Do You Want to Write About Horses?

By Susan F. Craft
Author, An Equestrian Writer’s Guide

If you are a writer who wants to include horses in your works, I have compiled A Writer's Guide to Horses that should be helpful. I worked with the International Long Rider's Guild to compile this guide, also known as An Equestrian Writer’s Guide. Below is a small excerpt about the sounds horses make, their ear positioning, their body movements, and temperament. The complete Guide can be found at www.lrgaf.org. This is copyrighted material and should not be reproduced without the permission of the Long Riders’ Guild.

Neigh – a loud squeal followed by a nicker, with head high; done when looking for other horses or people, also called a “whinny.”

Nicker – vibrating sound with mouth closed using vocal cords; means “hello” when made softly and moving toward a person or horse; means he wants a mate when made more intensely and accompanied by shaking of head; a mare will nicker very softly to her foal.

Resting foot – When a horse rests one foot slightly on the hoof tip, it generally means he’s relaxed and comfortable with you and his surroundings.

Scream – while fighting with another horse. Snort – exhaling through the nose with mouth shut and producing a vibrating sound in the nostrils; often with head up; when accompanied by a stare, he is checking for danger.

Squeal – squeals with his mouth shut; usually means “no.”
Hollywood Fantasy - Movies often add horse calls as sound effects in the most unlikely situations. These cinematic horses who neigh and scream on a regular basis are largely fictional. Horses are generally rather silent, though they will whinny if parted from their fellows, or nicker softly in greeting at feeding time.

Blow – exhaling through the nose with mouth shut, when curious, when meeting nose to nose another horse in greeting; if done gently followed by nuzzling, the horses are friendly; if accompanied by a nip at other horse or stomping of front feet, striking out or squealing, horses are enemies.

Breathing – A healthy horse at rest should breathe in a slow, rhythmic manner. Accelerated breathing means he's either in the midst of physical activity or he's becoming anxious.

Ears – Horses will rotate their ears towards whatever their attention is focused on. They can hear high and low pitched noises that humans cannot hear; picking up sounds from further away and long before humans.

Ear position – alert and interested (ears are up and pointed forward); sleepy, tired, unwell or submissive (ears are pointed out to the side, almost v-shaped to head); relaxed, unwell or bored (ears are pointed up and to the side); angry and aggressive (ears are back and pinned flat against the head). Eyes – Fearful horses will generally have wide eyes surrounded by white; a soft, relaxed eye indicates confidence.

Head position – A nervous or excited horse will hold his head high with tense neck muscles.


angry horse

Horses rear, jump, backup, paw, move sideways and diagonally, buck, and frolic. Horses can also be playful, graceful, reluctant, bored, uninterested, uncooperative, afraid, and upset. Many have a very strong flight response to the unknown – for some horses, plastic grocery bags and blue tarpaulins are very scary.

Note also that if you have a group of horses, they have to be allowed to work out the pecking order, as they all have different personalities.


With a frightened horse, the eye will be wide.

Temperament A horse that is happy and trusting will move in a fluid, loose manner. If a horse’s neck, back, or leg muscles are tight and rigid, it generally will indicate a quick reaction or flight.

Sleep - Horses require an average of two and a half hours sleep in a twenty-four hour period. They don’t need an unbroken period of sleep time, but sleep in short intervals of about fifteen minutes. They do need to lie down occasionally for a nap for an hour or two every few days. If not allowed to lie down, they will become sleep deprived in a few days. They sleep better in groups, while others stand guard to watch for predators.

Susan F. Craft is the author of a trilogy of historical romantic suspense novels, The Chamomile (published in 2011), Laurel (published January 2015), and Cassia (to be released in September 2015).

Resources for Authors and Their Research

I write historical fiction, and researching for my novels brings me the same excitement Alan Quartermain must have felt hunting for King Solomon's Mines.

I've been known to spend an entire day in a library scribbling notes from someone‘s diary, spending a wallet of quarters making copies of maps and old newspapers, and trekking from one book or document to the next with a perseverance Lewis and Clark would have applauded. I enjoy the chase when one clue leads me to the next, to the next…

The South Caroliniana Library

When I venture into a library or archives and history department, wander among the shelves, and delve into boxes of documents, I'm transported into the past and into unknown territory. My efforts are often rewarded when tidbits of information surface and shine like specks of gold in the bottom of a miner‘s tin.

For example, one of the characters in my Civil War era novel, A Perfect Tempest, is based on Oqui Adair, a Chinese gardener, who was briefly mentioned in a SC State Hospital Board of Regents report found in the SC Archives and History Department. The name of the novel itself comes from a quote from General Sherman’s diary that was featured in an issue of the Daily Southern Guardian newspaper. I found it in the South Caroliniana library.

Discovering new resources is always great fun, too. Once, I put an ad in the Civil War Times asking for information about Union officers who were imprisoned in Camp Asylum, a prisoner-of-war camp situated on the SC State Hospital grounds in Columbia, SC, from December 1864 until February 1865, when Sherman‘s troops burned the city. Two gentlemen, one from Maine and one from California, answered my ad, and we wrote to each other over a period of several months. They both sent me materials about relatives imprisoned at Camp Asylum—a photograph, a letter, and an excerpt from a diary.

