We all have a story to tell but how do you take that personal story and turn it into a book with universal appeal? Research. Not only does research into your subjects and the times they lived in open the door to your own story but gives you insight into what environment they lived in, events that shaped their lives and perhaps even an explanation as to why they went down the road they did. I thought I knew everything about my parents. Research turned rumours into reality and stories into history. I knew my (not dna) father had committed crimes but did not know the extent of those crimes. I was shocked when I found newspaper articles about him as far back as 1928 when he was arrested on suspicion of murder. In another clipping evidence was presented in court that hammered home the reality of what he had been up to. In his crime partner’s pocket was a note that read, “Tiny says be careful”.That sealed the research for me. My dad’s nickname at the carnivals he worked at was Tiny. There was no doubt the article about Ronald Robinson was about my father. It was an interesting journey and I found the best resource was newspapers.com. I even found 30 or 40 articles about me or written by me that I had forgotten about. We used to joke about how the Abbotsford/Mission newspapers had a picture of me in the newsroom with a header that read, ‘do not interview this woman , she had had too much press’. It was exciting to see a lot of my accomplishments archived in newspaper articles. It is my legacy, for my grandchildren and great grand children to find out about me. Check it out all you have to do is type in your name or whoever else you want to research . . . it will set you on a new journey. Maybe you will write a book, add colour to a story or poem you wrote, or just remember some of the things that happened in the past that you forgot about. You can get a free two week trial to the site and then it is fairly inexpensive to take out a membership. To be honest all writers should use it for research. You can research a wedding reception from the thirties and it will give you details about the clothes, the music. the food. Obituaries are a good place to start. Start researching, start writing!
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Recent Posts
- Reviews from goodreads.ca
- Review of Through My Lens
- Coming Soon!
- Review of Unlocking the Tin Box
- Through My Lens takes a look back through the depression, the second world war and into the eighties by examining newspaper accounts. Gwynne has woven a fictional story linking the newspaper clippings together. There was an unsettling past, she knew that, what she did not know was the shocking stories that she would find through her research. Her stepfather who she grew up believing was her real father was a murder suspect, a drug dealer, a vagrant and a thief. In 1947 the largest drug deal to ever hit the West Coast involved her stepfather, his wife and stepson. In later years his ex-wife was called the Big Boss of Powell Street. Everyone knew Marie Robinson. Through family accounts and detailed written stories, she found out her real father was from Standard, Alberta. Her father had Great-Uncles; one who was a famous artist and one who was a world traveler and explorer bringing back rare seeds from Russia and China. Her mother had always told her to be ‘careful what you wish for’, she should have reminded her that she might not like what she found. Her mother rebelled from a strict upbringing and religion and after the loss of seven children went down a path that led her to alcoholism. Somehow the three of them; her mother Gunvor, her stepfather Ron and her real father Harold stumbled together. It is a true story with lots of fictional accounts. Gwynne Hunt THROUGH MY LENS Silver Bow Publishing $23.95, on amazon or it can be purchased through Gwynne at gwynne1@telus.net $24 plus shipping
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