Thursday, January 22, 2009

In the beginning...

Ok, so I set myself a goal: To write a historical fiction novel this year. My subject will be Agesilaus (400-360 BC), the Spartan King whose reign is often viewed as the beginning of the downfall of the greatness of Sparta (he ruled about 80 years after Leonidas). But instead of doing what I normally do, and just jumping in and writing furiously (which usually nets me four chapters at most), I am going to prepare first.

I'm starting with reading a couple of other novels set in the same general period. Meanwhile, I am also reading up on the actual scholarly history of the period, and as much about Agesilaus as possible in particular. THEN I am going to outline his story in as much detail as possible. And only after that is finished am I going to actually start writing.

At least, that's the plan.

I already have some ideas for specific scenes in his life, and I will probably outline each major character in detail. That's where my experience as an RPGer comes in handy. I'll treat each major character as if he/she were an RPG character, and detail them accordingly.

And there we go. As of yesterday, I am off and running. Having just finished a bit of fantasy fiction, I am now reading the first period novel, Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield. It's about the battle of Thermopylae, and is considered the best book on the subject.

Special thanks to Scott Oden for pointing me in the right direction, and for his indispensable advice.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Historical Fiction...?

So, I’m contemplating writing an historical novel. Don’t ask me why, it’s just something I do every once in awhile. I have to admit that while I love history, reading books about it has always been difficult. They tend to be so dry and full of minute details that the enjoyment factor is dampened to the point of boredom.

Bueller? Bueller?

Then I read Men of Bronze by Scott Oden, and I thought “Wow! This is the kind of ‘history book’ I could get into.” Though a work of fiction, the settings and events are based on real history. And Scott is well-versed in said history, and has a way with words that brings it all to life so well. So, I started thinking about what I could write about. My favorite historical era is Ancient Greece (followed closely by the Viking Era). So, with Ancient Greece in mind, I began searching for subjects and events that may not have been fully explored through fiction. After a few ideas, I think I have settled on an idea I like: Spartan Agoge.

If you saw 300 you know what that is. It’s the time in a Spartan boy’s life where he is taken from his family at age 7, and placed into a military camp, where he spends the next 22 years learning what it is to be a Spartan citizen. A little Google Fu will net you the details of what that entails. But there is one aspect that I am a little hung up on. Pederasty is described as “the traditional intimate and pedagogic friendship between a man and a boy”. First, let me say, I am not “homophobic” at all (in fact, I think that term is pretty lame). That being said, I’m not all that comfortable with describing any kind of sexual relation between males, especially between a man and an adolescent boy. I understand that while according to the rules and morals of modern society, that’s not acceptable, in Ancient Greece it was quite normal, and it carried none of the negative, or even socio-political, connotations that it does now. Still, there are some ancient scholars who contend that Spartans didn’t partake in the more “invasive” forms of pederasty. So, I think if I take this project on, I’ll probably follow that line of thinking. And I will probably downplay the actual details of the subject, keeping the events more focused on the physical and military training, as well as the academic education of Spartan men.

Of course, this may be just one more project to add to my ever-growing pile of incomplete writing projects. Then again, someone may have already done this. That's happened to me before.

Yeah, I’m a bad boy. Making excuses already.

Friday, January 2, 2009

A New Year

Well, it's 2009, and things have drastically changed for me since this time last year. I am now married, have a newborn son, and I have a job with an actual steady future. But, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Every year for the past...I dunno, bazillion it seems...I have resolved "I'm going to write a novel this year!" And yet, I have never finished one. So, this year, I'm going to start small. This year I resolve to TRY MORE. To actually work on writing a novel. If I finish, awesome. If not, I 'll know that I have tried. I'm also going to get back into shape. These last few months have played hell with my fitness. I find that I do better with someone else to help motivate me. And now that my wife is able to exercise, and is motivated to do so, we'll be able to keep each other going long enough to actually achieve our goals.

Other than that, I think things are pretty set. My interest in MMOs is starting to wain a bit now, so I'm sure I'll be able to work my writing in better. I'm also trying to get registered for classes at an online college starting next week. If it happens, I'll be taking another step closer to actually getting my degree. The only thing is, now I have to actually decide what to major in. But, that's another long and boring story.

Hey, and maybe I'll actually get some people to read this blog, and maybe leave a comment or two. That would make me feel really good... ;)