Sometimes people serve as living, breathing archives. When I was working on my novel, The Chamomile, that takes place in South Carolina during the Revolutionary War, my main characters, a couple who are traveling in the swamps with Francis Marion, decide to get married. I wanted the men to build a honeymoon hut and I needed to know the kind of flowers the campfollowers would decorate with. So, I called Rudy Mancke, a naturalist and a walking encyclopedia of flora and fauna, and asked him what would have been blooming in the South Carolina swamps in May 1781. He was so receptive to my questions and so excited about what I was trying to do, I could hardly write fast enough to keep up with him. What a wealth of knowledge he is! We had the most delightful conversation.

I’ve put together a list of resources when researching for your novels.

Researching – Where to Look
1. Internet (Google; blogs; websites)
2. Library/Archives and History Departments; Books, research rooms
3. Diaries/letters 
4. Newspapers/magazines 
5. Pamphlets
6. Advertisements/catalogs
7. Cookbooks
8. Annual reports
9. Graduation programs
10. Thesis/bibliography
11. Music books
12. Pattern books
13. Architects drawings 
14. Movies 
15. Other novels written during the time period
16.  Museums
17. Visits to actual sites (tours that let you "breathe the air")
18. Reenactments
19. Cemeteries (great resources for names)
20. Photographs
21. Movie productions
22. People—walking archives

Colonial American Cemetery

Susan F. Craft authored the SIBA Award-winning Revolutionary War novel, The Chamomile. The two sequels to The Chamomile, entitled Laurel and Cassia will be release in January 2015 and later that year, respectively. She is represented by Linda S. Glaz, Hartline Literary Agency.

Motivation-Reaction Units (MRUs)

by Susan Craft

Here’s an excerpt from the draft of my manuscript, Laurel, before I edited it: 
Her heart sank when she noticed John standing at a distance, his expression aloof as if a curious spectator.

What’s wrong with it? The motivation-reaction is wrong. In other words, the stimulus should come before the reaction.

Here’s how it should have read:
She noticed John standing at a distance, his expression aloof as if a curious spectator, and her heart sank.

Motivation-Reaction Units, a key to compelling fiction, are created by alternating between what your POV character sees, hears, smells, tastes, or touches (the motivation) and what he does (the reaction). Motivation is external and objective (presented as if by a video camera).

In one paragraph, write motivation so your reader experiences it.
Example: The tiger dropped out of the tree and sprang toward Jack.

In a separate paragraph, write your character’s reaction, exactly as he would experience it from the inside, giving your reader insight into your character.

According to writing instructor Dwight Swain, “The reaction is more complex than the motivation. The reason is that it is internal, and internal processes happen on different timescales.   When you see a tiger, in the first milliseconds, you only have time for one thing -- fear. Within a few tenths of a second, you have time to react on instinct, but that is all it will be -- instinct, reflex. But shortly after that first reflexive reaction, you will also have time to react rationally, to act, to think, to speak.

You must present the full complex of your character's reactions in this order, from fastest time-scale to slowest. If you put them out of order, then things just don't feel right. You destroy the illusion of reality. And your reader won't keep reading because your writing is "not realistic."
Example: A bolt of raw adrenaline shot through Jack's veins. He jerked his rifle to his shoulder, sighted on the tiger's heart, and squeezed the trigger. "Die!" he yelled.

There are three parts to the reaction: feeling, reflex, and rational action -- in that order.

In our example, feeling comes first because it happens almost instantly. Reflex is a result of the fear and requires no conscious thought. Lastly, come rational action and speech.

You can leave out one or two of these three parts, but whatever parts you keep in must be in the correct order.

Write each scene and sequel as a sequence of MRUs. Each motivation and reaction should be followed by another motivation an reaction. You can't afford to write one perfect MRU and then be happy. You've got to write another and another and another. Reaction will lead to a new motivation that is again external and objective and which you will write in its own paragraph.

Continuing the example we've created so far: The bullet grazed the tiger's left shoulder. Blood squirted out of the jagged wound. The tiger roared and staggered, then leaped in the air straight at Jack's throat.

When you run out of motivations or reactions, your scene or sequel is over. Don't run out too soon. Don't drag on too long.

Credits: Several years ago, I took a writing class led by Dwight Swain, and much of this post is from the notes I took while there. The drawing of the man aiming at a tiger was copied from the blog, Aussiehunter.

Susan F. Craft is the author of The Chamomile, a SIBA award-winning Revolutionary War inspirational romantic suspense.

Persistence Trumps Talent

by Susan Craft

I’m hesitant when asked to talk about the process of writing, because each author has his or her own way of going about it. I’ve been writing professionally for over 40 years. Granted, some of it was, I told myself at the time, not what I really wanted to be writing—articles for agency publications, informational materials, speeches for the agency director.

