This month's #HistFicThursdays have been all art-inspired, so I'm sticking with that theme! A couple of months ago, the Things to Inspire blog was about sketches . Today's is about finished pieces of artwork! Artwork has been an inspiration for millions of people across thousands of years. Just like a book, the finished product can (hopefully!) be an inspiration. Over the years, we've collected one or two pieces of old artworks, and these are a few... Religious artwork has always been used as an inspiration and, historically, this was how the majority of people interacted with biblical stories. This was a barn find - probably created for someone's own interest judging by the naive style of artwork. It looks like it might have been from a panelled wall at some point. I wonder what happened to the rest of the panels and what story they might show when they are all together... Of course, not all artworks are paintings! Here is a scrimshaw of the Battle of Flamborough
I'm not good at being told what to do. It's not just in writing, but in all walks of life. I don't mind guidelines - in fact, they can be very useful to creativity - but writing to someone else's criteria is another thing. So, back in 2021, when my sister Judith told me about Sapere Book's competition to write a series of books on one of their briefs, I initially ignored it. But then she said she would submit to their Age of Sail brief if I did the Medici/Borgia books. I was still on something of a high after the success of The Year We Lived, but equally stuck in a deadspot in terms of creating a book which could live up to it, so I agreed to have a go at it, the resulting story being Poisoned Pilgrimage.
My research took me far away from anything I had ever written creatively. Instead, I returned to my degree days and wrapped myself in the theology of the day. And it was good to be back! My set of stories was not selected by Sapere, but it didn't matter. It had been enough to take me onto a new journey and it also rekindled my love of church history in all its messy unpleasantness as well as its heavenward study.
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| The Savonarola Journals Weighing in at approximately 150,000 words |
The opening chapter for Poisoned Pilgrimage was accepted into the Embark journal and, during 2022, I kept a journal of research observations and commentaries on the life and works of Savonarola. Ironically, it was this dipping of my toe into the waters of nonfiction which gathered a lot of interest from fellow researchers, but at this point in time I have no plans to take it anywhere. I wrote it for myself about a man who became a fascination to me. One day, I intend to write a complete thesis on Savonarola as a medieval embodiment of Moses, but that is so far back on the boiler it's practically falling off!
The rejection letter I recieved from Sapere was very nice. I'm sure it was generic, but it invited me to submit to them once more and - being a glutton for punishment - I am doing exactly that. This time, I'm tackling the Age of Sail brief. My story is not a great match for the brief, so I'm not holding out much hope, but it will at least be heartfelt and characterful as it takes my own ancestors (anyone else here related to the Richardsons/Woods/Dances/Spurrels/Mariners from Aldeburgh?) on their seabound adventures.
So, Writers of Historical Fiction, it is worth having a crack at one - or more - of these briefs. You might not win, but what you will have is the start of a fabulous new adventure to explore. Don't be afraid to put your own slant upon each brief. Just remember: if you want to write it, someone will want to read it.
You can find the Sapere Books competition briefs here!
Happy writing!
[Incidentally, Judith never submitted her Age of Sail series in 2021, but this time she's already written the Gothic Mysteries - much more her sort of thing!]
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