How I Write a Book, #3

Spring in My Garden

BUT I AM WRTING A BOOK....

The publisher has stated that I have one year to write the book about the Columbia River, 1200+ miles long, so I divide the preparation into 100 miles a month. The topic covers too much area to absorb the feeling of the whole river at once. I go to the first 100 miles of river for two weeks, then go back to my office, write for two weeks, and on to the next 100 miles.

During each research of two weeks on site I do not try to write finished text. I visit the local library or any other local source of pertinent information and take notes, make copies, record the ambiance of the place, get the area's relationship to the entire river's history as I then know it roughly, interview many people and get their signed clearances to use material (if needed) and any photographs of people (must have to meet today's rules). 

I gather and double-check any information that is scheduled for some books, such as places to stay, eat, visit as a tourist, and any advice for visitors if that is the type of armchair history you are writing. Double-check all these details and determine, as much as you can, if the information will be about the same within the coming year or two. From this first day of writing about something to the issuance for the public (bookstores, signings, etc.) will take about 1-2 years.

For the book Colunbia River I learn and record matters. When was the river discovered by Europeans or any person or group that recorded this in some language (French, Russian, English, ?). Find a First Nations person to see if earliest data is known about how the river was used or homes built near there, what the people did to support themselves (fish, grow crops, ?)  Determine the exact site of the river's birth, photo if possible. What does it do then -- run into a pond, river, lake, or wind around. How wide is it? Interesting tidbits, which are crucial to creating a book that has some life and not just statistics and hard information, e.g., the CR runs through a golf course now, so imagine teeing off over the CR, because at its beginning it is just a stream no wider than your street, perhaps, and near the ocean is four to six MILES wide.  Another interesting squib might be that many people do not know that the CR runs northwest for a great distance before it turns south and eventually west. I work this into a narrative that makes readers feel they are there in person. Mentally, when I am writing the book, I AM there.

See you again at approximately mile 101 downstream in blog 4. 

JoAnn Roe