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Post by Greg C. on Mar 12, 2008 12:11:42 GMT -5
You all know of my dilemma, I have to wait two more years before I can re-submit my manuscript. So, I have come up with a plan, for a new project...well, sort of. I'm going to scrap the "An Alamo Story" book and start working on a Historical Fiction novel about David Crockett. The book would be broken down into four parts, 1. His childhood and youth, 2. Indian War Years, 3. Political Years, 4. Fight for freedom.
One of the good things about doing this is, since it is a work of Historical fiction, and not much is known about his childhood, I'm free to take license with what I want to write. For instance, I know he ran away from home at age 10 and didn't return until after he was 16. What happened during those years? Who raised him? Who taught him his backwoods skills? Those are questions I am free to make up an answer to in this novel.
For the 4th part of the book, I can use an edited version of the 50+ page Alamo manuscript. It sounds like a good idea to me, but I'm eager to here your thoughts and comments.
Greg
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RebAl
Senior Member
Civil War Photographer
Posts: 296
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Post by RebAl on Mar 12, 2008 13:44:02 GMT -5
Sounds like a big project, could you not write a totally fictional account of his childhood aimed at the childrens market?
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Post by Greg C. on Mar 12, 2008 14:15:47 GMT -5
I have thought about writing for the younger audience market but I want my aim to be for teenagers my age up to adults that will enjoy a short, fast paced novel. It does seem like a big project, but hey, I have two years to complete it.
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Post by neferetus on Mar 12, 2008 15:23:24 GMT -5
You might also elect to just spend the next two years polishing up AN ALAMO STORY. Clean it up, hone it down and then let someone who knows very little about the Alamo read it. If they can follow the story without coming back to you with a litany of questions, you will know you have a fairly balanced story.
Next, show it to an Alamo buff who will ask questions. It's always good to have a sounding board to bounce your story against. If, like spaghetti, it "sticks", then your novel may be considered truly done.
Two years may seem like a long time, but it is just the blink of an eye in the life of a manuscript. Speaking from personal experience, I'm certainly glad that the early draft of my own book did not get accepted by a publisher. Back in 1995, I was this close to getting published. It was between my book and another and the other book won. This left me 8 years to hone down the manuscript and smooth out its many kinks. Not that you will have to wait that long before submitting AN ALAMO STORY again, but just bear in mind that there is no real deadline for getting your novel out in the public eye. Just remember that your name will be attached to it, so you'll only want a representation of your best work.
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Post by Greg C. on Mar 12, 2008 15:33:12 GMT -5
That's why I think I'm going to scrap the original project and just combine it with the Crockett story. I have said numerous times how unhappy I was with it, and this is my chance to turn it into something better, and longer.
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Post by seguin on Mar 13, 2008 23:59:39 GMT -5
Well, a writer is always very critical of his own work. Sometimes too critical! Your story can´t have been all that bad since the publisher accepted it! It was only your age that became a problem.
If you feel like doing the Crockett project then by all means go ahead. Maybe it´s a good idea since you´re unhappy with the your original story. There´s certainly no harm in trying to incorporate the story into the Crockett project. If the Crockett project should prove to be too big a project, you can always re-submit the original story to a publisher...
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Post by Greg C. on Mar 14, 2008 13:44:11 GMT -5
Well, a writer is always very critical of his own work. Sometimes too critical! Your story can´t have been all that bad since the publisher accepted it! It was only your age that became a problem. If you feel like doing the Crockett project then by all means go ahead. Maybe it´s a good idea since you´re unhappy with the your original story. There´s certainly no harm in trying to incorporate the story into the Crockett project. If the Crockett project should prove to be too big a project, you can always re-submit the original story to a publisher... The Crockett project may seem overwhelming but since I have no deadline, no pressure, I'm taking my time about it and enjoying it. I like seeing the different characters and conversations that arise when I'm in the middle of trying to concoct a story. Since so much of his childhood is unknown, I'm free to say what I want, and that makes it a whole lot easier. But, when I get to his congress days, I'm gonna need possible transcripts of his speeches to work them in to the story. Also his marriage with Polly, I wouldn' know how to write a love story so I may just mention it a few times and then only go into detail when she dies. |
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Post by neferetus on Mar 14, 2008 14:08:58 GMT -5
Maybe it's a good idea after all, incorporating the best elements of the old book into the new. I did that with ONE DOMINGO MORNING after I'd reached a point where I was frustrated as to where the story was going. So, taking a hiatus from it, I banged off a short novella on Madam Candelaria in about two weeks. It was a great learning experience. The joy of it was that, instead of worrying about historical accuracy, I just let the creative juices flow and concentrated on coming up with a story that would be just plain fun. The end results were surprizingly pleasing to me. I turned Candelaria into a teenage girl in love with Travis and then just let the story tell itself. Once finished, I realized that it was the love element that was missing from Joe's story. So, I merely lifted all of Candelaria's best scenes from the novella and gave them to Silvie in ONE DOMINGO MORNING. In retrospect, I'm glad that I did, too.
