Reach 'The End'

 

A common problem for creatives can be finishing a project. This can be particularly so if you are struggling and finding it difficult to be creatively motivated or breach an obstacle. Fear of failure, over-editing as you write and writers’ block are a few examples of issues writers can face.

Sometimes it can be beneficial to put a project down and leave it to gestate a while. However, if you find you do this more often than not, and never seem to finish anything you start, it could be time to reassess your approach. Here are a couple of ideas.

Don’t rush yourself. Have patience and trust that you can take as long as you need to complete your work, to ensure it’s as good as it can be and also that you don’t become stressed about trying to reach those infamous words: “the end”.

Familiarise yourself with your productive ‘sweet spot’ – how long you can be successfully creative for in one session. Whether it is 10 minutes or 2 hours, know it and arrange the relevant lengths of time into your daily schedule (in and around your other commitments). This way, if you know you are a 5-minute writer, you can allot 5 minutes and be happy when you finish the time slot, rather than disappointed because you scheduled a one-hour slot and only did 5 minutes!

Finally, have a serious talk with the perfectionist within you. When it comes to redrafting and editing your work, do not allow yourself to go through too many permutations. Agree with yourself at what draft you will send it off for editing and reserve a final draft stage when the editor's results come back to you for finalising the piece. Hopefully you will reach 'The End'!

Keep Creative

 

I expect we’ve all had moments of lagging creativity, some more than others and some for longer than others. However brief or extended your creative lapse, the first thing we must do is accept it. Creativity cannot be forced.

It is better to honour the fatigue and have patience with yourself. If outside/world influences are to blame, consider Stephen Covey’s ‘circle of influence’ (7 Habits of Highly Effective People). If we cannot personally control it, it is out of our hands and therefore we need waste no energy worrying about it.

Hone your focus: find some replacement stimulation through photographs, music or aroma; work as freely as your mood will allow you (or not at all if it feels best to take time off) and remember to acknowledge even the smallest of achievements.

If you write one sentence, or even one word, praise yourself for it and issue a reward – something as simple as a cup of tea or five minutes closing your eyes and doing nothing. This gratitude will soon cause more creativity.

See Opportunities

 

When your writing isn’t working out, don’t panic. Set it aside and walk away for a short while. Put the kettle on or take the dog for a walk. It’s not always easy to step back, but even if it’s for a day or half a day it can really help. A moment of light reflection or distraction can work wonders.

When you feel ready to return, ask yourself to see the possibilities; find some alternatives. There will be a way out of that corner you have written yourself into. Somewhere in there will be an opportunity to tweak the story so that it flows again.

If not, be brave. Take the step to side-line the plot you currently have. Repurpose the prose and try a different direction that will still move the story along and take the characters where they need to go. Often these literary leaps of faith prove to be the defining moments in our stories.

Past Informs Future

 

Writers are often something else first, because many of us are never fortunate enough to become fully-fledged published authors right off the bat. We have been around a while, some of us dipping our toes into more than one profession before finding our writing feet. A plethora of metaphors aside, there was one element of my own past I had not figured into my writing, though I am now grateful for the knowledge.

 

I loved the art of learning Aromatherapy - blending oils and plant essences - much more than learning how to massage people. Like a wise-woman, I could mix potions for rheumatism or scalp disorders or simply create a hormone-balancing face cream. My passion for chemistry (which my 14-year-old self never thought I’d say out loud!) expanded from essential oils into herbology and wild plants or weeds.

Aromatherapy is still one of my main loves, because it speaks to my nature-loving side and my need for natural, organic alternatives to all the modern potions hurled at us today for cleaning our homes or our own bodies. This has provided me with some wonderful pieces in my writing, where characters are able to draw upon essences of nature to cure or persuade.

 

The real surprise, the one thing I hadn’t expected to use, was anatomy and physiology. I’d taken biology at secondary school, but this was more in-depth being as it was for massage use. I explored muscles in a way I hadn’t previously and learned more about bones and bodily systems than a GCSE had given me. It wasn’t a medical degree, but it was detailed enough to become useful when I was writing about Saxon warriors being injured in battles and skirmishes.

