What Writers Do on a Friday Night
post by Michelle Griep
Some girls go out clubbing on the weekend. Others do the movie and popcorn thing. But writerly girls hang out at a historical society lecture event -- and LOVE it.
Erica Vetsch and Gabrielle Meyer joined me on a visit to the Alexander Ramsey House (first governor of Minnesota) for an evening of Crime and Punishment.
The night's lecture focused on the Ann Bilansky murder case. Ann went to the gallows in 1860 for the supposed murder of her husband, Stanislaus. And can I interrupt to say that's a pretty sweet name?
Anyway, the story goes that her neighbor accused her of poisoning Stan with arsenic so that Ann could run away with her "cousin" (nudge, nudge, wink, wink). Ann plead innocent. And our entire evening visit to the Ramsey House presented all the known evidence for and against.
Was she guilty or wasn't she? No one really knows . . . not even me. Makes a person wonder, though.
And that, folks, is why visiting historical sites, partaking of their lectures, experiencing the sights and sounds up close and personal is crucial for a writer. Check out your historical society today even if you're not a fiction author. You just might learn something.
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| There's always 1 dork in the bunch: me. Erica Vetsch at center; Gabrielle Meyer on the right. |
Erica Vetsch and Gabrielle Meyer joined me on a visit to the Alexander Ramsey House (first governor of Minnesota) for an evening of Crime and Punishment.
The night's lecture focused on the Ann Bilansky murder case. Ann went to the gallows in 1860 for the supposed murder of her husband, Stanislaus. And can I interrupt to say that's a pretty sweet name?
Anyway, the story goes that her neighbor accused her of poisoning Stan with arsenic so that Ann could run away with her "cousin" (nudge, nudge, wink, wink). Ann plead innocent. And our entire evening visit to the Ramsey House presented all the known evidence for and against.
Was she guilty or wasn't she? No one really knows . . . not even me. Makes a person wonder, though.
And that, folks, is why visiting historical sites, partaking of their lectures, experiencing the sights and sounds up close and personal is crucial for a writer. Check out your historical society today even if you're not a fiction author. You just might learn something.