Walker,+Chad

1. Memoir - I have always wanted to write about myself in the "true" sense. I feel like I have lived a interesting life traveling to Tokyo and London. There are many funny stories that are true and engaging. - I want to break free of the fiction writing with something new that I have not really tackled yet.

2. History piece - I have always been fascinated with history. Mostly, the history of Asia or video games. I feel like this can be a good door way into some interesting writing that is very foreign to me. - I want to jump in with both feet and talk about stories of the past.

Hi Chad: My main reservation about memoir is that we have written two memoirs already. I'd like you to branch out. History is a subject, rather than a genre, but there are some interesting possibilities:

Oral history, based on an interview with someone -- lots of these can be found on the web "You are there" I think history teachers sometimes assign these, where you insert yourself as an on-the-scene observer of an historical event. News article or feature article about an historical event as it might have appeared in a newspaper at that time. Historical fiction -- like a short story with a historical event in the background - e.g. a teenager trying to find work during the Depression.

Remember this can't be really long, probably 1,000 - 2,000 words.

Bill

Historical Fiction

Annotated Bibliography

Collins, Wilkie. //Jezebel's Daughter//. Diggory Press. March 8, 2008. This novel is a historical fiction telling of a disgraced widow's daughter falling in love with a wealthy man and how forbidden their love is. The work took place in the Victorian era which I was rather fond of. Collins takes into account the history of the time, the fashion, slang, and politics of marrying a class higher than you. I would not mind trying my hand at a romance in the Victorian era.

Kadohata, Cynthia. //Weedflower//. Atheneum. June 30, 2008. This one is placed during the days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and how a Japanese family in South California must deal with the issues of a nation at war. A child misses her old life and longs for the return of her family from the prison camps. She tries to rationalize why the bad things keep happening and must deal with it with a young boy in the same shoes.

Scott, Tim K. //A Treasured Threat//. By Myself and its Showing. March 25, 2009. This book does an alternate history of where some people from Florida go through a biblical testaments that integrate small parts of the history of its time.

Weinblatt, Charles. //Jacob's Courage: A Holocaust Love story//. Mazo Publishers. March 15, 2007. This is another historical fiction with some romance elements in the mix. This story touches on how two lovers in 1939 are first taken of the luxuries of life then their freedom as well. It goes through the horrible things done to the Jews with gruesome detail yet it is still possible for love to bloom in the worst of places. I think the history is a nice setting, and even more so, the plot of the book with love in a time of hate and despair.

Yoshikawa, Eiji. //Taiko//. Kodansha International. January 16, 2001. I wanted to touch on Asian history as well. This book takes place during the fall of the shogunate of Japan. Feudal lords bicker and the customs of the Japanese are shown beautifully in this novel. The novel does touch on almost everything. Political view of Japan of the 16 century, romance, betrayal. This one really has it all!

HOW TO WRITE HISTORICAL FICTION, FOR DUMMIES...

All one has to do is follow these easy to remember steps and you are off to writing some good historical fiction...

Step 1: Think about a time of history you are interested in. I.E. World War II, The Great Depression, The height of the Roman Empire.

Step 2: Look up some information on this time. See what the customs were like and how people talked. Dig deep!

Step 3: Start making some characters that YOU believe could of existed during that time. Grab characteristics from family and friends and try placing them in 16th century Japan or so forth!

Step 4: Begin to write a rough draft of your fiction and have a history nut look over it. See if you got something wrong or inaccurate.

Step 5: Revise some more and turn in your completed work of historical fiction.

And that all there is to it folks!