Thankful Thursday: A Book for All Seasons

Did you know that November is National Novel Writing Month?  I found this bit of information in mid October and was goaded in to participating in the contest.

It is a simple contest.  Just write 50,000 words in one month.  There are a few rules to follow but it seemed like fun.

 

My family encouraged me to write the story of Prohibition and the Low Country.  My maternal blood comes from that area and I have heard plenty of stories of events that allegedly happened during Prohibition.  To make it all work for me, I knew I was only aware of portions of stories from many different sources and I would have to improvise.  I took time to locate newspaper articles regarding some murders in the area of Hell Hole Swamp.  I also found court proceedings and devoured each one with a growing interest.  Family members shared lore with me.  A few kind folks who are of the blood line of other families in the area shared some of their tales with me as well.

Here I go.  I am off to the races.  While my story is set during Prohibition and I borrowed some basic ideas from the newspapers of the time, the resulting work of art is completely my imagination in full throttle.  Who knew that writing dialogue could be so challenging?  As of today, while my family sits and watches me continue my novel and try to reach the goal of 50,000 words by the end of the month, I am thankful to them.  They have barely complained about the laundry, the dust, the cold dinners, and listening to me ask their opinions on a story line or character.  What they have done is encourage me.  Every day I am asked repeatedly how many words have I written.

I will finish this contest soon.  As of this morning, I am close to 42,000 words.  When I am done with this project, I will be back to share more interesting tidbits of the families and lore that I adore.

Be thankful for your family, the ones who smile and give you hugs, and the ones who smile at you in your memory.  It's all part of our history.

Ahh, genealogy.  Now who is next to be killed or implicated in the murder of the decade during Prohibition.  I only wish someone had bothered to give me the family recipe for their brand of liquid gold.