Development - Historical Study, more Historical Feel

27 May 2012, Development - Historical Study, more Historical Feel

Introduction: I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon. This was my 21st novel and through this blog, I gave you the entire novel in installments that included commentary on the writing. In the commentary, in addition to other general information on writing, I explained, how the novel was constructed, the metaphors and symbols in it, the writing techniques and tricks I used, and the way I built the scenes. You can look back through this blog and read the entire novel beginning with http://www.pilotlion.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-novel-part-3-girl-and-demon.html.

I'm using this novel as an example of how I produce, market, and eventually (we hope) get a novel published. I'll keep you informed along the way.

Today's Blog: To see the steps in the publication process, visit my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

I'm writing about sources of historical research and how to make historical research. These apply to any novel or any subject you might wish to study. Here is a list:

1. Primary source documents or artifacts
2. Secondary source documents or artifacts
3. Tertiary source documents or artifacts
4. Quatriary

If you do get the history right--that is the details as well as the basics--there is another piece of history that needs to fill out your works. This additional part is cultural awareness. Here is the list of how to develop your target period for writing a historical novel.

1. Primary sources (secondary second)
2. Clean slate
3. Add in only what you find from primary sources (secondary next)
4. Cultural awareness
5. Historical feel

What exactly is historical feel?  Historical feel is the quality of a historical novel, where the reader strongly can detect the culture and history within a novel yet feels immersed in the writing.  It would go without saying that the history and the culture must be right--otherwise the reader may have an impression of historical feel, but with no basis.

Historical feel means the reader can tangibly note the differences between the culture(s) portrayed and her own, but that she accepts them.  Just as in the concept of sustained suspension of reality in a great fantasy novel where the author creates a world that is not based on the principles of reality (magic, time travel space travel, and all), but the author's world has such a powerful quality of reality that the reader is completely sucked into it and completely believes it.  This is the power of great historical literature.  When the history and culture is completely accurate, and the reader completely accepts the reality of the history portrayed and yet realizes it is a completely different time and place than his own.

This duality of acceptance and perception of differences is precisely the feel a great historical novel should convey.  The means an author uses to achieve this should be based in all the regular tools in the author's writing skills but with the very critical addition of historical study and cultural awareness.  An example of an author who gets this right is Alan Bradley.  His Flavia de Luca novels are set in the 1950s in England.  I haven't noticed any historical irregularities in his very tightly developed novels.  He is well studied in the period and his knowledge of the culture is very good.  His works are well set off by his use of descriptive language that helps convey the feel of the times.  His use of language in conversation sets the tone for the culture which is much different than today.  He does take a couple of cultural issues out of their full context and applies modern morals and ideas to them, but I'll forgive him.  I'd rather have historical novels that don't ever compromise with the truth.  Still, his novels have strong historical feel and much of that feel is due to the way he uses language.

This is something I wanted to achieve in my novel Centurion through the use of language.  I'll write about that tomorrow.

I'll repeat my published novel websites so you can see more examples: http://www.ldalford.com/, and the individual novel websites: http://www.aegyptnovel.com/, http://www.centurionnovel.com/, http://www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, http://www.thefoxshonor.com/, and http://www.aseasonofhonor.com/.

Development - Historical Study, more Cultural Study

24 May 2012, Development - Historical Study, more Cultural Study

Introduction: I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon. This was my 21st novel and through this blog, I gave you the entire novel in installments that included commentary on the writing. In the commentary, in addition to other general information on writing, I explained, how the novel was constructed, the metaphors and symbols in it, the writing techniques and tricks I used, and the way I built the scenes. You can look back through this blog and read the entire novel beginning with http://www.pilotlion.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-novel-part-3-girl-and-demon.html.

I'm using this novel as an example of how I produce, market, and eventually (we hope) get a novel published. I'll keep you informed along the way.

Today's Blog: To see the steps in the publication process, visit my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

I'm writing about sources of historical research and how to make historical research. These apply to any novel or any subject you might wish to study. Here is a list:

1. Primary source documents or artifacts
2. Secondary source documents or artifacts
3. Tertiary source documents or artifacts
4. Quatriary

If you do get the history right--that is the details as well as the basics--there is another piece of history that needs to fill out your works. This additional part is cultural awareness. Here is the list of how to develop your target period for writing a historical novel.

