Vee Walker led an absolutely wonderful workshop at July’s HighlandLIT meeting on July 16. The title was ‘Fictionalising Family History’, and Vee drew from her extensive experience writing Major Tom’s War and her second novel The Patiala Letter which is nearing completion. These works are based on the stories of Vee’s grandparents on both sides of her family.
Vee began with a practical introduction. What are we to do with all the family records we inherit – especially if our forbears were letter-writers and keepers of journals? Fictionalising their stories is just one of the options Vee discussed, but she emphasized that whatever we plan to do with these records we should transcribe them personally . This is a powerful means of thinking ourselves into their past, their words streaming through our consciousness as we type.
And then Vee discussed the ethics, the morality of forging fiction from the lives of our ancestors. Some would say ‘Don’t speak ill of the dead!’, while others contest that ‘We carry their genetic immortality.’
This was followed by an exploration of how best to research and plot our family history novel. Vee discussed practical issues such as choosing the key protagonist; deciding on the ‘point of view’ from which the story will be told; fixing on a starting point and a conclusion - not, in other words, trying to tell granny’s whole story from cradle to grave; fashioning a believable plot including elements such as ‘conflict’, ‘crisis’, ‘romance’, ‘crime’, ‘mystery’, not forgetting a story ‘twist’ and a good dose of ‘jeopardy.’
To help with plotting, Vee recommends constructing a detailed timeline, recording episodes in your characters’ lives alongside contemporary events.
Oh, and Vee warned us to be prepared for the highly-desirable ‘pinball effect’ , a moment of serendipity I guess, when some new information emerges through our research which may lead off unexpected, and possibly fruitful directions.
And then we were given a chance to have a go. We each had to give basic information about two characters from our family’s history, and then pass them to the person next to us: their task was to set up a situation including these characters, strangers to each other, and create some dialogue between them, thus freeing our own characters from the constraints of non-fiction.
The most gripping and fascinating part of the evening was when Vee described her visits to India where both Major Tom’s War and The Patiala Letter are set, to visit locations known to her characters, and to soak up the character of these places. She included a marvellous description, accompanied by photos of a huge, eerie palace, where one particular room was redolent of a mighty presence beyond mere jeopardy.
Vee’s point was that it is not enough to research locations and environment from a distance. If you are to capture their essence for your readers you must have been there, experiencing the place with all your senses, your full bodily presence. She described the wistful calling of birds flying between trees in a courtyard – such an affecting detail to include in her novel, yet one of which she would never have known had she not actually been there.
We were privileged to hear Vee read two gripping sections from The Patiala Letter which left us eagerly anticipating its eventual publication.
Thankyou Vee for a fascinating and captivating workshop, a really good HighlandLIT event. If you missed out on seeing Vee, please note that she will be attending the Ardgay Book Fair on 9 August and the Nairn Book and Arts Festival (as part of the CannyEdit team) on 4 September.
The folk in the room on the night were joined by five on Zoom, including a lady from Canada. Special thanks are due to Cathy who wrestled with the tech – which, though Cathy had tested it satisfactorily not long before – decided to throw a wobbly. The result, however, was Cathy 1 Tech 0! Thanks very much for your patience and perseverance with this, Cathy!