It was the day job I couldn’t quit because I couldn’t get anyone interested in my novels.

Over the years, I have come to the realization that any writing hones your craft. It’s wrapped up in the thought processes required to come up with an idea and the utilization of resources to research thoroughly. It’s the time to learn correct grammar and spelling, as well as the willingness to learn from the masters. Mixed in is the discipline to sit in the chair and work, along with the development of thick skin in order to learn from, and not resent, criticism. It’s learning to develop the humility that comes with rejection, and the absolute joy that comes when someone really likes what you’ve written and says those magic words, “I couldn’t put it down.”

With that realization came the light-bulb moment when I understood that employees and their families were honored by my articles published in our agency newsletter. The mental health patients and their families deeply appreciated the information about their or their loved one’s illness written in such a way that they could understand what was happening to them. And the audiences hearing the speeches gained insight into what our agency was trying to accomplish and were inspired to partner with us to achieve those goals. My writing actually helped some people. How rewarding is that.

I still work full-time and continue to plug away at novel writing. The speaker at a writers’ workshop I attended last year made the statement, “Persistence trumps talent.”

Well, brothers and sisters, I’m here to tell you that I know a little bit about persistence. Over the past 30 years I’ve attended more writers workshops and conferences than I can remember. Sometimes the information would contradict something I had heard in a previous conference. This happened mostly in the area of marketing—what genres were selling, what publishing houses were looking for, what agents wanted to see, the acquisitions editor who threw manuscripts into her sludge pile because she had had a lousy breakfast. I listened and I learned to sift through the information and glean the good stuff to incorporate into my writing.

My persistence was rewarded when in November 2011, the Ingalls Publishing Group released my inspirational Revolutionary War romantic suspense, The Chamomile. When wonderful reviews started showing up on places like Amazon and Goodreads, I truly was amazed and excited. When The Chamomile won the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance Okra Pick award, I was over the moon.

So, here’s my advice boiled down into the format I like best—a list:

• Write every day, preferably in the same place and at the same time. (I don’t follow my own advice about the same place, same time, but I write every day.)

• Get up early one morning and start writing without stopping; especially don’t stop to edit. Try switching off your monitor when you’re typing. You can’t edit what you can’t see.

• After editing on the screen or in print, read your work aloud. You’ll be amazed at how many awkward sentences you can fix this way.

• Join a critique group, preferably with people who write in your genre. (Or find a critique partner.)

• Attend as many writers’ conference and workshops as you can. These things can get very expensive, so thoroughly check them out for those that sound helpful to you and your level of writing. The networking is invaluable.

• Read—a lot, especially the great writers. You’ll soon come to recognize what excellent writing is.

• Keep notebooks describing the interesting people you meet and the places that give you “vibes” (sorry, I’m a 60s girl).

• Enter writing contests; sometimes you get tremendous feedback from judges and you get name recognition, awards, and rewards if you win.

• Volunteer to work at your local Book Festivals. They are the ones who will invite you to speak once you’ve been published. You’ll meet some fine people and network with published authors who usually have good advice.

• If you write historical fiction, PLEASE, make every effort to assure that your facts are correct and your history is good.

• Self-publishing is separate from writing. Not every writer has the time, the talent, or the interest. Both writing and publishing take work. Self-publishing demands the work of both. Even if you land a contract with a traditional publisher, you must still work at self-promotion.

• Get an agent. Some writers complain that this is unnecessary and ask why they should give another person a piece of the royalties.

• My agent, Linda S. Glaz, with Hartline Literary Agency, is fabulous. She is my best ally, she knows where my books should be, and she knows the people to send them to, and they respect her opinions. While she’s out there promoting my novels, I’m free to write. I’m the first to admit, though, that finding an agent is just as difficult as finding a publisher.

• This last one is for Christian writers. Pray about and for what you are writing. Ask yourself, will this glorify His name? Will it lift up your readers? Will he or she be a better person for having read what you’ve written? Have you done your absolute best to honor the absolute sacrifice that was made for you? Will you handle rejection with grace and accolades with humility?

Susan F. Craft’s Revolutionary War romantic suspense, The Chamomile, won the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance Okra Pick.  Susan has a degree in Broadcast Journalism, and her 40-year career includes working for SC Educational Television, the SC Department of Mental Health, the SC College of Pharmacy, and currently for the SC Senate.

Susan wrote A Writer's Guide to Horses, available on the website of the Long Riders' Guild Academic Foundation, www.lrgaf.org.  The Guide provides authors comprehensive information about horses to assist them to accurately portray horses in their works.

An Army brat, she has lived in Columbia, SC, sixty years. She married her high school sweetheart, and they have two adult children, one granddaughter, and a granddog.

An admitted  history nerd, she enjoys painting, singing, listening to music, and sitting on her front porch watching the rabbits eat all her daily lily bulbs.

     

Susan is represented by Linda S. Glaz, Hartline Literary Agency. Connect with Susan on her website.