Archive for April, 2009
April 29th, 2009
I didn’t realize until today that this needed to be said, but apparently it does.
If you’re going to write historical fiction – for the love of the holy grail – please know your history!
I’m not sure I’ve mentioned it yet here, but I love history. Periodically, I get “obsessed” with a period of history and need to study it like people need oxygen. I have a long standing love affair with Egyptian history, but I’ve had trysts with the early 1900’s and the Oregon Trail. For almost the past year, I’ve been all about Tudor history. I don’t claim to know everything, but I’ve learned quite a bit, and knowing about the time period is helpful for my novel, which isn’t directly set in the 1500’s, but is supposed to have that feel.
I realize that as historical fiction, you’re not obligated to be completely accurate. In fact, most readers will forgive you for twisting facts here and there for a better story. Look at Philippa Gregory’s novel “The Other Boleyn Girl” for instance. Gregory takes quite a few fictional liberties, but she tells a good story and most importantly – retains the heart of the characters. That is what I think anyone wanting to write historically should remember – you can take liberties, but if you’re going to use well-known figures, you need to keep the integrity of the person you’re writing about. If you’re writing about Amelia Earhart, she better fly planes, Brutus should always betray Caesar, and the Titanic better strike that iceburg and sink – unless you are clearly writing a “space/time continuum has been altered” piece. (In which case, I recommend that you make sure you reader knows exactly what they’re getting into)
The basis for the warning is based on this book: In the Shadow of Lions. It’s a bit of complicated storyline, but I’ll tell you the main thing that hurts my brain. Anne Boleyn is portrayed as a pure, devout woman, who refuses to dishonor God and compromise her purity to become Henry’s mistress. Thomas More is shown as an evil guy who burns people for wanting to read the Bible. I don’t know how the Bible reconciles the fact that Anne Boleyn actually marries Henry, the feeling I get from the reviews is that she’s the poor innocent pawn. Now, yes, the book is fiction, and how the author tries to justify this “radical” view of Anne Boleyn is that some lady has a brain tumor, an angel appears to her, and gives her the truth about Anne Boleyn. However, for what the author is trying to get across, she could have saved herself the trouble and used her own characters.
But the warning I’d like to leave you with is that – the historical characters you write down might be the only exposure people get, because very few people will bother checking the history. Look at the Amazon reviews for the book mentioned above. There are people who, if not taking the book seriously, will very likely walk away with this portrait of Anne Boleyn in their minds. So, I advise you to use caution. While history is fun, as a writer, you might be better off putting your own characters in a historical setting instead.
April 27th, 2009
A friend of mine said something on Twitter a few days ago about hating the way they write. Stan has one friend who refused to join a writer’s group simply because she wouldn’t let people see what she wrote. A friend of ours refuses to finish any stories, let alone revise them, because she thinks they’re not good enough.
Is this common, and if so, is it something that ever wears off? (Not that I’ve got Stephen King reading this, but I know there are some of you who have been writing for years.)
I’m not sure where I fall. I do have my moments where I think my writing is pitiful, but they’ve gotten fewer and further between in the past year. I DO believe that I’ve got decent potential. I’m not cocky about it, but I’m not falsely self-bashing either. I do thrive on compliments, don’t get me wrong, but I’m not quite as neurotic as some folks. Of course, this sometimes makes me afraid that my writing IS actually very bad, in a twilight-zone-twist sort of way.
Alright. So, this post is brief today. Long story short, I badly injured my wrist over a year ago, and from time-to-time it hurts for no apparent reason. So I’m going to not anger it further by rambling. But trust me, chances are, your writing probably isn’t nearly as bad as you think it is. I encourage you to get over your fears and give your writing to someone who will give you a genuine opinion. Then listen to it…and then go to writing excuses, because they do a great podcast.
This week, I am to get back on the horse and do some real writing. The last few weeks have been crazy, which is a poor excuse, but I’m using it nonetheless. So, see you Wednesday.
April 17th, 2009
This is probably the earliest piece of my writing in my possession. I wrote it back in ‘99. The story follows the younger sister of the main character of the movie Titanic. It’s pretty awful. But at least I can look back on it and see how I’ve improved.
So without further adeu, with no grammatical corrections, is a snippet from that story (because I couldn’t bear to torture you with all 6 pages.
Vivianne walked quickly back to the house holding mail in her hand. Her long blond hair flowed freely behind her. She opened the door in a rush, hustled over to the couch and sat down. It was a letter from Mother. She opened it and read its contents…
Dearest Vivanne, I am sending word to you for I am returning from America with Caledon. Weather permitting, we shall be at pier 11 on May 13. Be a dear and meet us there, Vivi.
- Mother
Vivi looked at the letter again, almost like looking at it would change the content. She was fully aware that her sister Rose, had died just a few short weeks ago, aboard the Titanic. She sighed. She had to get things in order for Mother and Cal. Rose had first been introduced to Cal when Vivi was only 10, a few months after her father had died. She remembered how Mother had thrown a fit over getting everything in tiptop shape. She remembered first meeting Cal, and how nice he was to her, even though she was the little sister. Rose herself had been only 12, near thirteen then, but she was treated just like an adult. To Vivi’s amazement Cal kept coming back. When Cal wasn’t with Rose he would take Vivi on a walk around the house and they would talk. At those times she wasn’t little sister Vivi, but confidant and trustworthy friend. Wow, thinking back on that, Vivi had changed since then.
Cal and Rose had gotten engaged shortly after Vivi’s thirteenth birthday, and Vivi had known about it ahead of time, Cal had told her. Not too long after that, the four of them had moved out to England, where they practically dumped Vivi and said, “We’ll be back.” Sheesh, that was nearly two years ago. Vivi shook her head and proceeded to look at the other mail when she noticed a strange looking letter. It was postmarked N.Y.C. just like Mother’s, but it wasn’t in her, or Cal’s handwriting, in fact it looked like…Rose’s handwriting. She opened the letter, eager to see who it was from. It COULDN’T be Rose, she was dead. The letter read…
Dear Vivi, I know by now you have heard about Titanic and that it sank. And I’m sure, by now Mother has told you about my supposed death. But Vivi, I’m not really dead. Here’s what really happened.
The letter went on to basically tell about Jack, how she had tried to jump off the back of the ship…Then the letter continued…
- Hope you had a good laugh, and have a wonderful weekend! -
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