Breathing in the Past

Nothing compares to visiting historical sites and locations used in your novels to literally ‘inhale’ the past around you. If you write about locations near to where you live, this is a boon and most convenient, and should not stop you from exploring what your characters would have explored.

Thundery skies over the Avebury Circle

However, we may write about far away places and if, for any number of reasons [national lockdown the latest barrier], you are unable to reach those destinations, there are alternatives. Consider the topography of the location: flora and fauna, how the land lies, types of trees and animals, weather. Then challenge yourself to find the same or similar in environments around you.

Stag in a misty forest

You may have to visit multiple local areas to come into contact with the sounds, sights and smells of the place you are writing about, but the important aspect here is to experience the same sensory stimulations.

Lady reclining on a hill in the sunshine

If it is a hot country, go out on a warm day and notice the difference in temperature on the skin, how sound travels in a dry atmosphere and how the heat can accentuate scents. If it is a Scandinavian country find a pine forest and visit on a cold, damp day to absorb the smell of the foliage and soil and the sound of how the wind sounds through the pine tops.

Waterfall

These will not be complete substitutes of actually going to a particular place, but it is all part of research as a novelist and making the most of what is available to you. The rest will be added using your imagination and creativity as a writer!

Once upon a time...

~   ~   ~

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

Workshop Cafe

Today I ran a 'Writing Workshop' at a local cake café in my neighbourhood. It was a beautiful blend of creative camaraderie and idea sharing, with cake!

A gaggle of writers

It all began one day while talking to the owners and enjoying their baked wonders. Kiss Me Cupcakes are a most welcome addition to our local community, not least because of their gorgeous baked delights. They are enthusiastic about bringing people together in their delightful wood-panelled café for a variety of events, sharing creative endeavours and eating cake. Did I mention there is cake?

Writers' Fuel

While I run a bi-monthly writing group at my local community centre, I thought it would be fun to hold a workshop, especially for those who find it difficult to begin a project. It can take time and immense effort for people to overcome the initial hurdle of putting those first few words on a page. Using some fun activities and simple handouts my little gaggle of writers went home today with 50-100 words of a story, a basic plot arc and some idea of direction.

Heads down for the '50 words' round!

We decided we loved it so much, we'll be doing it again soon. A big thank you not only to the café, but also the attendees who were inspiring and enthusiastic! Thank you especially for the marvellous feedback.

Me in my Author's Nook

Blank Page Syndrome

Beginning any project can prove a fearful experience for many; a perilous precipice of white expanse where no words dare to fall. Toes curl, hair bristles on the back of necks and fingers pause over keys. They envy those who freefall into the abyss and dream of the day when chapters gush onto the page in a vomit of inspiration. Yes, writing is a messy craft for some.

I recently wrote a blog on keeping a writing ‘log’ after experiencing insecurities over the little time I thought I was spending on my craft. It turned out these insecurities were unfounded and other areas of my life had only appeared to have consumed my writing time. Quite often doubts and insecurities arise when we are confronted with what our own psyche views as a mammoth task.

Starting a new novel, entirely undrafted or plotted in any way except for a title had shaken my confidence. The ‘Blank Page Syndrome’ had crept in while I had been busy with daily work and family routines, to undermine my ability to even begin! Goodness, it had even cast doubts on whether I was doing any writing at all, about anything.

A few weeks into the log settled those initial doubts. Then it was time to get to work on the fear of that vacant page. Where did I begin? I read books, lots of books, all factual research on various topics relating to the novel I hoped to write. As I made notes on Druidry, equine history, Autism and the movement of Celtic peoples after the departure of the Roman Empire from Britain, visions emerged. My vacant page contained words, not of a story per se, but of scenarios.

Finding the roots of your story is one way to chase away the Blank Page Syndrome. Once you set down roots, it is hard to be uprooted as the trunk expands, branches spread and leaves grow with your ideas. Soon these disparate scenarios contain characters, or at the very least names or titles of the protagonists. They may not have faces or hair colour, but they are saying things and moving around a landscape that is slowly emerging, like a watercolour filtering over paper.

Soon you discover you are linking these scenarios together and forming a jigsaw with them, slotting in new ideas or moving them around. External factors or other characters appear to tip the delicately balanced plot, sometimes even before it has completely formed and you find the story spiralling into unknown, unplanned pastures.

You have the beginnings of a book!

• Have you ever suffered with the blank page syndrome? If so, how have you dealt with it?
• Are you a tight plotter, loose pantster or a little of both?
• If you have an idea do you stall it and pause to assess if it will be detrimental to the original plot, or run with it and see where it will lead?
• Do you throw out an idea if it doesn’t fit within the strict confines of the perfect story arc you created, or allow it to alter your story?

Writing as ‘E S Moxon’, Elaine's debut historical fiction adventure ‘WULFSUNA’ was published January 21^st, 2015 and is the first in her Wolf Spear Saga series. She is currently writing her second novel, set once again in the Dark Ages of 5^th Century Britain, where the legendary Saga ensures a Seer and one named 'Wolf Spear' are destined to meet. You can find out more about Elaine’s novels on her website or follow her on Twitter or Facebook.

