Tag Archives: story inspiration

Dr. Pepper & Peanuts

Posted on by
Reply

Dr. Pepper & Peanuts

By N. Bright

My grandfather, Pappy, used to take me to the Grain Coop in Lockney, Texas where he’d buy me a “sodi pop” and a handful of peanuts. You had to take a couple of sips before your peanuts would all fit in the thin necked bottle. I always studied the artwork on the bottle and asked him why couldn’t we have one at 10, 2 and 4 everyday?

The memories of our childhood, the sounds, the experiences and the tastes all influence our stories and add flavor to our writing. These are the details that give your stories voice.

If it has to do with history, I always have to know how and why. Which brings me to the point of this blog: how long has Dr. Pepper been around?

The unique flavor of Dr. Pepper was created and sold beginning in 1885 in Waco, Texas. Dr. Pepper is the oldest manufacturer of soft drink concentrates and syrups in the U.S. It originated at Morrison’s Old Corner Drug Store by Charles Alderton, a young pharmacist who worked there.

Alderton liked the syrup flavor smells and in his spare time served carbonated drinks at the soda fountain. Keeping a journal, he began experimenting with numerous mixtures until he found the one he liked. Long story short, the store owner loved it, the fountain customers loved it, and its popularity soon spread. Robert S. Lazenby, a young beverage chemist, also tasted the new drink and along with Morrison, formed a new firm, the Artesian Mfg. & Bottling Company, which later became Dr Pepper Company. They introduced Dr Pepper to almost 20 million people attending the 1904 World’s Fair Exposition in St. Louis. At the same Fair, hamburgers and frankfurters were first served on buns, and the ice cream cone was first served.

So now I’m wondering in my fictitious town of Justice, Texas, 1887, if my main character’s grandfather might have bought her a Dr. Pepper? The challenge comes in digging deep for answers, and taking our experiences and applying them to another time and place. That’s the magic of writing.

Did you Know that a total of 23 fruit flavors give Dr Pepper its unique taste?

PINTEREST Inspired

Posted on by
Reply

PINTEREST Inspired

By Natalie Bright

 

Have you discovered Pinterest.com?

It began as a sight to assist brides-to-be with wedding planning, evolving into so much more. Boards, which can be described as your own personal bulletin board or scrapbook,  are set-up by you, and these boards can be used to store images of anything that interests or inspires you. Your pins can be shared on your Twitter or Facebook page as well, or you can opt out of that tool.

Estimated to have around 11 millions unique visitors every month, it has quickly become an influence in eCommerce.

Authors on Pinterest 

Pinterest is a useful tool for authors to promote, organize and find inspiration for stories. Here are a few ideas:

  1. Your booklist: pin covers of your books.
  2. Your inspiration: pin the inspiration, faces, places, research for each of your books. Have a separate board for each of your book titles. Give your readers a glimpse into the creative process.
  3. Faces: celebrities, ordinary people, whatever inspires images of your characters.
  4. Research: categorize by time period or topic
  5. Rooms: can’t visualize a scene in your novel? Find the house or room and pin it.
  6. Places: find pictures of settings in your book.
  7. Contests
  8. Favorite Books: what are you reading now? Let your fans know.
  9. Clothing: wardrobes for your characters.
  10. Profile your character: personal articles, hobbies, treasured mementoes.Secret Boards

Okay I admit, Pinterest has become another fun way of wasting time instead of writing, and I admit I’m hooked, but now I really, really love Pinterest even more because of secret boards! You are the only one that can see the content of your Secret Boards. In addition, you can invite anyone you want to view these boards. One of my favorite authors mentioned in an interview that she added her agent and editor to her Secret Boards as she developed a new series and as they worked on edits. They were able to exchange inspiration, ideas and work through plot issues without exchanging a zillion emails.

Two stories are floating around in my head right now set in completely different time periods. I’ve got secret boards for each containing clothing, household items, rooms, settings, hairstyles of the time period, research links to websites, music recordings, videos, and book covers of potential research material. I’m not ready to share my ideas to the world yet. The characters and their stories are really coming alive in my mind’s eye as I research the time period. Another bonus I recently discovered is that viewing the WIP Pinterest Secret board allows me to leave the present world behind more quickly and disappear into that time period. It energizes me and puts me in the mood to write.

One More Thing

Have you found your favorite authors on Pinterest yet? Type their name into the Search bar and look for the name next to their picture. Then you know you’ve found their Home Page rather than something someone else has pinned about them.

Pin Away and Happy Writing!

Dr. Pepper and Peanuts

Posted on by
Reply

Dr. Pepper & Peanuts

By Natalie Bright

My kids ask for Dr. Pepper’s during the summer, and I remember craving them just as bad when I was a kid. My grandfather, Pappy, used to take me to the Coop in Lockney, Texas where he’d buy me a “sodi pop” and a handful of peanuts. You had to take a couple of sips before your peanuts would all fit in the thin necked bottle. I always studied the artwork on the bottle and asked him why couldn’t we have one at 10, 2 and 4 everyday?

The memories of our childhood, the tastes, the experiences all influence our stories and add color to our writing. If it has to do with history, I always have to know how and why. Which brings me to the point of this blog: how long has Dr. Pepper been around?

The unique flavor of Dr. Pepper was created and sold beginning in 1885 in Waco, Texas. Dr. Pepper is the oldest manufacturer of soft drink concentrates and syrups in the U.S. It originated at Morrison’s Old Corner Drug Store by Charles Alderton, a young pharmacist who worked there.

Alderton liked the syrup flavor smells and in his spare time served carbonated drinks at the soda fountain. Keeping a journal, he began experimenting with numerous mixtures until he found the one he liked. Long story short, the store owner loved it, the fountain customers loved it, and its popularity soon spread.

Robert S. Lazenby, a young beverage chemist, also tasted the new drink and along with Morrison, formed a new firm, the Artesian Mfg. & Bottling Company, which later became Dr Pepper Company. They introduced Dr Pepper to almost 20 million people attending the 1904 World’s Fair Exposition in St. Louis. At the same Fair, hamburgers and frankfurters were first served on buns, and the ice cream cone was first served.

So now I’m wondering in my fictitious town of Justice, Texas, 1887, if my main character’s grandfather might buy her a Dr. Pepper? The challenge comes in taking our experiences and applying them to another time and place. That’s the magic of writing.

Did you Know, 23 fruit flavors give Dr Pepper its unique taste?

www.nataliebright.com