I discovered a certain story of mine was to appear in print this week and it was a serendipitous moment.
Photo by Jackie Morrison: Writing from the motorhome
LET’S REWIND
The 15th of July is a significant date for me as it was my mum’s birthday and also the date of my parents' wedding in 1960.
When mum died, it took a while for the estate to be settled, and I was due to hand over the keys to her house on…you’ve guessed it, the 15th of July. That sale date initially fell through, but regardless…I went off to the house and cut a load of flowers from the abundantly flowering front garden. The photo came up this week in my “memories” on Facebook – one thing I like about that social media app.
Photo by Jackie Morrison: Pink Flowers
However, if you’ve read (or listened to) my Post from last week, you will know I’ve had other things on my mind. It was my intention to go to the cemetery with flowers, but we ended up being away on the actual date. The cemetery where my parents lie in rest together is a beautiful place, well-kept and full of history. Their granite headstone sits close to my childhood home, looks out to the sea, and is surrounded by mature trees where birds sing and rabbits hide.
PHOTO by Jackie Morrison. New England Bay, Dumfries and Galloway.
Mr.M was doing the drive from the holiday camp, and I navigated and looked after the dog whilst trying my best to participate in the People’s Friend Hour over on Twitter/X. It’s a nice hour where writers share their experiences and we learn who is in print that week. Imagine my surprise to see my name there! I know the publication date of some of my stories (especially the seasonal ones), but not all of them. So, I knew I had a story in and couldn’t wait to get home to read through my subscription copy. It is out in shops today, but I receive my postal copy early.
PUBLICATION ANNOUNCEMENT!
Photo by Jackie Morrison: People’s Friend post on Twitter
IT'S A DATE is a 3000 word story set in the 1950s and it’s the lead story this week, taking the first page after the Editor’s Note and stretching to three pages. The illustration by Ruth Blair is just wonderful and has captured the feeling of the story perfectly.
I’d say that it’s obvious my story is fiction. It was inspired by the meet-cute of my parents!
BACK TO THE FIFTIES
Photo: Jackie Morrison Illustrator: Ruth Blair
My story is set in Kirkcaldy during the time of the linoleum boom – the late 1950s when the town was prosperous and had several dance halls and cinemas. Lots of famous bands played gigs in Kirkcaldy (the Beatles played in the early 1960s). I wasn’t sure if a historical story, which is living memory to some readers, would pass muster. It was my first ever attempt at a historical.
I researched the movies on that year; what music was in the charts in the UK; what was being worn, but I didn’t have to look too far.
My mum and dad met at Nairns linoleum factory like lots of locals, and I only had to take some creative license with some stories mum had told me about when she was younger. Mum was indeed top of the class for spelling and left school very young, as was the way in those days – so she could bring money into the family to help out.
PHOTO from Jackie Morrison: The author’s mum circa 1959/1960
My Aunt Rena, who is much younger than my mum, told me her first memories are of my mum dressed in a full cinched waisted skirt, a top and a finely hand-knitted cardigan.
And so, I merged history (research) with anecdotal stories and brought the characters to life – including my dad, who had indeed served in the army in Cyprus as a radio operator.
It was a beautiful thing to bring a fictional account of them to life on the page – young, full of vibrance, and a happy future in front of them.
I hoped to capture a moment in time, a pivotal moment for the main character, Barbara, who makes a choice that evening that changes her life.
There I go again! Told you I enjoy writing about moments of change!
But let’s be clear - although the meet-cute happened in real life with a cinema date - the story is fiction.
THIS WEEK…
On a personal note, I’d like to thank everyone who got in touch to make sure I was ok. I appreciate you more than you know. x
Mr.M and I had a relaxing couple of days in full sunshine on the west coast of Scotland – we got into the water with the dog, sat outside, relaxed, and did everything except talk about what was ahead. There was no need. We enjoyed the moment we were in, quite aware of the gruelling days ahead, but putting it firmly to the back of our minds for just a bit. No-one asking questions, no appointments, just the two of us and Monty in a favourite place. Wildflowers and butterflies were everywhere.
Photo by Jackie Morrison: Wild Sea Campion flowering on the shore, New England Bay, Dumfries and Galloway
Despite what I’ve just said (written), anxiety bubbled far too close to the surface for me. Stupid little things made me cross. I was jumpy. It was exhausting.
I couldn’t put my finger on why I was so close to…something out of reach. Then I realised the date and figured it was just past grief coming to visit alongside present grief.
I cried when I got home and ripped open the envelope that held my story in the People’s Friend. My story IT’S A DATE was in my hands on the 15th of July – mum’s birthday, my parents' anniversary, and on the table lay two bunches of roses for the graveside.
Do you believe in serendipity?
I re-read my own story, the one I’d submitted months ago, probably written quite near the beginning of this year, and I recognised the fictional people on the page, the town they moved in, the shops they visited and the music they listened to. I don’t know how, or why – it’s not my story and I didn’t live in those times. It’s fiction with a lot of historical fact, and some embellished anecdotal moments.
Some people would say I’ve used someone else’s story – my parents. When does memoir become creative fiction or inspire fiction whilst remaining in the background? Is memoir truth, or written through a personal lens with the weight of emotion carrying it forth?
I used part of an anecdotal story my mum told me, and I mixed it together with elements to create a story. The story itself – the beginning, the middle, the end, the imagined factory (because I never set foot in it), the 1950s High Street that I never saw – that’s research and bringing it to life as a writer. It’s our job to make it seem as if we were told that story – as if it were all real.
A quote from Hilary Mantel on responsibility in Historical Fiction
“The historical novelist has a double allegiance – to the subject and to the reader.”
Here, I believe she speaks of the tension between the facts and the demands of storytelling. We need to write mindfully when transforming real events, or people, into fiction.
I didn’t live those events in those times, but I’m aware others (and certainly some of the readership of that magazine) will have lived through that era, and I made darned sure to get my historical facts correct.
But I still see my mum in her full skirt, my dad’s arm around her waist, and their first date at the park. All the promise that moment held.
Columm McCann speaks on the blurring of fact and fiction:
“History is made up of stories we agree to believe, but fiction asks us to believe more intimately.”
This quote captures the idea that fiction can reach an emotional or personal truth that history books might not. I like to think my story brings a glimpse through a time portal into Kirkcaldy in the late 1950s and that readers may find themselves back in time, imagining the lives of those young people, feeling with them.
Have you ever had real life inspire a story, or do you see problems with pinching real-life moments to inspire a story?
I think my mum would've enjoyed the story, though she’d have been picking out details and correcting them, or adding to them. But it is only a story, not a historical research piece.
When my Editor accepted the story, he said it might be a first – a story set in Kirkcaldy. I hope readers enjoy it.
I think my parents would be proud. On a week that’s been so difficult for me, I’m pleased to honour them in this way.
It’s as if the universe had something in mind for 15th of July. x
Photo Jackie Morrison: the author’s parents in 1960
PS I’d love to know your take on being inspired by history whilst ensuring it is fiction you are writing!! Truth versus fiction - how to turn truth into fiction, yeah, let me know what you think, or how you do it!!
As always, thanks for your care - especially those who checked in on me. I appreciate you more than you know x x
Love from Jackie in the Little Writing Corner in Scotland x x
NOTES:
BBC The Town That Floored The World
Columm McCann
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