Meet Maryka Biaggio, who has a very clever approach to writing the historical novel!

Where do the ideas come from for your narratives?

I write historical fiction based on real people, typically people forgotten by history. I’ve discovered these people by mining a variety of sources, including historical societies, genealogy records, biographies, and nonfiction books about interesting times and people. I’m always on the lookout for people who would lend themselves to a good story, and my six published novels showcase a varied cast of characters, including a woman who was a model for Coco Chanel and then became a spy for the Allies during World War II (The Model Spy); a young couple on a headline-grabbing crime spree in 1920s Brooklyn (Gun Girl and the Tall Guy); and a spiritualist who tangled with Harry Houdini (Margery and Me).

At a time when spiritualism draws many wishing to commune with their dearly departed, medium Margery Crandon entertains Boston society and intrigues psychic researchers. Her deceased brother, Walter, regularly visits her seances, regaling the circle with his salty repartee. She attracts followers like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and William Butler Yeats, but Harry Houdini insists she’s a fraud. Will the master magician undo her, or will her powers convert him? Margery and Me is based on the true story of the medium who created a sensation in America and Europe.

I love breathing new life into people who might not otherwise have come to the reader’s attention. With the narratives already in place, I generally hew closely to the historical record, which means I have to be selective about my subjects if I want to write a story that will entice and entertain readers.

Regarding your writing process, do you sketch out the plot first and work out other aspects of the story in relation to that consideration? Do characters ever spring up in your mind asking you to write their stories?

Since I’m writing about real people and hewing closely to the historical record, I already have the overall arc of the story. I will, however, modify that to satisfy the demands of fiction. Real life can be haphazard and unpredictable, but fiction must make sense. I try to construct a logical sequence of events that provides a satisfying conclusion. But I always include an author’s note at the end of my novels to explain how I deviated from the actual record.

Still, I work hard to capture the personality of my protagonist in view of the known facts. I’ll spend a good amount of time researching the person. And I often don’t begin writing until that character starts speaking to me—literally. The opening of my debut novel, Parlor Games, came to me while I was on my morning walk. May Dugas simply “told” me how she wanted me to recount her story when she said: “I believe, dear reader, and these words come from the bottom of my heart, that I can truly trust you.” Do you need any more proof that she was a gifted con artist?

What word processing program do you prefer? Do you ever use your cell phone to compose your work or track your ideas? Are there other writing apps you recommend?

I’ve been using Scrivener since it was in beta testing, and I can’t imagine writing without it. It’s truly a gift to the author of novel-length works. It has so much flexibility, allowing authors to easily identify and track different scenes or chapters, organize their research, set daily and project goals, and compile the manuscript in a variety of formats. Such a powerful tool comes with its complexities, but I have found that once a writer gets accustomed to the interface and its key features, there’s no turning back.

Scrivener has an app for cell phones that allows me to synchronize drafts between my computer and phone. That way my novel is always with me should inspiration strike. And I do sometimes log in on my phone and add a sentence or two while I’m out and about.

I also like to use AEON Timeline, which was developed by the same company as Scrivener and has a similar interface. It helps me draft chronologies and keep events straight. This is particularly valuable for novels that cover wide spans of time or a complicated sequence of events.

Regarding your writing space, do you have a crazy mess of a desk full of notes? Or is it perhaps a quaint chair at a coffee shop?

I have a home office that I keep pretty neat and stocked with my writing aids, for instance, the Chicago Manual of Style, a Reverse Dictionary, and other helpful reference materials. But I try to be flexible with respect to my writing space because sometimes I need to write in other places, for instance, while waiting for jury duty or having coffee out when the housecleaners take over my home. Thankfully, I’ve found that I’m able to work in and under a variety of places and conditions. For me maintaining a set writing schedule is really important—perhaps more important than having a designated writing space.

How do you research the time period and place for your novels? Do you ever travel for research purposes?

