WWII

How I’m going about writing the WIP, or, how not to

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

Well, at the request of Sputnitsa, I’m going to write about how I’m writing the WIP.

Procrastination. Sort of. Since my library has a very tiny selection of books that even pertain to Britain in general during WWII, I’m doing what research I can. If I find something interesting, I write it down in my handy-dandy notebook (I’m so thankful I took a few notes during my reading of the Time Life book on The Resistance).

But I’m being semi-productive and reading WWII history books, like Band of Brothers. I did find a couple of things that may be useful.

I’ve thrown myself into my research (ha, really just dipped a toe in to see how the water is). I’m hoping that with more background information, the story will get fleshed out. This’ll be a lot easier when I return to school; I’ll have JSTOR and other sites available to me.

My plot, alas, is bare bones. I know what I want to happen. I wrote the basic skeleton down, it’s literally a paragraph. I’m hoping that once my research really turns up some gems, I’ll have a better idea.

Characters are, at the moment, few and far between. There’s Jim, the MC, who is rather…bland. I know a few details about him, but he really hasn’t been given a chance to show his true colors.

And through it all, I’m writing little scenes to get in the swing of things. I’ve determined a few details that might help me research along the way, for example, Jim pilots a Spitfire. Now, I just need to find various squadrons that flew Spitfires, what their missions were, etc. From there, I’ll be able to determine more of the specifics, such as where he gets gunned down.

So there you go. A brief explanation of where I am, WIP wise. I’ll probably be mired in research for a few more months; I’m hoping to have enough basic information to get a first draft banged out during National Novel Writing Month. Except this time, I might take my time.

Of course, I love research very very much, so I may just get carried away. Which is always a problem.

Language problem: SOLVED. At least temporarily.

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

As my library has minimal resources on the RAF (or the British part of WWII at all), I decided to do some reading about WWII from the American point of view.

What did I learn from Band of Brothers?

A lot of Dutch people spoke English. HAH. Problem solved!

I also learned that the British army had daily rum rations and horrible food.

And in the US Army, only paratroopers could blouse their trousers (stick ’em in the tops of boots). Ah, the minor details that add so much color.

Books, books, more books, and yardsales.

General Geekiness

I love books. That shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who has followed this blog.

Every few years, though, I go through necessary purges. I acquire books. I hoard them. I keep them locked up in a plastic box and forget about them.

We decided to have a yardsale this weekend. My contribution? Close to two hundred books.

As I was going through them, I smiled. Looking at the random collection of books I have, it comes as no surprise to me that my current WIP (or, research in progress) is set in WWII. I forgot how much I loved that era during elementary school/middle school. Its amazing how much I forgot over the years!

And yes, I’m selling them all.

What’s on the Bookshelf? Vol. 14

What's On the Bookshelf?

Up to 14 already? And I don’t even review every book I read (though it sure seems like it!)

The Irregulars by Jennet Conant is a remarkable story. Its the story of the British spy ring in WWII Washington, and focuses specifically on Roald Dahl (yes, he of James and the Giant Peach).

While I found Conant’s writing a bit prone to cliches (or at least over familiar turns of phrase) at times, the story line is absolutely fascinating. Truth really is more interesting than fiction. The characters are larger than life, but at the same time, real. Dahl, the charismatic RAF pilot. David Ogilvy, the polling genius. William Stephensen, the Canadian head of the BSC. And, of course, Ian Fleming.

There are some real laugh-out loud moments (intentional, I’m sure), as these amatuer spies are quite spirited.

I’d wanted to read this book since Entertainment Weekly reviewed it last year…and my roommate had me read some of Dahl’s adult short stories (including “Genesis and Catastrophe” which I urge everyone to read).

This book is really what got me thinking that my WIP should be set during WWII. I was half way there already. I just needed the proper encouragement.

And somehow, in one photograph and a paragraph, I got on a Leslie Howard kick. Must update my Netflix queue.

Recommended for any one who has an interest in WWII espionage or Roald Dahl.

Turning out quite differently from what I expected…

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

I’m commencing work on The Continent now that it is WWII oriented. Alas, the first thing that got scrapped was the characters. Well, the main character and his brother, definitely. Liv’s been replaced with a kid named Jim (for now), a pilot in the RAF.

Why?

Well, first off, Liv’s name. Livius is more a sci fi/spec fic name, not that of a WWII pilot. Secondly, I hope to tell his story eventually, and I can’t have two Livs running around. It would get too confusing.

At the moment, Jim is Liv’s shadow; they are both incredibly patriotic and would gladly sacrifice themselves for their respective countries. But I’m working on making Jim very different from Liv. I think the situations Jim finds himself in will define him.

I just realized that I like short, one syllable names for my protagonists.

By the way, does anyone know any good books about WWII era RAF?