1. Primary sources (secondary second)
2. Clean slate
3. Add in only what you find from primary sources (secondary next)
4. Cultural awareness
5. Historical feel

Yesterday, I described the steps I went through to study the Anglo-Saxon culture so I could write  write The Chronicles of the Dragon and the Fox (3 published science fiction novels) and Dana-ana (an unpublished, as of yet, historical fiction novel).  Those steps were very intensive and took years of life and experience.  They also required that I live in different countries.  If you really have a desire to write historical fiction, you need to be ready (or find an occupation) to live in different countries and to be immersed in different cultures.  It isn't enough to visit these countries.  The problem with visiting is what happens and happened to many who went to the Soviet Union and to modern China.  Those countries were/are under tyrannies.  They would/will not let you know what is really happening to the people and within the society.  It was/is impossible to understand the culture without living in it.  You can tell how many were/are fooled by these countries by reading the procommunist ideology that came out of the USSR and out of China today--from journalists and others.

The same problem, as well as others, exist with just making visits to other nations.  If you go on a vacation to Italy, I assure you unless you make your own way, you will not experience the culture and the people.  When I lived in Germany, I travelled on some German led vacation tours of France and other countries.  I assure you, a German led tour of France will ensure you only get German food, German style wines and drinks and plenty of other Germans to enjoy France with.  I discovered that I had to break away from the German tours and make my own tour--then and only then could I get into the culture of France.  This isn't a German problem, this is a cultural problem.  American or British led tours that I've participated in are the same, and French led tours to Germany find French food and companions.

If you haven't been immersed in at least one culture other than your own, you will not be able to immerse yourself in others very quickly--you cannot do it in a seven, fourteen, or month long vacation.  If you are already familiar with cultural differences, you might be able to.  I have been able to get into other cultures pretty easily, but that is due to my past experience and professional training.  There is also a problem of comfort and desire.  You have to want to immerse yourself, and you have to work at it.  It is too easy to fall into your own cultural patterns.

It can help if you are already familiar with the many different American cultures (Northeast, Southern, Midwest, West, Northwest, and all).  Each of these are different cultures in their own right.  The problem with many Americans is they travel to the Northeast from the South and still order chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes.  Or they visit Florida and don't eat fish because they don't like fish.  If you are interested in studying cultures, you have to leave your own likes and dislikes (your cultural blinders) at home.  I mentioned before, if you enter a smoking culture, you need to accept a social cigarette.  If you go to a culture that eats raw fish (shashimi), you need to eat raw fish.  If you immerse yourself in a culture that eats raw meat (steak tartar), you need to eat it.  Only through cultural experience can you hope to learn and understand another culture.

I'll write more about cultural immersion and cultural study tomorrow.

I'll repeat my published novel websites so you can see more examples: http://www.ldalford.com/, and the individual novel websites: http://www.aegyptnovel.com/, http://www.centurionnovel.com/, http://www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, http://www.thefoxshonor.com/, and http://www.aseasonofhonor.com/.

Development - Historical Study, Cultural Awareness Differences Why

21 May 2012, Development - Historical Study, Cultural Awareness Differences Why

Introduction: I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon. This was my 21st novel and through this blog, I gave you the entire novel in installments that included commentary on the writing. In the commentary, in addition to other general information on writing, I explained, how the novel was constructed, the metaphors and symbols in it, the writing techniques and tricks I used, and the way I built the scenes. You can look back through this blog and read the entire novel beginning with http://www.pilotlion.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-novel-part-3-girl-and-demon.html.

I'm using this novel as an example of how I produce, market, and eventually (we hope) get a novel published. I'll keep you informed along the way.

Today's Blog: To see the steps in the publication process, visit my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

I'm writing about sources of historical research and how to make historical research. These apply to any novel or any subject you might wish to study. Here is a list:

1. Primary source documents or artifacts
2. Secondary source documents or artifacts
3. Tertiary source documents or artifacts
4. Quatriary

If you do get the history right--that is the details as well as the basics--there is another piece of history that needs to fill out your works. This additional part is cultural awareness. Here is the list of how to develop your target period for writing a historical novel.

1. Primary sources (secondary second)
2. Clean slate
3. Add in only what you find from primary sources (secondary next)
4. Cultural awareness
5. Historical feel

Novels about real culture and cultural differences would sell very well--the problem is there are so few of them.  If most authors can't get the most basic details of history right, they certainly aren't going to come close to properly depicting cultural differences.  When a publisher finds the rare jewel of a novel that does get culture right, they will definitely want to contract that book.

