When writing a book a certain degree of research is necessary. When writing a book in the genre of historical fiction an awful lot of research is necessary. The question is; how accurate should you be in your depiction of the facts that?I have mentioned preciously that the author Bernard Cornwell once said that a … Continue reading How far should accuracy go in literature?
Month: June 2013
The Social World of the Anglo-Saxons: The Theigns
Above the ceorls, the peasants of the Anglo-Saxon world, sat the ‘theigns’. They were to all intents and purposes the middle class. To qualify as a theign a man needed to own a minimum of 5 hides of land. A hide was not an exact measurement in Anglo-Saxon England but roughly equated to enough land … Continue reading The Social World of the Anglo-Saxons: The Theigns
The Social World of the Anglo-Saxons: The Peasants
One of the features of the Anglo-Saxon social structure was its’ obsession with class. There were three basic classes, the ceorls or peasants, the theigns or landowners, and the eoldermen or nobility. These classes were further subdivided again creating a ladder for the socially mobile to climb.The ceorls were the most numerous and, therefore, the … Continue reading The Social World of the Anglo-Saxons: The Peasants
Writing update for June. Almost there!
Writing update for June. Almost there!.
What is a huscarl?
A huscarl was a Saxon warrior. They were generally rich men in that they had to be able to afford to equip themselves with at least two horses, steel mail armour, a steel helmet, weapons such as a fighting spear, throwing spears, a Dane-axe, a shield and, perhaps most importantly, a gold decorated two edged … Continue reading What is a huscarl?
Flippin’ ‘eck – that’s brilliant!!
I was talking my wife last night, something that we are prone to do over a glass of wine, and she pressed me on when is my book going to get published? It was a good question that has been frequently asked over the many, many months I have been working on it and, as … Continue reading Flippin’ ‘eck – that’s brilliant!!
It’s Late in the Day but it is Necessary
It’s not something you expect the day after you put down the manuscript and say to yourself; “that’s finished then!” but there’s that little voice inside your head, whispering like Gollum; “you know he’s right precious!”He was right and I was wrong.The thing is if you ask people to read your manuscript and give you … Continue reading It’s Late in the Day but it is Necessary
Submission Time!
While I am tending towards e-publishing there is still a part of me that wants to explore the traditional publishing route of contracting a literary agent and seeing my book in hard print. I have no doubt that writers already know how difficult this process is. In fact I would go so far as to … Continue reading Submission Time!
Just My Imagination
It is funny how the act of writing is the same as creating a new fantasy world. I used to do that as a child, create my own worlds peopled by fantastic characters from pop culture and the books I read, and dinosaurs! Always dinosaurs! Having decided to write the book and then immersed myself … Continue reading Just My Imagination
I’ll Write a Book One Day!
It’s a common enough assertion but I expect very few people, relatively speaking, actually make the attempt. It is not surprising really, I mean, the idea of writing a book seems so easy, you sit down with a pen or typewriter or word processor or ipad or whatever takes your fancy, a blank sheet, and … Continue reading I’ll Write a Book One Day!
Peter C Whitaker 