There are a multitude of roles a writer must play when creating their written worlds; many hats they must wear as they research and resource material and information on people, food, clothing, transport, topography and more. Anatomy and physiology is one thing I didn’t have to grab a book to read up on, as I had all I needed either still in my head or in work-folders from college. It was a hat I already possessed!

 

It is remarkable how things from your past can inform upon your future in ways you never imagined. And I never imagined I would use this former knowledge to fathom how a sword injury might infect and disable a warrior in early medieval times. Nor how someone might know where to strike their enemy with a sword in battle to kill or merely hinder them.

 

What parts of your past have informed on your future in surprising ways?

Embracing the New

 

Ring in the new. Ring out the old. As another year draws to a close, we are often talking about what a new year will bring and the elements of the old year we are pleased to leave behind. We begin to sift through our lives to uncover what worked, or did not work for us over the past year. It is a time of reflection and redirection.

This is also the main concept of rewriting and editing your novel. As you revisit your work, you should ask yourself what new things you can bring to your work – what can you allow in and what must be relegated to the reject pile? How can you make this draft of your story better than the last? What IS working and what is NOT working?

As in life, so with your writing always be open to new ideas and changes you can make. Consider amendments that will alleviate plot problems. When something isn’t working or you are at an impasse, ask yourself if there are any new themes you could embrace. Can you alter the fate of a character, or at least a part of their journey, to enable the story to flow better?

Never be afraid to allow new ideas to form and changes to release you from blocks or setbacks in your writing. Be brave and look for alternative solutions. Ring in the new if the old is no longer viable. See light where there had once been darkness.

Find your Author Power

Empowering yourself as an author has so much to do with mindset. If we believe in ourselves, the hard part has been accomplished. However, this is so often the stumbling block for many creatives. You can erase self-doubt by boosting your self-confidence in a few ways.

If you meet self-doubt down a dark alley in your mind, walk past it; leave it in the shadows and head for the light – work through it by writing yourself away from it. Getting creative will leave your mind little space for sinking into doubts and fears. If it’s a long alleyway, take small steps that can broaden as you gain confidence and therefore move more swiftly to success.

Be comfortable in your creative process. There is nothing more sapping on your creativity than an uncomfortable chair, or a pen or laptop that won’t cooperate! Find the best place and the best method to write, even if your choices sound crazy to others. Write what you want and how you want, otherwise it may not happen at all.

Lastly, never believe you know everything. Creative journeys involve ongoing learning, so don’t be afraid to make mistakes and learn from them. There is continual room for improvement and it is part of the fun of creating!

Find the Flaws

A good part of writing believable, 3D characters is ensuring your readers find an emotional connection. If your protagonist is too perfect, no one will be able to relate to them. We spend most of our lives downplaying our best skills, hiding behind humility and chiding ourselves for our mistakes. No one can relate to a character who gets everything right ALL the time and truly believes in themselves without exception!

Find the flaws. Weed out the vulnerability of even the hardest villain and toughest heroine. Seek moments of tenderness, where the reader can catch the smallest glimpse of reality behind a character’s usual façade. When I sculpt all my characters, the first thing I do after physical description is list their flaws and weaknesses. It is somehow easier than attempting to list strengths. I prefer the latter to be the shortest list as well.

Try it with your existing characters or give it a go when you next have to design a brand-new character. Flows and weaknesses are much more interesting and will result in more exciting story stakes.

Wood of the Gods

Once upon a time, different trees and in turn, their woods, were attributed to certain deities depending on the use of the wood: shields, bows, ships, sail masts, etc. Rowan, being particularly strong, was used by the Vikings as sail masts and named ‘Thor’s Helper’. Meanwhile, ash made good bows for archers and lime was the wood of shields.

The Celts ascribed their language to the various woods, using them to mean letters in their ogham alphabet. Trees such as apple were full of magic, owing to the godly fruits hanging from their boughs. While the resin from some trees became spiritual incense, used to call upon sun gods in ancient civilisations (Frankincense and the sun god Ra of ancient Egypt).

