Indie? You’re joking! How could you!
I was thinking today (I do that sometimes) what would have happened if I had never ever taken up the offer of publication in 2008, when YWO.com set up their print publishing scheme for new writers.
I was thinking today (I do that sometimes) what would have happened if I had never ever taken up the offer of publication in 2008, when YWO.com set up their print publishing scheme for new writers.
Please excuse my absence for a few days… I’ve got a lot of typing lined up over a very short space of time as I answer questions from interested bloggers and readers. Hopefully the occasional Red Chair will occur here as A Thousand Glass Flowers moves ever closer to release.
Gisborne deserves to be placed in its timeframe. What began as a bit of fun has now moved from fan-fiction to historical fiction, historical romance and historical fantasy. Despite the fact that the legend is just that, a myth, Gisborne -the- man- of -folktale lived during the reign of Richard Lionheart and so must be placed within that period.
As the writer, I was beholden to research the period in detail: clothes, time, religious practice, food, habits, entertainment, sex, medicine, politics, trade. More and more detail to get a sense of where my protagonists lived and how they might feel in that environment at any one moment.
The more I read, the more I found to read until I felt myself drowning in books and in PDF’S from online research.
So how does one sort the stuff out, how much does one use? Is too much enough, or is a mere snifter required?
To be honest, I am not sure I know. I ‘ve read the doyen of historical fiction, Dorothy Dunnett with relish and literally gorged on every glorious fact she included in every line of all of the books she ever wrote. And at the other end of the scale I’ve read authors like Posie Graeme Evans and YA writer Felicity Pulman who write with a deft and sparing hand, never drowning the writer in fact; delivering just enough to give an authentic sense of time and place.
So again I ask, how much is enough? I’ve been involved in a lively discussion on Goodreads with the Historical Fictionistas about just this and personally as a reader I know I’ll accept an average amount of researched fact that any writer might want to give. Not too much. The exception to this personal reading rule is DD because it is very much her style, her tone. But as a writer writing my first ever historical fiction novel, I am still unsure how much is required. Without doubt the research must be used correctly; there shouldn’t really be any excuse for saying the clock chimed if the clock didn’t exist in the timeframe. But equally do I really want to know the detail of the canonical hours and how they worked? I love to eat chocolate but I’m not in any great need to read how its created.
My narratives are character driven and I am inclined to only ever give enough fact to give the scene and the character veracity. I’d love to know what other historical fiction writers and readers feel about this and welcome comment! How much, dear reader, do you want to read? How much dear successful hist.fict writer, do you use in your novels?
To date, I have read 48 non-fiction texts that I have either bought, borrowed from the library or researched within the Reference Library and I’ve read over 20 PDF’s online. If nothing else, I shall have a head full of leads for another story and know the difference between chausse and bliaut!
Addendum: You might like to look at :
http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/1124578-facts-in-fiction
and also:
Greg Johnston is one of those writers I envy… a writer of unique and uncluttered prose. He manages to punch huge weight with minimal wordage. Greg has profound messages in his recently published book Consumption. He says its about our consumptive society, as you will see. I see a story about the use and abuse of friendship. It’s an elucidating, haunting book and one I recommend without hesitation. Which is why I have asked Greg to sit in the big Red Chair for a grilling.
‘Jumbuck is an Australian term for sheep, featured in Banjo Paterson’s poem “Waltzing Matilda.” ‘ Wikipedia
My life outside of writing might be a little different to the average sort. It’s great to wear a good pair of jeans, a nice sweater or shirt, to have a good hair day and have a face enhanced with good cosmetics.
I met Barbara Silkstone through the effervescent (and suddenly very quiet) Mark Williams. She bravely (some would say foolishly perhaps) agreed to interrogation in my Red Chair which is working overtime with some high-end ‘Indie’ authors right now.
The manuscript is being sieved through the format process for Kindle. I’m keen to get it there. Reviewers are being contacted, blog interviews are being sought, a publicity plan begins to take shape. There’s very little left to do except to arrange some sort of virtual launch party. Has anyone got any ideas? I’ll consider everything… including the obligatory giveaways for the best ideas for promotion and parties online. I’m all ears…
I’ve been formatting for Kindle, preparing for print, writing a new story, researching… so much work and the thing is, at the same time, I have been aching. In the neck, shoulder, up over the back of the head. I have been kayaking recently and I thought I had torn a muscle. I’ve not kayaked for ages and am desperately unfit in all the required places.
I’m a member of a peer-review site called Youwriteon.com, the same organisation that publishes my books in print. Over the years I’ve seen Lexi Revellian’s acute opinion appear on the forums but she would disappear as quickly as she had arrived.
By some strange chance I was sent an email the other day which was semi-spam, but the article was terrific. Writers’ spaces. Now the ones they showed were quite simply wonderful. Inspirational. The source of great literature. And I wondered why I couldn’t have such a space… a cottage on a deserted estate on a distant island. And if I did, would my writing actually be any better?