Last week I talked about whether or not Writer’s Block is real, and I say it definitely is. Today I want to talk about my all-time favorite way to bust it wide open: Building family trees.
One of my major goals has always been to write a family saga, and set it in Texas. There’s nothing unusual about this – think True Women, which came from Janice Woods Windle’s discovery of a relative’s diary written during the days leading up to the Texas Revolution, or the magnificent, sprawling saga Texas! by James Michener. The families in these books are peopled by extraordinary characters, and their stories are moved forward by those characters, not the other way around. That, to me, is the essence of excellent storytelling.
Many of you know that I’m working on the second book in my Whispers Through Time series, JOURNEY OF THE HEART. I couldn’t begin to create many of Sierra Masters’ visions without extensive research, of course, highlighting historic events between Whites and Comanches in the 1870s, deep in the Palo Duro Canyon and the caprock of the Texas Panhandle. But I also had to build a detailed family tree for each new character, and many parts of my story wouldn’t work had I not taken the time to do that.
Fashioning a family tree is practically an art form in itself, but knowing just a little bit about a real person in history can jump-start a novel, especially if you’re not quite sure where to begin.
Let me give you an example.
In 1840’s Texas history lives a mysterious man named Jeff Turner, a simple farmer who lost his wife and young sons during a particularly heinous Comanche Indian raid on his home in the hill country while he was away. Suffice it to say, Turner lost his mind and began an obsessive quest to kill as many Indians as he possibly could. He scouted for and rode with the Texas Rangers, buffalo hunters, and outlaws. As word of his exploits spread, he became a mythological figure of extraordinary proportions – and then one day he disappeared, never to be seen again.
I’m basing a backstory character in JOURNEY OF THE HEART on Jeff Turner because Turner’s story is perfect for me to do that: he was a gentle, loving man who exploded into a solitary, hate-filled beast because of what had happened to his family – an understandable response. His story could have occurred anytime, anywhere, to either a man or a woman. And, perhaps most importantly, no one knows what actually happened to him.
That story gives me a perfect playground. I will rename my new character, set him in the violent canyonlands of 1870’s Texas instead of in the peaceful hill country, and turn him into the monstrous original Patriarch of a three-generation ranching family. It doesn't get any better than that.
It doesn’t matter what your family tree looks like – no one else is going to see it. Just put it together and give yourself lots of play room for comments and changes. It won’t be long before your story will begin to come together – not in a trickle, but like a dam bursting – and you’ll be unable to hold back your imagination.
*You can purchase a copy of WHISPERS THROUGH TIME in either e-book or print at:
https://www.amazon.com/Whispers-Through-Rosetta-Diane-Hoessli-ebook/dp/B098278M38/