 

Apple Blossom

From when humans first found shelter, nuts and fruits from these ancient and often tall plants, a symbiotic relationship began. Trees have been used to build homes, ships, bridges, fences, forts and barricades, weapons, wagons, furniture, cutlery, toys and much more. We’ve burned it for fuel and warmth. We’ve taken its fossilised sap and created beautiful jewellery. We’ve made incense and essential oils from their branches, leaves, flowers or fruit, that have become perfumes or healing remedies.

 

Grubenhaus, Jarrow

We love trees. They give us oxygen. And trees love us, because we give them carbon dioxide. We are partners on this planet and we would be lost without them. It is no small wonder we deified them. Where would the Druids be without their oaks and mistletoe? Where would our wooden henges be? Norwegians have their Stavkirks, wooden churches made with roof tiles that replicate scales on some kind of immortal sea creature. Viking and Saxon warriors were referenced in old poems as ‘Tree Men’. Overly tall men were ‘Ash tall’, for those trees were great in height.

We owe so much to them and have lived with them for so long. We are truly blessed to have the company of trees: the wood of the gods...

 

'Tales of the Wulfsuna' Trailer

BUY Tales of the Wulfsuna here

Life Plotting!

 In the same way we might plan our novels, it can also be practical to apply the same process to planning parts of our day-to-day lives. It may sound crazy, and not all of us want to plot our own lives in quite the same detail as a novel. However, a little thoughtful organisation can help alleviate the weekly stresses.

You could begin by separating your weekly tasks into groups, rather like chapters. Within these ‘chapters’ you can separate things down into smaller pieces, like paragraphs. This way, you only have to focus on the ‘paragraphs’ and once you have completed them, one by one, you will have finished a ‘chapter’.

For instance, housework can be one chapter in your week. The housework paragraphs could be ‘dust+vac’, ‘clean floors’, ‘sinks+toilets’ and ‘laundry’. Then you can have a self-care chapter or a work chapter for the week, perhaps each day doing one or two paragraphs from each of them.

It is easier to approach writing your novels by writing one paragraph at a time. Translating this method to help you through your working week, one task at a time, isn't too far of a leap. And it works well for me. Give it a try!

Classical Themes #4 - Mythical Animals

 Myths, magic, rituals, quests, places, people and animals; all of these elements are helping to shape the tales in my ‘Wolf Spear Saga’ series.

Horses provide us with names of people, places, mythical creatures and months of the year. ‘Marrek’ is a Cornish name for ‘horseman’; ‘Equos’ in the Celtic month of June to July means ‘horse time’; ‘Whitehorse Hill’ and ‘Vale of the White Horse’ speak for themselves; Nix and Kelpies, Rhiannon and Epona are shape-shifting creatures that drag or transport the living to the land of the dead. Places like ‘Studley’ tell us there was once an equine stud farm at that location in Saxon times.

Animals have been pivotal in assisting deities, providing tales of destiny and immortality across the world.

Think of:          Athene, the Greek goddess of fate weaving wisdom and war;

Fairy Godmother in Sleeping Beauty, epitomising the ‘Fey’ or Crone spinner of destiny;

Serpents appear in tales from Sumerian, Hindu, Ancient Egyptian and Norse mythologies. A thousand years before the Garden of Eden and Genesis, Sumerian serpent-god ‘Nigizzida’ was consort of the Mother Goddess and Lord of the ‘Tree of Truth’. ‘Kundalini’ is the serpent coiled around the ‘Tree of Immortality’. Norse mythology has the ‘Midgard Serpent’; Egypt ‘Mehen the Enveloper’ who enfolds the sun god ‘Ra’ during his nightly sleep in the Underworld and ‘Ananta’ is the cosmic Hindu serpent in whose coils the gods sleep.

Medusa mosaic

You will have to read my ‘Wolf Spear Saga’ series to discover how these influences are woven into my stories, but these and other legends, beliefs and folklore are threaded through the series in various ways, with each tale leaning towards several themes. These layers wrap my saga into real-world legends, hopefully providing access to readers and leading them gently and comfortingly into my fictional legend.

Some underlying threads may be incorporated purely by accident, perhaps where my mind delved into a subconscious ancient memory I am not actively aware of. It would be pleasant to imagine, would it not, that we all possess an element of this ancient subconscious, bringing archetypal elements to us from deep in our paleo-lithic historical memory?

