How Facebook Groups Have Helped Me with My Fiction

Don't underestimate the power and generosity of like-minded strangers around the world!

This season, I’ve been poring over boxes and boxes of my great-grandparents’ promotional photographs and posters and programs from their decades as comedians and wire-walking jugglers in the circus and vaudeville. (Read more on that here: Under the Big Top: My Great-Grandmother's Life in the Circus (nextavenue.org))

I’m preparing to write the rough draft of the epic historical novel I’ve been envisioning for the past 20 years. For those inevitable gaps in information about a particular Chicago theater they performed in, or a specific duck-training colleague in one of the 100s of headshots they collected of their friends, I’ve turned to Facebook’s groups feature.

I had no idea until recently that the Circus Historical Society’s Facebook page, or the group called, simply, “Vaudeville!” would prove so useful. Members have been wonderful. United by the same fascination with early 1900s circuses and bizarre vaudeville acts, they’ve helped me to identify everyone from a Pomeranian trainer who billed himself “Fabulous Mr. Variety” to a pair of conjoined twins who were particular friends of my great-grandparents in the 1920s.

The moderator of the Circus Historical Society’s Facebook Page alerted me to just how much historical information exists now on Google Books with its searchable data base, and he told me about newspapers.com and Ancestry.com’s newspapers category—incredibly useful when taking a deep dive into, say, reviews that faulted my great-grandfather for flubbing his lines on stage, or praised my great-grandmother for her shapely legs.

What tools have you found particularly useful when conducting historical research? I’d love to know!

What I’m Publishing

·        My newest middle-grade novel Daisy Woodworm Changes the World has been getting rave reviews.  I’d be so grateful if you’d purchase a copy for your favorite reader ages 8-14, or for your favorite teacher or librarian or Special Olympics coach and review it online and in social media. If you’re so motivated, will you ask your local library and bookstore to order a copy, as well? Email me your address, and I’ll send you an autographed bookmark and personalized bookplate!

·        I’ve got several articles coming out this month; I’m particularly excited to share a short essay “How My Vaudevillian Great-Grandparents Taught Me to Love Shameless Self-Promotion” in Brevity next week.

Where I’m Teaching & Reading

·        There are still a few spots available for “Write, Revise, Submit: Short Memoir Weekend Intensive” at Wordcrafters in Eugene on January 28th-29th. It’s a safe, supportive space with great snacks. I promise you’ll get so much out of this in-person class, including, quite possibly, a lifelong community of writing friends!

·        Just three spots left in my eight-week online asynchronous class “Advanced Personal Essay Writing” which begins January 16th and takes a deep dive into how to incorporate expert interviews and research into longform personal essays. See the syllabus and important details here, and email me with questions.

A Few Cool Resources for Writers

·        Looking for a literary agent to represent your fiction or nonfiction? Here’s a smart article about how to find one, and what you can expect from the relationship: 5 Quick Literary Agent Tips -- Where And How to Find One (thewritelife.com)

·        Interested in a side of citizen science with your writing endeavors? While researching an article for the Oregon Coast Visitors Association, I came across this nifty website that will hook you up with a volunteer position anywhere around the country. Permission to lie on a picnic blanket in the sun and count dragonflies? You betcha! It’s all in the name of science.

·        If you’re wanting to develop both a writing habit and a meditation practice for the new year, consider hooking up with the lovely people who run “A Very Important Meeting.” Several times a day, seven days a week, you can sign up for an hour-long online meditation and writing session. You decide whether to keep your webcam on or off! I’ve met fabulous writers at all stages of their careers at these meetings, which have a relaxed, supportive vibe.

Conferences, Residencies, and Calls for Submissions

·        It’s gray and cold and rainy in Eugene, and I’m dreaming about applying for an Artists (and Writers) in Residence program through the National Park System. Maui’s Volcanic Wonderlands, anyone? The application deadline for that one is January 4th.

·        Mother Jones Magazine is looking for culture essays, feature articles, and profiles. See submission guidelines here: Freelance Writer Guidelines – Mother Jones. Which reminds me that my mother had a perpetual subscription to Mother Jones when I was a teen. It’s where I first encountered writer/artist Lynda Barry’s “Ernie Pook’s Comeek.” She’s brilliant. Find out more about her work here.

·        McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, which published the finest essay I’ve ever read about decorative gourds, has announced a fee-free short story contest for emerging writers who haven’t yet published a book. Check it here. Did I mention they’re not charging a contest submission fee??

·        Finally, my favorite writing organization, Willamette Writers, is taking workshop proposals for their annual Portland-based conference right now. I adore teaching at this conference; last year, writers and presenters and agents and editors bonded around a baby bird found wandering around the patio during happy hour before the keynote. And legendary author/teacher Eric Witchey taught me to juggle.

That’s all for now! Feel free to share these opportunities with everyone you know.

Much gratitude,

Melissa