Elaine lives in the Midlands with her family and their chocolate Labrador.

~ ~ ~

Blood, betrayal and brotherhood.

An ancient saga is weaving their destiny.

A treacherous rival threatens their fate.

A Seer's magic may be all that can save them.

WULFSUNA

A Year and a Book

A little over a year ago I began a writing log, because I felt I wasn’t giving enough time to my craft and that Book 2 in my Wolf Spear Saga series would never be written. I had decided to shelve complete drafts of the two novels I had written after ‘WULFSUNA’, as I wanted to remain with the characters from the first book a while longer. I felt the reader would also want to, and that the other novels could become later stories. This of course meant starting entirely from scratch – blank page syndrome. We all have commitments and it is a lucky few who find their writing successful enough to allow them to do it full-time. Work, family and life in general seemed to be taking over all my spare time. I felt I had let myself down and so the ‘log’ commenced.

Looking back on pages of handwritten columns of notes, word counts and hours revealed I had not forsaken my craft or Book 2 at all and I was writing ‘something’ every week. Exceptions to this were clearly delineated by family holidays (where I prefer to spend time with my tribe and leave the online world behind) or periods of illness. All my spare time had not been consumed by extraneous activities as the weeks and months of wide-ranging word count proved in black and white (or blue, or purple, or green – hey, I’m a writer; I love pens!). There had been words to count!

Admittedly the time spent actually writing averaged only an hour a day, including weekends, but I noticed also that length of time did not necessarily equate to the amount of words produced on the page/screen. I had spent several hours redrafting chapters where word count added had been minimal for the time allotted. In contrast, I had spent many a ten-minute slot scribbling a few hundred words off the bat.

Patterns also emerged, providing me with an insight into routines I had not consciously noticed, such as pockets of marketing and promotion in one-week blocks or periods where I read research material extensively and made copious notes. This was all time spent working towards my writing and the completion of my novel and so it was counted. Other patterns were more intriguing. Whether you believe in planetary energies or simply equate the full moon with lighter evenings and hence a sense of being more ‘awake’ for longer on those nights, my writing did peak in a week waxing up to a full moon. Word count was often triple or quadruple my usual levels.

Certainly, whatever these figures prove, the single outstanding factor is that I am writing regularly. Maintaining the log has merely revealed this fact to me, at a time when I imagined other areas of my life had taken over. It has given me impetus to continue and increased confidence that I have been managing my writing time effectively while, as they say in France, juggling the ‘train-train du jour’. And after a year, I have an ‘almost’ book that this week surpassed 91,000 words.

 The Wolf Spear legend will return!

•  Have you ever faced difficulties in balancing your writing time with other factors in your life?
• How have you overcome these?
• What advice would you give to others who find themselves in the same situation?

Writing as ‘E S Moxon’, Elaine's debut historical fiction adventure ‘WULFSUNA’ was published January 21^st, 2015 and is the first in her Wolf Spear Saga series. She is currently writing her second novel, set once again in the Dark Ages of 5^th Century Britain, where the legendary Saga ensures a Seer and one named 'Wolf Spear' are destined to meet. You can find out more about Elaine’s novels on her website or follow her on Twitter or Facebook.

Elaine lives in the Midlands with her family and their chocolate Labrador.

~ ~ ~

Blood, betrayal and brotherhood.

An ancient saga is weaving their destiny.

A treacherous rival threatens their fate.

A Seer's magic may be all that can save them.

WULFSUNA

Finding my way through the writing wood...

There are so many ‘How To’ articles for all things in life (or so it seems). For writing in particular there are blogs and articles, self-help books and writing tip hashtags – everyone, everywhere appears to have found the answer. This post is not about me offering suggestions on how to write, when to write, what (or what not) to write. This post is about me sharing my own recent experiences after having lost my way creatively.

If anyone ever says that writing is easy, they haven’t been at it long enough to know what’s around the corner. At some point, often several times, a writer will struggle to find words. More importantly, they may struggle to find time to write those words. In modern society there are numerous distractions, interruptions and consequences that repeatedly vie for our attention. It can be difficult, as a creative, to shut these out or walk away.

Writing Historical Dialogue

At a recent library book club engagement I chose to openly explore the subject of writing dialogue in historical novels. As you can imagine, this is an area of the writing process fraught with difficulties posed by which period of history you have chosen and the availability (or lack of) detail about language during that age. My audience found it fascinating, evident from their own eager input during my talk, which became more of a group discussion. (I love it when that happens, don’t you?) I decided, therefore, to expand on it and share it here.

I have found historical dialogue to be a fine balance between staying true to a period and not alienating readers. Whilst there are those whose excitement mounts at every historical term used for armour, weaponry, clothing or day-to-day utensils, not everyone is after a language lesson. The majority of readers are in search of intriguing story and larger-than-life characters. One of the ways in which we authors can move the story forward and enhance the image of our characters is through the exchange of speech. We can immediately gain a sense of character when they open their mouth.