Sommeren

 

Summer is when I write the least. It’s the most distracting season and possibly the busiest (aside perhaps from Yule). The weather is often good and there is more opportunity to enjoy the garden or the park. There is gardening to attend to, plants and vegetables to tend and fruit that requires preserving, all of which I love and throw myself into (sometimes to the detriment of previously unused muscles) but it’s all part of the Summer fun!

Summer is the reserve of allowing the mind to rest as the body toils. The “little grey cells” of Hercule Poirot renown can rebuild and regenerate, in advance of my main writing seasons of Autumn and Winter. The dark half of the year is excellent for introspection, hibernation and writing. Meanwhile, the light half of the year is the time to be among others, leaping with the hares (if that takes your fancy) and filling your heart with joy.

Summer is sustenance in all things. Reap the benefits!

 

What is your preferred writing season?

 Do you love or loathe Summer?

Charity Book Auction

 

Fellow historical fiction author Gordon Doherty has been auctioning books for the past year, in support of Myeloma UK (a charity very important to him).

This week, between Weds 30th March ‘22 - Fri 1st Apr ‘22, I am donating a signed paperback of my first Wolf Spear Saga novel ‘WULFSUNA’ to the highest bidder and runner-up bidder. The highest bidder will also receive a signed copy of my Old English/Modern English saga tales pocketbook' ‘Tales of the Wulfsuna’.

Please check out the auction action! You can join in the bidding on Gordon’s Facebook page HERE and don’t forget to post a comment. BIDDING IS NOW OPEN!

You can also donate direct to the charity here at Make Myeloma History.

Good look at the auction and thank you so much for helping to raise funds and awareness for a very worthy cause.

Love & Light, Elaine xXx

Classical Themes - Part 3 of 4

 Myths, magic, rituals, quests, places, people and animals; all of these elements are helping to shape the forthcoming tales in my ‘Wolf Spear Saga’ series. Part three in a series of four posts.

Immortality

This comes in the form of apples (among other things) and straddles Norse, Greek and Celtic mythology. Norse ‘Idun’ is the goddess who keeps the apples of immortality. Greek ‘Hesperides’ grows apples that give immortality, on a paradise island. The Garden of Eden is home to the fabled apple tree and ‘Avalon’, the ‘isle of apples’, is the otherworldly paradise King Arthur is taken to, where he meets the three fairy queens – the three fates – rather like the Norse Norns who guard the foot of the World Tree, ‘Yggdrasil’.

Cut horizontally, apples reveal a five-pointed star in their core: a symbol sacred to the Mother Goddess and still used today as a symbol of belief in Pagan or Wiccan faith. Gypsies call it the ‘star of knowledge’. Also a wild fruit that seeds in hedgerows, it contains ancient links to Hedge-Sitters or wise women and would have been a natural food source that could have saved the poor in hard times, as they can be stored through winter. You will find mention of apples and their trees in my ‘Wolf Spear Saga’ series.

Apple quarters

Magical Drinks

These can also bestow immortality or conjure transformations. Throughout history there are countless tales of magical brews and important drinking vessels, that cross cultures and continents. Eating and drinking communally is an important part of human life and is an ideal time for characters to be brought together. I use this constantly throughout my ‘Wolf Spear Saga’ series.

Consider:         The Holy Grail;

The Mead of Odin, which can confer the gift of poetry on whoever tastes it, made by the dwarves ‘Fjalar’ and ‘Galar’.

Gundestrup Cauldron

Enchantment

Through beauty, music and Ritual Bathing the theme of enchantment abounds in various mythology and folklore.

Think of:          Orpheus, who could bewitch animals and women with his lyre playing, but was then himself bewitched by a water nymph or ‘nix’;

Acteon, while out hunting with his hounds observes Artemis bathing naked. He is then changed into a stag and hunted and killed by his own hounds.

These men are doomed to die for witnessing female goddesses bathing. This reinforces the importance of the female deity sanctity in pre-patriarchal cultures. The priest or priestess figure, bathed by servants, is another element of this ancient theme. You will find this in my writing also.

