It's Stream of Consciousness Day

by the totally distracted author, Suzanne Morgan Williams

It's my turn on the blog, and perhaps because the whole house is torn apart so painters can work, I'm having a heck of a time focusing on one topic. So I declare this Middle Grade Historical Writer Stream of Consciousness Day. I'm sure you've heard of it. Here goes.

• I have a historical manuscript that I'm waiting to hear back on. I believe I'll jinx my work by speaking too soon, so more on that later - if anything comes of a year and a half of work and a lot of hopes and prayers.
• The painters are nice guys doing a really detailed job of redoing the interior of our home. Most of it is staying exactly the same color. We just needed it freshened up. I decided to change the color of two rooms. That seems fun and gives the whole place a different feel. It doesn't seem all that different from revising a manuscript. You keep the structure and polish up everything. A few sections definitely need to change. Now if you decide to re-write a manuscript, that's like tearing the roof off or adding a second story. The result may be better but it probably won't be recognizable.
• How do I know when I've found the right story? It fascinates me. I can't stop researching. When I tell people about it I get excited, and if I've hit the right note, they do too. If I have the right story, I'm tenacious and bull dog like. I want to give it life and that usually requires revisions and maybe a re-writing or two.
• And here's the thing about choosing to write about heroes and leaders that we know about, stories we learned in school - we already know them. A new topic may not seem important, because we don't know what would be interesting about it, or we might not feel comfortable with the subject. This is how the same history gets told again and again. Readers expect certain themes. Our job as writers is to find important stories that haven't been told, or to tell familiar ones in a fresh way. Both are satisfying and both can add to our understanding of history and our cultural capital.
• Our historical understanding will only be improved by adding more stories, particularly about those people who've been omitted from traditional histories. And, like painting, be it house painting or fine art, the details tell it best. Focus. Sorry about mine, but gee, it's Stream of Consciousness Day.