If you didn't notice, getting cultures right is very difficult.  Just as most historical fiction isn't historical fiction at all, they are mostly modern novels in a historical setting, most historical (or other) novels about other cultures is a fantasy in a foreign setting.  Most novels don't come close to getting other cultures right.  In fact, many novels don't even get sister AmerEnglish cultures right.

In the near past (19th to early 20th century), most writers were able to communicate culture and language across the page of a novel.  Additionally, most readers were able to understand and appreciate those cultural differences.  The reason for this was travel and experience.  Most writers before the mid to late 20th century were multilingual and trained in Latin and Greek.  They read in foreign languages and they were travelled.  Today, many authors are not experienced travelers or classically trained.  The result is most of them and their readers don't have much appreciation for other cultures or language.  The ubiquitous nature of English makes travel much less of an experience of cultural enlightenment than a training tool for other cultures to become more like AmerEnglish culture.  You can cap that with a broad propensity of many travelers to isolate themselves from the cultures they are visiting. 

So, what are you going to do about that?  I'd recommend not writing about any culture you haven't studied well.  This returns to the basis of my latest blogs--study of the period and culture about which you intend to write.  It helps to immerse yourself in the culture in question.

I'll write about cultural immersion and cultural study tomorrow.

I'll repeat my published novel websites so you can see more examples: http://www.ldalford.com/, and the individual novel websites: http://www.aegyptnovel.com/, http://www.centurionnovel.com/, http://www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, http://www.thefoxshonor.com/, and http://www.aseasonofhonor.com/.

Development - Historical Study, Cultural Awareness Differences Similarities

20 May 2012, Development - Historical Study, Cultural Awareness Differences Similarities

Introduction: I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon. This was my 21st novel and through this blog, I gave you the entire novel in installments that included commentary on the writing. In the commentary, in addition to other general information on writing, I explained, how the novel was constructed, the metaphors and symbols in it, the writing techniques and tricks I used, and the way I built the scenes. You can look back through this blog and read the entire novel beginning with http://www.pilotlion.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-novel-part-3-girl-and-demon.html.

I'm using this novel as an example of how I produce, market, and eventually (we hope) get a novel published. I'll keep you informed along the way.

Today's Blog: To see the steps in the publication process, visit my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

I'm writing about sources of historical research and how to make historical research. These apply to any novel or any subject you might wish to study. Here is a list:

1. Primary source documents or artifacts
2. Secondary source documents or artifacts
3. Tertiary source documents or artifacts
4. Quatriary

If you do get the history right--that is the details as well as the basics--there is another piece of history that needs to fill out your works. This additional part is cultural awareness. Here is the list of how to develop your target period for writing a historical novel.

1. Primary sources (secondary second)
2. Clean slate
3. Add in only what you find from primary sources (secondary next)
4. Cultural awareness
5. Historical feel

So, what features do human societies have in common?  You really have to go to the most basic human desires and needs to find them.  Human cultures share the need of food and drink.  The foods and drinks they consume, the way they get them, the way they prepare them, the way they consume them are all different between cultures.  For example, Asiatic cultures use chop sticks.  Many ancient and not so ancient cultures eat with their hands.  Some societies eat exclusively with one hand or another.  In some cultures the use of the left hand indicates insult or pollution.  Most European cultures eat with utensils that range from forks, knives, and spoons of all types and varieties, but that wasn't always true.  Early Europeans up to the late Middle Ages ate with their hands and perhaps with a knife.  They gradually moved into all types and varieties of utensils over time.  You can almost determine the time in history by the types.  You can definitely determine the level of cultural aristocracy by the types and number of utensils.  Alan Bradley indicates the social level of his heroine Felicia DeLuca in just this way.  It happens that his novels are set in the 1950s.

I haven't even begun to look at an area of interest different than how people eat.  Everybody eats--they just don't all eat in the same way.  I hope you got the point.  Every culture has sex.  Dependent on the culture, they get there and they participate in it in different ways.  It is silly to portray human sexuality as forever the same. 

All cultures raise children, none of them raise children in the same way.  In Western cultures it was not unusual to routinely beat girls and boys in school and at home until the 20th century.  This isn't that uncommon in other cultures today.  All cultures raise children differently.

