After the loss of NaNoWriMo, it did not take the Crowvus writers long to realise how much we relied on this structured routine for our writing. For me, November had become the only time I was guaranteed to do creative writing. In fact - if truth be told - I've done very little at any other point of the year. Consequently, we decided to adapt to our own interpretation: Cro(w)NoWriMo - the W is in brackets because there was some discrepancy over whether or not it should be in there. The rules were simple: Write. As November went on, the end goal changed slightly for each writer. Was it 50,000 words? Was it to write every day? Was it to write an entire book? For me, it was about finishing a book. I haven't finished an historical fiction book in ages - though I've started plenty! Now, with four more writing days left on the clock and into the final chapter, I might finally be able to lay the ghost. The story I returned to was Poisoned Pilgrimage , the book I began as a submiss...
For NaNoWriMo last year, I wrote a book called The Stonemason's Crown. This was in part inspired by a discovery I made whilst poring over a map. It was not an old map, but a map of old things using LiDAR technology. For Christmas, my sister got me a copy of that map, printed on metal and zoomed in on the very spot where my story was set.
Maps give an amazing insight. Not only do they point out landmarks which are sometimes long gone and forgotten, they also show how people reacted with - and believed in - the world where they lived. Where would our imaginations be without etched sea serpents, or "Here Be Dragons" on the edges of these documents? Time was I would only read books which had a map in them. I've got a little bit more accepting now, but I still get a real buzz as a reader to find a beautiful map tucked into the opening pages of a book.
My dad loves maps. Consequently, I have always found them fascinating. He has quite a collection, some which are hundreds of years old, including a (somewhat sooted up!) 17th Century map of part of the country which is in need of a deep clean before anything can be properly made out. But what a great spark for the imagination, wondering who would have had it made and for what purpose. It is the human side of the past which speaks to historical fiction writers and readers, and there are dozens of stories to every point on every map.
Because much of what I write is now set in the real world, I have to admit to largely overlooking the need for maps, but maybe it is time to hand-draw one and see if I can include it in one of my books. Perhaps, if The Stonemason's Crown is ever published, there will be one in there...
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