Stag in misty forest

Hunting, Hounds and Wolves

Hounds and wolves devouring various people and things runs through Norse, Celtic, Ancient Egyptian, Asian and Native American mythology. Wolves are ancient creatures from the oldest forests on earth and so are entwined in the lives of humans and their mythological tales. The hierarchical make-up of wolf society also reflects the same social relationships found in the human world, with leaders, their bodyguards, their marital partners and foot soldiers. Like humans, wolves have nannies to watch over the young while the rest of the pack hunts and these are usually older, trusted females who were often former alphas. Wise-wolves, if you will. Strong, female components essential to the survival of the pack and its future. There is much to draw on from these classical themes and as you will probably guess, I use them frequently in my ‘Wolf Spear Saga’ series!

Consider:

Hel’s Hounds; the Hounds of Arawn;

Anubis the Jackal-headed god;

Up-Uat, the wolf-god;

Native American ‘Opener of the Way’ – the coyote that helps Mother Earth give birth to the human race by scratching an opening in her side.

White wolf

What classical themes do you seek to include or allude to in your writing?

Let me know in the comments below!

~ ~ ~

E S MOXON has had a lifelong passion for history and writing. A childhood filled with family visits to ancient burial sites and stone circles fuelled her imagination. Inspired by classic medieval tales and Norse sagas, Elaine imagined herself inhabiting these Dark Ages and exploring the landscapes in her mind and continues to do so through her novels. The first in her ‘Wolf Spear Saga’ series is ‘WULFSUNA’ and books two and three will be out soon. When not lost in pages of the past, she lives in the Midlands with her family and their chocolate Labrador.

WULFSUNA - Wolf Spear Saga 1 and Tales of the WULFSUNA

Blood, betrayal and brotherhood.

They come to honour a Warrior-Lord’s dream,

An ancient saga weaving their destiny,

But a treacherous rival threatens their fate.

The Wolf Sons are coming.

WULFSUNA

Capturing vivid memories of members of the 'Wolf Sons' Saxon tribe, they emotively convey the sagas that shaped their lives, in their own ancient language and in their own humble way.

A fictional feast for lovers of Old English with alternative views of events from the novel 'WULFSUNA' - Six tales presented in both Modern and Old English. A unique companion with detailed forewords by author E S Moxon and Prof. Stephen Pollington (author, speaker and historian) who says "the opportunity to produce fresh Old English songs proved too tempting".

TALES OF THE WULFSUNA

Classical Themes - 2 of 4

Classical Themes within the ‘Wolf Spear Saga’ series

Myths, magic, rituals, quests, places, people and animals; all of these elements are helping to shape the forthcoming tales in my ‘Wolf Spear Saga’ series. Here is the second of FOUR posts.

The Dark Goddess

She is a pre-patriarchal, ancient belief from Neolithic culture in many countries. Tomb burials, caves and the deep, dark ocean introduce us to the Dark Goddess. She rules the world’s ocean as well as the inner tides (our emotions, passions, psychic perceptions and soul regeneration). The ferryman of souls can deliver us to her in his glass boat, to the Sacred Isle where we enter the cave and pass through the veil to the Otherworld - the land of the dead. There is much to explore here in terms of characters’ responses to water and its powers, but also human emotions and how these fluctuate in various circumstances.

Grey beach of rocks leading to the sea

Boats

Boats and their contents have more than a passing link to the land of the dead. As well as ferrying those near death across a sacred lake to the afterlife, boats can take the form of offerings to the gods and vessels transporting offerings to the gods - treasure hoards defaced and buried in thanks for victory. Found most profusely in Denmark (though also in other countries), boats of war and the weapons of their defeated warriors have for millennia been deposited in lakes in gratitude of the gods’ protection. As well as afterlife journeys for characters, this provides us with response to conflict within societies and the rituals invoked. Boats themselves can have souls and characters, as can weapons such as valued swords or even amulets of the gods and goddesses of the time. Many of these themes are integral to my ‘Wolf Spear Saga’ series.

