To My Friends (Various)

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Hi, peops! :wave: Well, I've been trying to get better at commenting. GCSE exams have started, which does affect my workload. Why not link me to a piece you'd like critiqued, or maybe just something you think I'd enjoy?

Should you want to return the favour, :paranoid: of course I'm always looking for feedback on my 2014 NaNoWriMo excerpts. There are two, and I spotted a problem myself when looking through the first one recently. I'm not sure whether I want my characters to say things like, 'It will not go well for you, Banna', or things like, 'I can't believe this!' :giggle: I'm fixing that now as I go through. Go more for the latter style, I think - I don't want it to be pretentious, and I can translate Latin and Iceni from c. AD 50-60 any way I like, right? :shrug:

I'm trying to compile a list of tips for myself: the dos and don'ts of writing YA historical fiction, discovered by the best method for such things i.e. reading. I'll post it here in this journal, but at the end.

Focusing on others for a moment, here are some recent lit. faves:
Brave Rhaan: A Desert Ghoul Folk TaleIn the same year Rhaan’s parents gave her life the desert gave death in the form of drought. Prey dwindled until they were forced to search the farthest corners of their territory to find enough to eat. They promised her that someday there would be more than beetles and scrawny lizards.
Rhaan grew to be a well-mannered little female. Her parents brought travelers home and sent her to the storage chamber for a mouthful of their meager cache. She gave it to the strangers quietly, holding back the urge to jump on them and beg for a game of chase. She listened to them describe the lands they left in search of a territory of their own. Before they left each young adult bowed his or her head and blessed her parents for their generosity.
Many nights Rhaan’s parents were forced to leave her alone so they could split up and cover more ground. She waited, bored but patient, and dreamed of excitement.
It was on one of these nights that the wanderer came. He was not like the young trav


The Big Hand's on Twelve12:00 AM
They met at the stroke of midnight: the Big Hand and the Little Hand were both on 12.
“Big Hand,” said the Little Hand, nervously. “We’ve spent a lot of time together.”
“Yes, indeed,” smiled the Big Hand. “A lot of time.”
The Little Hand swallowed hard. “And… well, during that time, I’ve become very fond of you.” It produced a diamond ring. “Big Hand… would you accept this Little Hand in marriage?”
There was a pause.
“Um,” said the Big Hand.
“‘Um’?” said the Little Hand.
“It’s just…” The Big Hand blushed. “I know we were going steady together but… I’ve got something going now with the Second Hand.”
The Little Hand looked dazed. “The Second Hand..?”
“Hello!”
The Second Hand zoomed past.
“Hi, sweetheart!” called back the Big Hand. It saw the expr
A storm in springtimeNo draft of wellspring draws
the same effusive sigh
as wildflowers on the grass
when windstorms fly
in violent, happy, gusts
through speckled shoots of blooms
and cattail reeds bent over banks
cut deep with clouding plumes.
I feel in weathered breaths
this sudden shock of spring:
then drops of rain; your parted hair
to which they cling,
and suddenly the flush
of overburdened clouds
all rushing to the drier ground
to weep their desperate joy aloud.
The dampened scent of sweet
enthralling gentle flowers
enraptured in the air,
weighed low from bowers
of starlit blossom trees
now settles on your skin
and draws between your dusted touch
to cloud the rushing blood within.
I drink of clouded wells
deep in the draining earth
where water tastes of blood
and then--of birth.

Seriously, link to me some more, your own or others'. :D

Back to me now, though - I'm feeling the old plethora of emotions right now. Let me take you through them...

1. Sad because the GCSE exams mean I've lost a few long-term students, one of whom actually was my favourite (and he likes me a lot too). My last session with him was pretty painful, to be honest. :sniff:

2. Happy because my boss at my little school thinks I'm excellent and has offered me four English classes next year, and potentially a history class too! :w00t: I'm feeling really optimistic now about having an actual teaching career, and making plans about my further training.

3. Terrified in case my students don't get the results they're capable of, and my boss decides I'm not so great after all. :paranoid:

4. Annoyed because I've been suffering a lot of minor inconveniences. They don't matter much, but they are annoying, for instance it's time to replace the sturdiest pair of shoes I have ever had and I can't find anything that even comes close to as good! :shakefish:

5. Excited because I am going to see Jurassic World on Thursday. :squee: After all this anticipation, it had better be good! :stinkeye:

6. Proud to have been interviewed for tWR again, this time along the very awesome raspil, LadyLincoln and doughboycafe who are all huge names around here. (Speaking of Rasp, check her out if you haven't already, because she's being extra awesome right now.) These interviews are pure awesomeness - even when I'm not in them! (No, really. :giggle:)
tWR Interviews: Chapter or Standalone Prose?Hello everyone, and welcome to our "tWR Interviews", where we interview experienced writers of our community about the art of writing
If you're reading, please favourite+fav and share the article so we can spread this amazing resource around!
Today we're interviewing doughboycafe, ThornyEnglishRose and LadyLincoln on the characteristics and differences between a standalone story and a chaptered one. And raspil has some knowledge for us too!
If you want to get some more educational reading, here are the other interviews we've released so far:On WritingProse and Poetry BasicsTo Rhyme Or Not To Rhyme?


Tips for Myself on Writing YA Historical Fiction

1. Don't hate on all the main characters.
Seems obvious, doesn't it? I picked this one up from Philippa Gregory's The Virgin's Lover (incidentally, not YA). She hates Elizabeth I, and she hates Robert Dudley, and Dudley's wife Amy doesn't come across too well either. I wrote a review explaining this, and then read several others which said pretty much the same thing only better. :giggle: I think I'm okay in this area, though. I'm feeling a lot of love for my protagonist and her friends.

2. Don't be boring.
I'm currently reading Mary Hoffman's David, which is about a time and place and topics I'm very interested in, but I'm finding the writing a bit bland. The trouble is, I can't put my finger on exactly why, so I can't figure out how to avoid it. :hmm:

3. Do try to capture the historical in a contemporary-sounding voice.
Now that's a tall order! :O Valerie Wilding does it brilliantly. Trying to copy another author too much is a bad mistake, so it's probably just as well that I can't figure out how she does it. It's just her voice, I guess, and the best thing I can do is keep trying to perfect mine.

4. Do paint a vivid picture of the time and place, but be subtle.
Again, a tall order. Celia Rees. Piratesand Sovay are particularly fantastic. :reading:

5. Do stay true to yourself/do not worry if it's nothing like Sally Nicholls' All Fall Down.
I have to keep telling myself this. Sally Nicholls is AMAZING! :worship: No one could ever copy her even if trying wasn't a terrible idea (and it is), but we'd all love to achieve our own version of that very special something she has. I feel good about what I'm doing, so maybe I'm getting there. ;)

6. Do love your history of choice.
That's an obvious one, but honestly - gush alert - I had to feel it to really appreciate it. It wasn't like this with the shorter stuff I've done, not even the Henry VIII stuff! I have loved learning more about this story, which I loved already from childhood, and I am loving the process of building up my own version of it. Are you feeling the love, guys? :deviation:

Laters. ;P

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raspil's avatar
so glad to know you.