Fulfilling That Writing Commitment: David Porter, Oct 15, 2023

David Porter started writing bad poetry at age 12 and soon progressed to good. In 1968 he was at PSU and was already being published. In the ’70s and ’80s he wrote freelance articles, poems, and short stories, getting published in the Oregon magazine and NW magazine (inside the Oregonian). Meanwhile he wrote grant proposals, newsletters, presentations, etc for nonprofits for 40 years. He’s even written Beaver Board Historical Markers! Plus many book reviews.

In 2019 David published a book of poetry called Clearing the Sky of Thickets (https://www.amazon.com/Clearing-Sky-Thickets-David-Porter/dp/035924839X/) Everyone who’s read it agrees it’s a really good book, but it’s not going to make his fortune. David said his aim is to be read, not to make money from writing – a very practical aim, in a world where so many books compete for readers’ attention.

For several years, David wrote entries for Writers’ Mill contests and helped put our annual anthology together (see November’s meeting!). But he had a long-standing commitment to write something for his family, so he took a leave of absence to research the intriguing mystery of a great-uncle’s long-ago disappearance. In July 2022 David gave a talk about the process of researching and writing his novel. And this month he updated us with more information, more intrigue, and lots of fascinating tidbits of history and writing hints.

William Dodican was born 1867 and died on October 15, 1905 (the same date as our meeting!). Letters relating to his death were collected, wrapped in blue ribbon, by David’s paternal grandmother, and given to David in the ’70s. David’s grandmother and her siblings were raised by two sibling aunts after the death of their parents. And Aunt Mollie, one of these two, was deeply involved in trying to solve the mystery of her brother’s death.

The letters survived a house fire, and in 2009, as jobs and dreams crashed, David decided it was time to look at them—now slightly singed. He scanned them into the computer (initially just 1 or 2, but now 90 documents altogether!), and ordered and analyzed them. Scanning the letters means he can look at them without further damaging the paper or obscuring the text. And the first surprise was that these were not letters written by Aunt Mollie, but replies to letters she had written. She had clearly written lots of letters in search of more information.

  • Lesson for writers: Keep your work on the computer, and keep it backed up in case of disaster!

Since 2022, David has written 50,000 words, in 27 chapters, based on information he has discovered. He’s not sure how or when the editing process will end. But he does want to confirm the right pieces are all written in the right places. And when he has enough confidence, it will be done.

  • Lesson for writers: It can take a long time and a lot of words to complete your book. Then you really do have to edit it. And you have to be willing to consider big changes, like switching chapters around, to make it flow better for the reader.

William was a qualified bartender. When he caught the train from Chicago to San Francisco, he was probably hoping to find work. And it should have been relatively easy. But he got off the train in New Mexico and his body was found some time later by a cowboy.

  • Lesson for writers: Plans go awry.

Aunt Mollie received a letter from the cowboy who found her brother’s body. David researched why a cowboy would have been there, and was impressed by how articulate the cowboy appeared to be. A comment about the metal around the body being fake brings thoughts of gold and fools gold.

  • Lesson for writers: Don’t make assumptions about real people or about your characters.

The station master replied to a letter from Mollie. He described how her brother got off the train (at a stop for water, not a station) and insisted it was going in the wrong direction, then set off walking. Was he confused? Drugged? Drunk? But it was someone else that her brother spoke to, and that other witness seemed to have disappeared—Mollie’s letter to him traveled around the country before it was finally returned as undeliverable. Is there a mystery there?

  • Lesson for writers: Be ready to explore lots of avenues, and if your book is based in a particular time, remember to research people’s jobs, lifestyles, travels, levels of education etc.

Some questions clearly arise: Why was he allowed to wander off alone (and apparently somewhat incapacitated)? Why was no search made when he didn’t arrive at his destination on the train (his luggage arrived without him)? Why was there no missing person report until after the body was found? And why was it so hard for Mollie to get answers from people—were they afraid they’d lose their jobs?

  • Lesson for writers: Ask questions.

With the only witness vanished, there could be no further clues. But there is information from the sheriff (who had to pay for a horse and wagon to take the coroner to the body, only to find it too decomposed to carry! They buried it in the wilderness). And there is information that David has uncovered, about how sheriffs and coroners worked in those days. All of it’s useful to his book. But now he had to decide, what kind of book would this be?

  1. A summary—a coffee table book with photos collecting together what he’s learned.
  2. Fiction—murder mystery, spy novel… this was soon after the time of Billy the Kid, not long before the time of Roswell.
  3. Scholarly work—adding records and information about time and place to the letters
  4. A dramatized version of events, allowing him, as author, to get into the heads of the characters, so he can tell the tale with real and invented scenes, without being cavalier about time and place.

One of David’s favorite writers is Erik Larsen, who writes dramatized history (historical fiction). This is the direction David chose.

  • Lesson for writers: Know what you’re trying to write. If you don’t know, take the time to find out.

David researched the family history (emigration from Sligo, Ireland in the 1820s, Spanish American war!), the use of trains (people were just beginning to travel to California), the mail service (how did Mollie receive her letters?), technology, geology (gold in New Mexico), writing (Bram Stoker—did Sligo and the cholera epidemic influence the writing of Dracula?), what people might do on a train (Mickey Finns, swindlers’ card games), what people might talk about (Einstein, relativity), how people died and how bodies decomposed, how they celebrated and what celebrations might be cancelled when bad news is received… All these ideas give rise to chapters in his book, and to scenes that he can dramatize in his writing. Lots of research, and lots of choices to be made.

  • Lesson for writers: Realize you will have to make choices. From beginning to end isn’t the only way to tell your story. And sometimes it’s not even clear where the beginning and end should be.

David has access (as do we) to lots of resources to help visualize events. Google earth, Google street view, websites about obscure topics, etc.

  • Lesson for writers: Google is your friend.

David’s talk inspired many questions—about the events long ago, train timetables, drugs and alcohol on trains, etc. To find out more, you’ll have to read his book. But other questions concerned how David hopes to get published. Will he look for an agent? A publisher? A small publisher? Self-publish?

  • Lesson for writers: Think about how you want to get your book published. If you’re self-publishing, be sure to come to November’s meeting!

Publishers can let you down, and have let several of our members down (deliberately or by accident). According to David’s research, you might need to sell 5,000 books before you are considered saleable, but how? Marketing is a major problem—most publishers leave the author to do the marketing. And then there’s the question of how market, where’s your audience, what genre do you say your book is?

  • Lesson for writers: David knows his book is “like Erik Larsen’s.” Know which books and authors would be put next to yours on the shelf.

David’s poetry book was published through Lulu. He had help from copy-editors, graphic designers, and a good photographer. The print price, per copy, is around $3, which makes it possible for him to give away the book, as a way to get readers.

  • Lesson for writers: Who will your readers be? How will you find them? And how will you make your book look as good as possible—be aware that you might need help.

We all learned a lot, and were thoroughly intrigued by David’s mystery and his presentation. We’re looking forward to learning when and where the book is published so we can read it. Thank you David!

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