tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822452633282744192.post2408454218782934966..comments2024-03-25T12:21:56.752-05:00Comments on Sweethearts Of The West: How Real Do You Like Your Historicals?Caroline Clemmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14914658854159456335noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822452633282744192.post-40722771143284063152012-06-07T11:18:55.914-05:002012-06-07T11:18:55.914-05:00Hi Elysa,
I like to put as much reality into my hi...Hi Elysa,<br />I like to put as much reality into my historicals as I can without taking away from the story. Ultimately it's about the characters and I don't want to detract from that emotion. Historical details ground the reader in the story but too many will take them out. BTW, Lonesome Dove is a great book, but like you, I enjoy the HEA.Kathy Ottenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17996558118761118634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822452633282744192.post-15236546945231012182012-06-07T10:10:11.660-05:002012-06-07T10:10:11.660-05:00As a writer it's our job to balance the realit...As a writer it's our job to balance the reality of our historical settings with the needs of the story and the sensibilities of the reader. Larry McMurtry does this with great skill in his westerns. The only thing he doesn't give his readers that I prefer is a happy ending. :-)<br /><br />Each time period and setting has it's own challenges. I love westerns that are realistic about what people faced, but show the beauty of the place and time, as well as the ingenuity of the people. And of course in romance provide a happy ending, at least for the hero and heroine. :-)Elysahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10149532952197876886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822452633282744192.post-23923131835467715712012-06-07T09:42:08.649-05:002012-06-07T09:42:08.649-05:00Hi Nancy,
I remember watching All In The Family, w...Hi Nancy,<br />I remember watching All In The Family, when for the first time TV audiences heard a toilet flush. Over the years our sensitivity to reality changes,the trick is finding the balance.Kathy Ottenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17996558118761118634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822452633282744192.post-55911233536157925922012-06-07T06:36:22.398-05:002012-06-07T06:36:22.398-05:00I don't think we should whitewash just how inc...I don't think we should whitewash just how inconvenient living was back then, but as an author you've also got to make your reader empathise.Nancy Jardine Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12366248895961876075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822452633282744192.post-68049198002869786752012-06-06T23:32:43.825-05:002012-06-06T23:32:43.825-05:00Hi Dana,
We don't have grasshoppers yet, but w...Hi Dana,<br />We don't have grasshoppers yet, but when the hay gets tall, they'll be flying and jumping all over me when I walk through the fields with my dog. I hate them, but it sounds like they are way worse out where you are. And I can't imagine what those early settlers endured with them when even the water tasted like grasshoppers. Blah!Kathy Ottenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17996558118761118634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822452633282744192.post-82764947718590820242012-06-06T23:28:55.807-05:002012-06-06T23:28:55.807-05:00Hi Paisley,
I actually thought about medievals whe...Hi Paisley,<br />I actually thought about medievals when I was writing this. I love reading them, but I don't want to think about the garderobes emptying out the side of the castle or dead horses in the moat. For now, I like rose-colored glasses too.Kathy Ottenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17996558118761118634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822452633282744192.post-83600491657705960002012-06-06T19:47:00.701-05:002012-06-06T19:47:00.701-05:00I agree with the rose-colored glasses version, unl...I agree with the rose-colored glasses version, unless it serves a specific purpose in the story.<br /><br />By the way, we have a ranch in Oklahoma and we have TONS of grasshoppers right now. It sounds like rain when you walk because hundreds of grasshoppers are jumping away from you! But, I got home and read up on it... and the grasshopper plagues were SO much worse! Incredible! This is bad enough, though, and the grasshoppers are probably eating as much as our cattle!Dana Leedshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09387705697369311607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822452633282744192.post-18571683241549047362012-06-06T19:26:42.567-05:002012-06-06T19:26:42.567-05:00Rose-colored glasses are just fine, and preferred ...Rose-colored glasses are just fine, and preferred by this writer and reader. :) It goes the same with those gorgeous old castles - life wasn't pleasant then and so much better now, even though there are a of people who don't realize how lucky they are. <br /><br />Fantastic information, Kathy.Paisley Kirkpatrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06401039126457210324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822452633282744192.post-8017071682464118872012-06-06T14:46:18.541-05:002012-06-06T14:46:18.541-05:00I just wonder how far we will evolve with the real...I just wonder how far we will evolve with the reality of it. The TV westerns weren't real enough or gritty enough for the modern audiences and now we have the reality of Unforgiven. In twenty years will our romances be too unrealistic? I don't know.Kathy Ottenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17996558118761118634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822452633282744192.post-85462545004425237692012-06-06T14:33:52.579-05:002012-06-06T14:33:52.579-05:00Kathy, I like to keep a small bit of reality in my...Kathy, I like to keep a small bit of reality in my historicals, but the main purpose is to whisk readers away in an adventurous love story set in another time. Most of the real life details should be left to the history books.Susan Macateehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07476340887041053638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822452633282744192.post-5918725806703202392012-06-06T08:37:06.798-05:002012-06-06T08:37:06.798-05:00Hi Caroline,
I agree with you. It is like writing ...Hi Caroline,<br />I agree with you. It is like writing dialogue, realistic, but not real.Kathy Ottenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17996558118761118634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822452633282744192.post-66806986274713777982012-06-06T08:34:59.159-05:002012-06-06T08:34:59.159-05:00Kathy, I prefer a little less reality in my wester...Kathy, I prefer a little less reality in my westerns unless the muck is needed as part of the story.Caroline Clemmonshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14914658854159456335noreply@blogger.com