Vicki Lane's Amazon Blog

Along with the laptop, the Strunk and White Elements of Style, and an ever-growing library of books having to do with southern Appalachia, an indispensable part of my authorial life is what I have come to think of as my writer's toolkit.

Nope, it's not some nifty pre-assembled collection in a fancy faux-leather totebag, available for $54.99 from Ideas R Us (that mythical place where writers get their inspiration); it's a home grown Collection of Useful Things -- some real, some virtual -- which I commend to any would-be writers out there.

Necessity being the mother of invention, my collection grew with as the Goodweather/Marshall County saga stretched from one to two and three and four and now five (in progress) books, First came the simple list of characters: name, date of birth, physical description, quirks -- just enough to remind me what color eyes someone has so they don't change from book to book. Pets and farm animals are listed there too -- do you remember the name of Little Sylvie's daddy's old bull?  Then I added the names of places and businesses -- just to keep myself straight and so I didn't have to thumb back through a previous book to find out what the name of that meat and three restaurant was anyway.

Eventually -- by book three, I think -- I started making family trees for my main characters, including birth, marriage, and death dates.  That Yoknapatawpha thing, as Herself, my editor, calls it, can tangle you up in a heartbeat if you don't keep records.And it's nice to know that there are relatives waiting in the wings to be drawn into Marshall County, should the need arise.

I began a Nature Journal early on -- a record of what's blooming at what time of year in my neck of the woods. Maybe lots of folks wouldn't notice but I know some who'd fling the book out the window if I were to have daffodils and daylilies blooming at the same time. (Actually, I know that particular pairing is very inaccurate -- but there are some others that I need to keep track of.)

For whatever book I'm working on, I usually download a calendar and a chart of moon phases for the times that the story takes place. I had to stage those trips down the river in DARK SEASON when there was moonlight! And you sure can't have a full moon on two consecutive weekends.

I have an ever-lengthening time line for Marshall County -- beginning with early settlers at the moment but I hope eventually to push it back to before the coming of the white man. I use a kind of double entry system -- real events, such as the coming of the railroad, the Trail of Tears, the War of Northern Aggression (just kidding, folks) are in bold, and fictional events like Kyra's mother's death, in ordinary type.

Over to one side in my tool kit is a local phone book -- an excellent source for names that suit my county-- and a good way to make sure I'm not naming a real person. I  also keep lists on my computer of names from obituaries and birth announcements and sports events. I divide these lists up by eras --There weren't many girls being named Retha or Sophronia in the 1990s -- just as there probably weren't many Britneys or Hunters or Tiffanys back in the early 1900s.

In a folder on my computer  I keep a list of interesting turns of phrase - such as the woman who was avoiding dairy products because she was 'lack toast and intolerant." Waiting for a chance to use that one.

I have a loose leaf notebook with pictures torn from magazines of people who come close to what I imagine my characters to look like, as well as pictures and/or floor plans of houses. (Phillip's rented house is a nice little cottage with some charming features.)  There are rough maps of various locales -- here again, to keep me from blundering.

And finally, as I work, I keep a chapter by chapter listing of day, weather, moon phase, point of view,  and major plot point in that chapter.

It's taken quite a few years to assemble my writer's toolkit -- and I wouldn't be without it. I can't imagine writing a series without one.