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Post by Greg C. on Mar 14, 2008 14:13:35 GMT -5
Whatever works, I guess. Since the book is going to be labeled Historical Fiction, I can make the Alamo garrison have gattling guns if I really wanted lol...
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Post by neferetus on Mar 14, 2008 14:19:35 GMT -5
Whatever works, I guess. Since the book is going to be labeled Historical Fiction, I can make the Alamo garrison have gattling guns if I really wanted lol... I wouldn't go that far! ;D  But you could still try and make your book appealing to both male and female audiences. You could play up on Crockett's realtionships with his wives, give him a girlfriend as a kid and even one in San Antonio. (John Wayne did.) |
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Post by neferetus on Mar 14, 2008 14:40:19 GMT -5
Oh yeah, and don't be afraid to be a little 'schmaltzy'. TV shows like THE WALTONS and LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE were amazingly successful because they dared to tug at the heartstrings of their viewing audience. (The LITTLE HOUSE books continue to be read worldwide, as well, on account of this approach.)
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Post by Greg C. on Mar 14, 2008 14:59:09 GMT -5
I would give him a girl friend as a kid but the way I'm writing it is, he runs away when he is about 10 years old and meets a mountain man who takes care of him. 6 years later, Crockett returns to his family, where they accept him back again. From there he volunteers and the Creek War begins. Then off to congress and finally, the Alamo. My only question is, and maybe you can help me out, when exactly did Crockett arrive in San Antonio?
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Post by Greg C. on Mar 14, 2008 15:40:00 GMT -5
After only five chapters, I have a boatload of characters...
David Crockett- son
Aaron Crockett- son
Nathan Crockett- son
John Crockett- father
Rebecca Crockett- mother
Elizabeth Crockett- daughter
Rebecca Jane Crockett- daughter
Nancy Simpson- classmate
Theoren Clifford- classmate
William Cantwell- school teacher
Gerald Fitzpatrick- reverend
Charles Shutter- general store owner
Patrick Finn- frontiersman
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Post by seguin on Mar 14, 2008 20:02:05 GMT -5
Five chapters already? That´s great, Greg!
Maybe Davy meets some indians in his youth who gives him an appeciation of their culture and maybe that´s the reason he stands up for their rights in Congress?
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Post by Cole_blooded on Mar 14, 2008 21:48:29 GMT -5
Greg take this book idea by the horn, read, take notes, draw/sketch, discuss, think, observe etc, etc and you have time to impliment these tasks! ;D Heck why not name one of Crockett`s sons Greg or Gregory? Good luck on this assignment! TED COLE....aka....Cole_blooded  |
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Post by Greg C. on Mar 14, 2008 21:49:13 GMT -5
Five chapters already? That´s great, Greg! Maybe Davy meets some indians in his youth who gives him an appeciation of their culture and maybe that´s the reason he stands up for their rights in Congress? You know Seguin, I have given that serious thought but right now I'm going with him being raised by a frontiersman, but that could change if i get some inspiration. |
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Post by neferetus on Apr 20, 2008 20:14:21 GMT -5
An important thing is to give your story a certain amount of believability. Being a work of historical fiction means that everything doesn't necessarily have to have happened. But it also needs to fall into the realm of 'could have happened'. Remember, you're going to be dealing with Crockett fans and you have to satisfy them to a certain degree.
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Post by Greg C. on Apr 20, 2008 20:18:01 GMT -5
After talking with Wade a couple of weeks ago, I thought it best to not go forward with the Crockett story. Rather, I'm re-writing the Alamo book. It starts out in modern times, with an old man telling a child the story of the Alamo. It's going to be titled "Crimson Dawn."
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Post by seguin on Apr 20, 2008 20:37:56 GMT -5
Makes me think of the movie Little Big Man, where Jack Crabb (Dustin Hofman) looks back at age 99 (or whatever) and tells the story of his youth...
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Post by neferetus on Apr 20, 2008 21:39:31 GMT -5
There's a XXX book about the Alamo by James Wakefield Burke called BLAZING DAWN.
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But you could still try and make your book appealing to both male and female audiences. You could play up on Crockett's realtionships with his wives, give him a girlfriend as a kid and even one in San Antonio. (John Wayne did.)
