[stylist] Irish novel

Sat Apr 21 02:11:17 UTC 2012

Thank you Bridgit, I never know if one of my ideas is worth writing about as
what I think is fasenating may not be a shared interest by others.  I
realize this story will not be every ones cup of tea but I am glad you think
it might be interesting, that gives me hope that others might to.  I know
the Irish famine is a commonly told story but like I said I hope to
accomplish incorporating some of the things not as well known about the
time.  As far as character development goes I usually tell stories from the
prospective of the person but it is still in third person.  I think you get
a double perspective that way.  I like to switch prospective so you can
really get in each of their heads, really feel their emotions.  I guess it
is kind of like a Follett book if you ever read him.  I don't copy him but I
do take a lot of my lessons from reading his books.  I love how he can make
you feel empathy for all of his characters' even if you want to hate some
you cant completely.  Their was only one character of his maybe two in
different books that I found no sympathy for.  However in most of his books
he has you loathing a character only to root him on later.  It really brings
a since of humanity to his stories.  I love it because it is more realistic
than a clear line of good and evil.  In the real world there is no such
line, because everyone has a story.  I guess I want to make an impact in the
way he does by both having relatable characters' and yet get the history to
be felt by the reader.  Follett really is the reason I started righting
historical fiction.  I have always been interested in history and soak it up
like a sponge but his books gave me a hole knew understanding of the times
and places he writes about because you live it through the characters as if
you were their.  If you have never read Ken Follett I recommend his books
everything he writes is amazing excepts his first few books but even he
agrees they were not as good.  His first good book was eye of the needle
then they just kept being amazing.  The sequel to fall of giants comes out
some time this year to.

Andi  

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Bridgit Pollpeter
Sent: Friday, April 20, 2012 12:00 PM
To: stylist at nfbnet.org
Subject: [stylist] Irish novel

Andi,

Wow, sounds like you have a good grasp on where you want your story to go.
There is a lot of political and social issues you plan to incorporate, which
can be tough, but your best bet will be to focus on character development,
providing great, compelling characters readers will want to spend pages
with.

Ancient Irish culture, Ireland in the 1800's and Ireland in the early 1900's
seems to be the eras I have the most knowledge of both historically and in
terms of literature. It's a fascinating, sad and powerful history. I think
your story ideas sounds interesting and potentially moving.

You are so right in most people not being aware of the conditions many Irish
faced during the famine and the subsequent following years. To this day,
Ireland is still dealing with the social, political and economical issues
stemming from the famine. In fact, before the famine, Ireland's population
was much larger, but it has never recuperated that population since, from
both deaths and immigration. At least half its population was lost and never
recovered.

The workhouses and segregation of the Anglo-Irish (English implants who had
settled in Ireland) native Irish and British are never fully explored in
many stories, and many people are unaware of the horrible conditions the
Irish faced on so many levels because of British colonization and domination
of this beautiful country.

So good luck, and I look forward to this in the future.

Sincerely,
Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
Read my blog at:
http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/

"History is not what happened; history is what was written down."
The Expected One- Kathleen McGowan

Message: 3
Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:12:33 -0400
From: "Andi" <adrianne.dempsey at gmail.com>
To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [stylist] Anotating books
Message-ID: <4f8f203e.c506320a.41cd.ffffc1c6 at mx.google.com>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"

Bridgit
Thanks.
I love history and it is part of my double major, but I never get enough of
it.  I am one of those odd balls that actually got excited when a research
paper was assigned especially if it was a new topic or one I didn't know
much about.  I love pretty much all historical knowledge from all cultures
and places but I to have had a fondness for Irish...
Well Irish everything. My next book will follow three people a sister and
brother and another boy. It will start when they are children and follow
them through their lives. It will start with the brother and sister losing
their father to a house fire started by an angry landlord.
The brother and sister will stick together while trying to survive on the
cold damp streets of Ireland. Eventually they are fortunate to be taken in
by a pub owner.  They are so relieved to have food in their stomach's and a
warm place to sleep that they work like slaves for the man who rescued them
not out of kindness  but out of greed for almost free labor.  The owner
turns out to be interested in the maturing sister and when the brother who
is now older and no longer the scrawny boy he was defends his sister, he is
arrested.  He is sent as a teenager to work on a British naval ship this
time a true slave.  The sister is stuck with the vile pub owner until by
accident she meets a boy her age, befriends him  and gains the courage to
leave.  The book will follow his life from childhood as well up to this
point however their stories do not intertwine until this point.  His story
is one not often told when looking at the history of Ireland, for he and his
family live and work in the workhouses implemented and growing in population
and shrinking in space because of the Famine.  Eventually they will take the
dangerous journey to North America.  At some point their story will rejoin
with her brothers in their new "home."  America will present a hole knew set
of struggles for the some what uneasy trio.  The book will show the
perspectives of each of the three main characters back and forth as the book
goes.
     Sorry for the description but it is going to be a long book and span
many years so this description sounds jumbled.  My main goal with this book
besides making an interesting story is to explore some of the things that is
often overlooked when we learn about this time in Irish history.  Some of
the familiar components are their, but generally you don't hear about the
work houses or the ship slaves or even much about the upper class such as
people who would be able to afford a nights lodging at a pub/hotel of sorts.
There is more to this book and I don't know how to explain it all in a short
message.  I am sorry for the length of this message.  This book is on the
back burner at the moment for the book I am riding now, which takes place
much much much much earlier in history and in a different part of the world.
What do you think from the little detail I have shared about this Irish
historical novel?  Does it sound at all interesting or worth writing?  I
hope to also include details about the secret schools and other things that
will ring true of Irish culture.

Andi

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