I have sometimes traveled to the places I’m writing about, but since I write historical fiction, I find it’s as important to understand the time period as the place. So I take pains to accustom myself to the language and norms of the period and place by, for instance, reading novels written at the time or perusing local newspapers that can provide details about social and political events, the cost of everyday items, and the like. I generally write in the same period—late nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries—and that means my research carries over from one project to another.

Has your education helped you become a better writer?

I’ve always enjoyed writing, starting as far back as elementary school, and I’m a bit of a grammar/language geek. I’ve always found it not just easy but fun to soak up writing lessons. When I started my career as a professor of psychology, I did a lot of technical writing for journals and other publications. Having that background meant that I could pretty easily make the transition from technical writing to fiction writing, at least with respect to language and grammar. Of course, I had to learn a whole new style of writing, and I took lots of classes, read writing magazines, and attended conferences to help me learn how to draft the novel. And my psychology background has certainly come in handy when I’m working on character development. I’ve always wanted to write fiction, so it feels like my whole life journey has prepared me to do just that. And I love it!

Do you feel compelled to write or do you choose to? If you didn’t write, what would you do with that time?

I enjoy the whole writing process—from the point of discovery of a character all the way through the drafting and editing of the novel. And I can’t imagine not writing, so perhaps it is a compulsion. I really don’t know what I’d do with myself if I didn’t write. It’s become central to my identity.

As people learned about and read your novels, what unexpected things happened along the way?

I have sometimes contacted or been contacted by descendants of my characters, and the reactions have mostly been positive, even for characters with checkered pasts. Once, however, when I was researching a character whose family had significant archives on her history, I asked them if they’d be willing to share those with me. They took great umbrage, saying they didn’t like people poking around in her personal life, which happened to include her alleged murder of an abusive husband. I decided not to move ahead with that project out of respect for the family. But all the other encounters were positive, with the descendants reporting they got a charge out of reading about their famous—or infamous—ancestor.

What’s the underlying message of your writing?

This is a fascinating question, one which prompted me to reflect on my six published novels and the themes I explored in them. I would have to say that questions about how to live authentically and with integrity have occupied many of my novels. Not all my characters are self-aware, and sometimes their shortcomings or delusions lead to tragedy, but most of them have a reckoning at some point and must make a decision about how to live their lives with honesty, integrity, and empathy toward others. When I reflect on my own personal journey, I find that struggle has been central for me, too. So I guess I have injected my values into my novels in a deep way, probably without always being aware I’m doing so.

What’s next for you?

Several years ago, I began working with a writing friend on a novel about the goliards who authored the Carmina Burana verses, which were made famous by Carl Orff’s cantata of the same name. These medieval verses were composed by wandering student scholars, goliards, and disenchanted monks during the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries. The verses comment on corruption among the clergy and within the Church, extol the beauty of nature and the seasons, and praise drinking, lusty living, and tavern life. It has been a fascinating journey in many ways—exploring a time period I don’t usually write in, learning about the place of the all-powerful Church in medieval times, drafting the novel with a co-writer, and finding a publisher for it. Now it’s in press with Foundations Book Publishing, and my co-author and I are looking forward to bringing this unique, dual-timeline novel out into the world.

Bio

Maryka Biaggio is a psychology professor-turned-novelist who brings forgotten lives back into the light. Specializing in historical fiction inspired by real people, she is celebrated for illuminating overlooked historical figures with psychological depth and narrative grace. Her debut novel, Parlor Games, was praised by bestselling author Daisy Goodwin as “a wildly entertaining and constantly surprising ride.” She has since published Eden Waits, The Point of Vanishing, The Model Spy, Gun Girl and the Tall Guy, and Margery and Me, which was hailed by distinguished author Valerie Martin as “a wry, lively, and wicked-good novel.” Her work has earned numerous accolades, including the Willamette Writers Award, Oregon Writers Colony Award, Historical Novel Society Review Editors’ Choice, La Belle Lettre Award, a Michigan Upper Peninsula Notable Book Award, and a Publishers Weekly pick. She lives in Portland, Oregon. Learn more at www.marykabiaggio.com.