Consider:      Hjortspring and Nydam boats from Denmark – deliberately sunk into lakes, these boats contain a multitude of offerings from vanquished enemies: swords; axes; spears; shields; chainmail; knives; horse tack; brooches; tweezers; ear spoons; bones of horses, lambs, calves and dogs.

Oseberg ship burial

Rainbows

Another way to the afterlife can be via a bridge, often linked to rainbows, found in Christian, Norse, Greek, Chinese and Australian aboriginal cultures, among others. Water was a sacred element through which one could travel to the Otherworld, so to cross it was to, in some respect, cheat death and almost magical. Tales of dangerous creatures inhabiting the undersides of bridges come from this concept, such as Norwegian Trolls, river sirens like the 'nix' and Celtic Kelpies in the form of horses or women, who would drag people down to their deaths. Flag Fen is an excellent example of how bridges over water held magical properties, where Iron Age people deposited metal, stone, ceramic and food gifts from the causeway. Bridges can also represent boundaries between earthly realms like county borders, or unearthly realms, both of which can present characters with problems depending on the purpose of their journey. I tinker with this theme in ‘Wulfsuna’ and also forthcoming ‘Wolf Spear Sagas’.

Think of:

Bifrost – linking Earth to Asgard;

Sword Bridge – crossed by Lancelot to rescue Guinevere from the Castle of Death;

Bridge of Heaven;

Greek goddess ‘Iris’, who guarded a rainbow (from where ‘iridescent’ is derived)

Wooden bridge in dark forest

• What classical themes most interest you?

~   ~   ~

Blood, betrayal and brotherhood.

They come to honour a Warrior-Lord’s dream,

An ancient saga weaving their destiny,

But a treacherous rival threatens their fate.

The Wolf Sons are coming.

WULFSUNA

Classical Themes - 1 of 4

Classical Themes within the ‘Wolf Spear Saga’ series

Myths, magic, rituals, quests, places, people and animals; all of these elements are helping to shape the forthcoming tales in my ‘Wolf Spear Saga’ series. Here is the first of FOUR posts.

Magical beasts and food; feuding siblings; rags to riches; death and rebirth; initiation and rites of passage; serpents, dragons and treasure – drawing on ancient and classical themes are of utmost importance in providing familiar storytelling arcs that readers can naturally connect with. Whether we realise it or not, most stories will resonate with an ancient theme and ‘remind’ us of something we have encountered previously in our conscious or subconscious. Fairytales are but one example of how repeated themes provide a wide variety of stories. 

Consider:

Sleeping Beauty                      Beauty and the Beast

Cinderella                               Snow White

King Arthur                              Chronicles of Narnia

Red Riding Hood                     Alice in Wonderland

Lord of the Rings

Stag in misty forest

I have immense pleasure incorporating these fascinating myths, legends and beliefs into my ‘Wolf Spear Saga’ series and hope you, my readers, have as much pleasure hunting for the morsels embroidered into my tales; small threads weaving through the whole. In my second ‘Wolf Spear Saga’ novel I have elements of the following themes:

Rights of Succession of Kings

This is deeply rooted in Indo-European mythology. There is an underlying, ancient archetype of a son or grandson killing their father or grandfather in order to marry and/or rule alongside the queen or mother goddess. The son has a hand in despatching the father (not necessarily a blood descendant and not necessarily with malice) and the son-lover joins the female sovereignty until the next ‘son’ arrives and repeats the cycle.

Think of:          Perseus and Acrisius, or

                        Oedipus and Laius

Celtic warrior aloft a war chariot drawn by two horses

Feuding Siblings

These also appear frequently in my sagas, though not all are blood-related. Brothers and sisters can be actual relatives, or bonded kinsfolk in religious orders or warrior bands. For my second ‘Wolf Spear Saga’ I was inspired by the half-brothers Nissyen (who wished for harmony) and Evnissyen (who wished for discord) from the ‘Sorrows of Branwen’ in the Mabinogion. Where there is disharmony, there is always interesting conflict!

Pair of wolves

Cinderella Stories

These are another recurring theme in many cultures: a hero or heroine undergoes a series of trials at the domestic hearth or in the wilderness, their true worth revealed at the story’s climax. This crisis-initiation-resolution appears in several forms. I’ve already used it for two main characters in my first novel in my series ‘Wulfsuna’ and expect to see it again in future sagas.

