching, I learned to write fiction. During the ten classes that I took over a ten-year period, I wrote first drafts of three novels, all of which have been or will be published. My third novel Kate's War will be released on April 9, 2024.
And his novels? He has no desire to go through the arduous process of editing, revising, and marketing, so his work remains unpublished, though he still writes and adds manuscripts to his pile on the shelf. Vince says he gets his greatest pleasure from helping other people achieve their literary objectives.
-- Linda Stewart Henley
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
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