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#HistFicThursdays - Teaching Gothic Horror to the Next Generation

Of course, when I volunteered to write a blog for #HistFicThursdays, it was bound to be Gothic-based. All the pupils at school know now that, if they get me for English, they will be studying some Gothic Horror at some point! I have just taught my first full year of National 5, and the text I selected for the pupils’ Critical Essay (worth 20% of the overall grade) was A Warning to the Curious by the great M. R. James. There are so many fascinating things which can be said about the text: Paxton as a tragic hero; the setting of the First World War and how that is woven in throughout the text; the themes of revenge and respect for beliefs; the many examples of foreshadowing throughout… But teaching a group of teenagers to love (or, more realistically, to understand) M. R. James is not without its challenges. He writes in that wonderfully lyrical style which is key to the Gothic genre and, even for his time, he was using language which was perhaps slightly old-fashioned. Therefore, some ...
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#HistFicThursdays - Introducing this 2026's #HistFicMay Prompts

 It's back for another year...

Welcome to this year's #HistFicMay!

I know a number of writers like to have these prompt in advance so that you can line up a few answers, so it seemed like a good time to share them. Of course, the aim of #HistFicMay is to celebrate both the fantastic network of historical fiction writers and their books, so even if you don't use the prompts, hopefully you can use the hashtag on your social media to discover fabulous authors and writings.

And here they are:

  1. Introduce yourself and your writing
  2. Who inspired you to become a writer?
  3. Standalone or series?
  4. Do you always/ever write happy ever afters?
  5. One time period or dual (or more!) timeline?
  6. What is your favourite era to write about?
  7. What is your favourite era to read about?

    Let's talk about research...
  8. What has been your greatest research discovery?
  9. Which source do you always go back to?
  10. What's your strangest rabbit hole?
  11. Has research ever driven you mad?
  12. If you could time travel, when would you go to?

    Now for your main character...
  13. Introduce your MC.
  14. What is their drive and goal?
  15. What's their favourite colour?
  16. Who plays your MC in the movie?
  17. What do other characters think of your MC?
  18. Is you MC based on anyone?
  19. What superpower does your MC wish they had?

    Share your words...
  20. What's your opening line?
  21. Best description.
  22. Favourite quote.
  23. Last word (END doesn't count!).

    Just for fun!
  24. Your characters come to dinner - what do you serve?
  25. What's your historical Mastermind topic?
  26. Which of your characters is your "phone a friend"?
  27. What song always makes you think about your book?
  28. To whom is your book dedicated?
  29. Who's your ideal collaborator for writing?
  30. What's the honest tagline for your book?
  31. Tell your story in emojis.
It's only the month after next and I can't wait! Make sure you download the graphic at the top of this post and spread the word! Let's make this #HistFicMay the biggest yet!

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