Midnight pyre

• Can you think of other classical themes repeated in literature?
• Do you like to include ancient themes in your writing?

~   ~   ~

Blood, betrayal and brotherhood.

They come to honour a Warrior-Lord’s dream,

An ancient saga weaving their destiny,

But a treacherous rival threatens their fate.

The Wolf Sons are coming.

WULFSUNA

Using Skaldic Verse to Develop Characters

Axe on bench of Viking longship

Written by Vikings, about Vikings, Skaldic verse is an insight into how they viewed themselves and others, but not necessarily a precise description of what they did or looked like in outward appearance. These sources are more appropriately valuable to garner how Vikings viewed life and their actions or those of others within that life - also how they viewed death. The Hávamál poems are an intriguing source of socio-economic and emotional scenarios that fill daily Viking life: from noble kings down to the poor traveller, we can peer into all aspects and levels of Scandinavian life from the 9^th to 12^th Centuries.

Hávamál… ‘The words of the High One’ [is a collection of verses that] form one of the most important, and baffling, of the Eddic poems. It survives as a group of separate and very different poems.’ …(R.I. Page)

Interior of Viking Longhouse

I find these verse an intrinsic part of my research, alongside what some may class as the mundane (but I find thrilling) world of archaeology. While archaeology forms an important role in fact-gathering for flora/fauna, climate, tools/weapons, structures, cooking and farming, clothing and bedding, I want to know how the people ‘thought’. Knowing the thoughts, feelings and beliefs of a group of people, enables me to add subtle layers to my fictional characters. I can learn how my characters may react when presented with a particular scenario. This I cannot learn from archaeological reference books in enough detail.

Section of design from the Havamal

Furthermore, it is the ‘kennings’ that can be the most revealing; delightful, alarming and incredibly descriptive metaphors that illuminate the Vikings’ love of language and painting a vivid image for whomever heard the poems. Battles were the ‘Storm of the Valkyrie’ or ‘Odin’s Storm’. Spilt blood became the ‘current of the spear’ or a ‘battle sea’. Armour was ‘Odin’s Clothing’ and swords were ‘wound-fires’. Carrion that came after the battle to claim the flesh of the dead are called ‘tasters of blood’ and their prey were ‘fodder for Hugin’, named after one of Odin’s two ravens – Hugin and Munin.

Pair of perched crows

It was a time when ships were ‘ocean steeds’ or ‘surge-beasts’ and a man of above-average height would be ‘elm-tall’. ‘Mood-acorns’ represented the heart, inside these tree-men who believed:

‘Cattle die, kin die,

The man dies too.

But good fame never dies

For the man who earns it.

 

Cattle die, kin die,

The man dies too.

One thing I know that never dies,

The good name of the dead.’

Hávamál… pp.139-140

Keel of a longship

These colourful kennings provide glimpses of lives many of us are far removed from. Of another time, these metaphorical paintings illuminate the lives of warring Vikings. When building my characters and a specific group of people, I can draw on the imagery formed by this evocative literature. When combined with individual personalities sculpted for purposes of my story arcs, it hopefully creates characters with depth and at least a hint of authenticity.

Runic Stone

‘The Eddi poems preserve the indirect evidence of the nature of the Viking Age. They do not tell of Vikings as such, but relate religious myths and traditional ways of thinking, and tales of ancient heroes’ …(R.I. Page)

Developing characters is a process of layering. You begin with the outer layer of an onion, its hard skin; as you peel each layer away you reach deeper and deeper into the onion, until finally you find the heart. Building fictional characters involves finding material for those layers from a multitude of sources. The Skaldic verse are, for me, only one of these sources, but a rich one. And a pleasant one, to be reading poetry as a way of researching!

• What resources do you use to develop your characters?

~   ~   ~

Blood, betrayal and brotherhood.

They come to honour a Warrior-Lord’s dream,

An ancient saga weaving their destiny,

But a treacherous rival threatens their fate.

The Wolf Sons are coming.

WULFSUNA