Skip to main content

#HistFicThursdays - Things to Inspire - Religious Artefacts

 Writing historical fiction, it is impossible to ignore the overwhelming impact religion had on people's lives. It was not only the structure of organised religion, but the interwoven beliefs which dominated people's lives. Christianity, the religion which runs through most of my historical fiction, grew and survived with its ability to adapt as it spread from place to place and culture to culture, absorbing certain traditions as it powered on. I love Theology. I did my undergraduate degree in it, and it continues to remain a real interest of mine. I also love the idea of holding hands across history, seeing what my characters saw, and holding the same objects in my own hands as they or their peers did. Given the significance of religion and superstition throughout history, these things were common - although not necessarily accessible - and would have been understood by all. Religious iconography dominated Pre-Reformation Europe, speaking as a universal language to all. These

NaNoWriMo Day 20 - Soundtracks: The Role of Music

Wednesday 20th November - Am I on the Wrong Track?



My Twitter bio tells all interested parties that I'm a lover of opera. I am. But I can't listen to it when I'm writing. I also enjoy folk music. But I can't listen to that either. In fact, I can't listen to anything with words. The words distract me. Even words delivered in a language I don't understand, distract me. There is someone's story there and it isn't my story so, while I'm writing my story, I focus on that alone. What DO I listen to when I'm writing? I listen to my favourite classical pieces - no words - the ones I have always loved. Chopin's piano sonata no.2 in B flat minor is a treasure and is always able to inspire me. It's known as the funeral march but the part everyone recognises as such is empty on its own. When you take it as part of the whole it is priceless. His nocturnes are capable of great things for me too. Music which trips along the sinews and twists and turns within you triggers big thoughts and bright ideas. It's the same with The Swan from Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saens - when I listen to it in solitude I have sometimes found myself dipping my head and having the sense of gliding along a clean, calm river. The power of the composer. The cello can speak without words.

Apart from voice - which is a no-go for me when writing - the piano and the cello, I am fond of the violin. One of the pieces I enjoy the most is Bruch's violin concerto no. 1 in G minor. It is another very popular piece but that doesn't take anything away from it in terms of the power to inspire. Brahms' Hungarian violin pieces take risks and thereby bring to my paper an element of chance. Who knows where they can take me? I don't. They are dancing about in my head as I write this and I'm not sure where it will end. Well of course it must end where it began for me. Another popular piece. When I was a little girl and my parents had just bought a splendid radiogram, one of the first long playing records we obtained was of Schubert's Trout Quintet. I loved it then and I love it still. I also loved it when I played it to inspire primary school children on my first teaching practice in Guisborough. When my lecturer came in to look at my lesson plans, he saw the Schubert there and said that it always made him think of old ladies in tea shops. It makes me think of tagging along with my brother and his friends when they went fishing in the River Torne. They rarely caught anything but weeds. Now I catch the memories. This old lady would gladly listen to The Trout in a tea shop. Now there's an idea. I'm just going to pop the kettle on.

Comments

  1. This is a lovely post, and beautifully explained too! I too cannot listen to any vocal music whilst writing, as it's just too distracting. I quite like listening to 'alpha waves' calming music - the idea of the waves calming my brain is very appealing 😊

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Nicola. The idea of calming waves ahead of writing is good. I can imagine the tension lifting from the shoulders. Great to hear from you.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

#HistFicThursdays - Muskets & Minuets - Lindsey S. Fera - Book Excerpt

   This week, I'm delighted to once again be teaming up with  The Coffee Pot Book Club ! Today I'm sharing an excerpt from the stunning book,  Muskets & Minuets  by Lindsey S. Fera! So let's begin by meeting the book... Love. Politics. War. Amidst mounting tensions between the British crown and the American colonists of Boston, Annalisa Howlett struggles with her identity and purpose as a woman. Rather than concern herself with proper womanly duties, like learning to dance a minuet or chasing after the eligible and charming Jack Perkins, Annalisa prefers the company of her brother, George, and her beloved musket, Bixby. She intends to join the rebellion, but as complications in her personal life intensify, and the colonies inch closer to war with England, everything Annalisa thought about her world and womanhood are transformed forever. Join Annalisa on her journey to discover what it truly means to be a woman in the 18th century, all set against the backdrop of some of

#HistFicThursdays - An Open Invitation to Historical Fiction Writers: #HistFicMay

 I'm always impressed by the power of social media in spreading the word about books and writing. In the hope of giving back to that, I'm going to be running a social media event throughout May to help spread the word for the fabulous historical fiction authors who are in the online writing community. All you have to do is answer the questions/challenges which match up to each day on the list. Remember, posts with pictures are always more eye-catching. You can include pictures, quotes, and purchase links in any of these. If you don't have a picture for any post, just use the #HistFicMay banner (which you can download from this blog). You can choose light or dark depending on which best suits your writing. And remember to use the #HistFicMay hashtag so I can find your post! I will retweet, share, and like all the posts which answer these challenges on Twitter (@DaysDyingGlory), Facebook (@DaysDyingGlory), and Instagram (@StomperMcEwan), and please feel free to give me a nud

#HistFicThursdays - Christmas Snippets

Christmas is coming, it's only four days away! For someone who loves Christmas so much, the festival and celebration of Christmas does not feature in as many of my books as I would have expected. All the same, I've drawn together a couple of snippets concerning Christmas from various stories I've written, and I present them to you now as my #HistFicThursdays offering (you can also find a couple from Beneath Black Clouds and White here , as well as last year's offerings here ). Philip was almost grateful of the laborious journey, as it numbed his body to the pains which lay ahead. Instead, he concentrated all his thoughts on the imminent arrival of Advent. It had always been his favourite season of the church’s year. The coming of peace. And he was ready for peace. ~ from The Year We Lived The presents were distributed by Hamish and Roger and all those present had a gift matched perfectly to their recipient. The day continued with games and carols, for which Catherine ac