So, if cultures are so different, why do we get all these books where foreign cultures look just like AmerEnglish culture?  I'll give you a couple of thoughts.  The first is this.  Modern AmerEnglish people know the real world is more like Rudyard Kipling's depicting of Indian culture and not a reflection of AmerEnglish culture--they just don't want to believe it.  The idea that people are really different scares them.  They want to repeat the lie to themselves and their children that the world looks just like they do.  The second reason is like unto the first, books about real cultures won't sell... or that is the perception of publishers.     
I'll write more about that tomorrow.

I'll repeat my published novel websites so you can see more examples: http://www.ldalford.com/, and the individual novel websites: http://www.aegyptnovel.com/, http://www.centurionnovel.com/, http://www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, http://www.thefoxshonor.com/, and http://www.aseasonofhonor.com/.

Development - Historical Study, Cultural Awareness Differences

19 May 2012, Development - Historical Study, Cultural Awareness Differences

Introduction: I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon. This was my 21st novel and through this blog, I gave you the entire novel in installments that included commentary on the writing. In the commentary, in addition to other general information on writing, I explained, how the novel was constructed, the metaphors and symbols in it, the writing techniques and tricks I used, and the way I built the scenes. You can look back through this blog and read the entire novel beginning with http://www.pilotlion.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-novel-part-3-girl-and-demon.html.

I'm using this novel as an example of how I produce, market, and eventually (we hope) get a novel published. I'll keep you informed along the way.

Today's Blog: To see the steps in the publication process, visit my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

I'm writing about sources of historical research and how to make historical research. These apply to any novel or any subject you might wish to study. Here is a list:

1. Primary source documents or artifacts
2. Secondary source documents or artifacts
3. Tertiary source documents or artifacts
4. Quatriary

If you do get the history right--that is the details as well as the basics--there is another piece of history that needs to fill out your works. This additional part is cultural awareness. Here is the list of how to develop your target period for writing a historical novel.

1. Primary sources (secondary second)
2. Clean slate
3. Add in only what you find from primary sources (secondary next)
4. Cultural awareness
5. Historical feel

To get the culture, you must get the language.  That is the beginning, but that isn't everything.  Language is only the beginning.  In the comparison of AmerEnglish cultures, you might imagine that moving between cultures with completely different languages might be easier than cultures with very similar languages.  You would be wrong.  The problem is that an English speaker can pretty easily recognise the differences between American, British, and other English speaking cultures.  This is because many of the most observable difference are based in language.  This also applies to different British and American cultures that are differentiated by accents.  Did you notice that accents can differentiate cultures?

I hope you are getting the point.  English cultures are differentiated by accents as well as other parts of speech.  You can imagine how different an American Southern culture is from a Northeastern American culture or a Scottish culture.  The differences between a French speaking and an English culture is at least as great.  In other words, a French speaking culture can't be depicted as an English speaking culture that just happens to speak French.  The culture is different.  The people in a French speaking culture have different views, actions, responses, and expectations than those in an English speaking culture.  That isn't to say that they will not have similar views, actions, responses, or expectations, but depending on the culture, they may be extremely different.

For example, the motivations of a Russian communist are significantly different than an English capitalist.  The motivations of a German Nazi are significantly different than a Hindu swami.  The motivations of a German of any blush are significantly different different than any Indian Hindu.  The motivations of an Indian Hindu are much different than an Indian Muslim.  That isn't to say individuals in many cultures might share some similar motivations or ideas--there are things that all humans share.

I'll write about that tomorrow.

I'll repeat my published novel websites so you can see more examples: http://www.ldalford.com/, and the individual novel websites: http://www.aegyptnovel.com/, http://www.centurionnovel.com/, http://www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, http://www.thefoxshonor.com/, and http://www.aseasonofhonor.com/.

Development - Historical Study, Cultural Awareness Language

18 May 2012, Development - Historical Study, Cultural Awareness Language

Introduction: I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon. This was my 21st novel and through this blog, I gave you the entire novel in installments that included commentary on the writing. In the commentary, in addition to other general information on writing, I explained, how the novel was constructed, the metaphors and symbols in it, the writing techniques and tricks I used, and the way I built the scenes. You can look back through this blog and read the entire novel beginning with http://www.pilotlion.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-novel-part-3-girl-and-demon.html.

I'm using this novel as an example of how I produce, market, and eventually (we hope) get a novel published. I'll keep you informed along the way.

Today's Blog: To see the steps in the publication process, visit my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

I'm writing about sources of historical research and how to make historical research. These apply to any novel or any subject you might wish to study. Here is a list:

1. Primary source documents or artifacts
2. Secondary source documents or artifacts
3. Tertiary source documents or artifacts
4. Quatriary

If you do get the history right--that is the details as well as the basics--there is another piece of history that needs to fill out your works. This additional part is cultural awareness. Here is the list of how to develop your target period for writing a historical novel.

1. Primary sources (secondary second)
2. Clean slate
3. Add in only what you find from primary sources (secondary next)
4. Cultural awareness
5. Historical feel

Language, more than any other characteristic, delineates culture.  That is not to say that different cultures can't share the same or similar languages--just look at AmerEnglish culture.  You just have to recognize that culture mainly begins with language.

Look, you generally know a person is French if they speak French or have a French accent.  It is always possible for a person to speak French if they are not French, but less likely that they will have a French accent.  If I describe a person having a French accent, you immediately assume they are French.  If I tell you they are speaking French, you immediately assume they have some background in France or a French speaking country. 

All my historical novels begin and end with language, and I'm not speaking about English.  In The Second Mission, the focus is ancient Greek.  In Aegypt, the focus is French and ancient Egyptian with Berber and Lybian tribal thrown in.  In Centurion, the focus is Aramaic, Koine Greek, and Latin.  In these novels, the languages represent cultures and the cultures change with the languages.  Cultures begin and end with language.  A major step in cultural awareness is to study or understand the language of the culture.

I'll write more about culture and language tomorrow.

I'll repeat my published novel websites so you can see more examples: http://www.ldalford.com/, and the individual novel websites: http://www.aegyptnovel.com/, http://www.centurionnovel.com/, http://www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, http://www.thefoxshonor.com/, and http://www.aseasonofhonor.com/.

Development - Historical Study, Cultural Awareness Differences

17 May 2012, Development - Historical Study, Cultural Awareness Differences

Introduction: I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon. This was my 21st novel and through this blog, I gave you the entire novel in installments that included commentary on the writing. In the commentary, in addition to other general information on writing, I explained, how the novel was constructed, the metaphors and symbols in it, the writing techniques and tricks I used, and the way I built the scenes. You can look back through this blog and read the entire novel beginning with http://www.pilotlion.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-novel-part-3-girl-and-demon.html.

I'm using this novel as an example of how I produce, market, and eventually (we hope) get a novel published. I'll keep you informed along the way.

Today's Blog: To see the steps in the publication process, visit my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

I'm writing about sources of historical research and how to make historical research. These apply to any novel or any subject you might wish to study. Here is a list:

1. Primary source documents or artifacts
2. Secondary source documents or artifacts
3. Tertiary source documents or artifacts
4. Quatriary

If you do get the history right--that is the details as well as the basics--there is another piece of history that needs to fill out your works. This additional part is cultural awareness. Here is the list of how to develop your target period for writing a historical novel.

1. Primary sources (secondary second)
2. Clean slate
3. Add in only what you find from primary sources (secondary next)
4. Cultural awareness
5. Historical feel

Yesterday, I ended with this, "You don't have to be absolutely knowledgeable of these cultures, you must be aware of them and their differences."  This is the absolute point about cultural awareness.  Notice something very important here--if you don't know about the cultural details, that is the historical details, you can't understand the cultural differences.  For example, if a certain ancient culture doesn't have money (and most of them don't until 600 BC), you can't get the concepts of market and trading right in that culture--you don't know the cultural differences, and you are doomed to failure in writing historical fiction.

To understand a culture sufficiently, you need to understand something about their language, their economy, their religion and gods, their foods, their drink, their entertainment, their government, their marriage customs, and all.  You can't just assume their culture is like AmerEnglish culture and move on from there.

Even when I write about Britain and British culture, I am very careful of words, actions, and incidents.  British culture is not the same as American culture.  As an author, you must depict these cultures properly if you wish to have any hope portraying any other culture.  Notice that the chief difference between American and British culture is the words.  In Britain, a trunk is the boot, a flashlight is a torch, an elevator is a lift.  There are many words and phrases you will find in Britain you will not find in America and vice versa.  I place many of my novels in the countries I've lived in and visited frequently: England, the USA, Greece, France, Germany, Turkey, and others.

In countries where the language is absolutely different, there are both less and more problems with cultural awareness.  I'll write more about that tomorrow.

I'll repeat my published novel websites so you can see more examples: http://www.ldalford.com/, and the individual novel websites: http://www.aegyptnovel.com/, http://www.centurionnovel.com/, http://www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, http://www.thefoxshonor.com/, and http://www.aseasonofhonor.com/.