Once Upon a Time...

Today I started chapter one and have managed just over seven hundred words. This is a considerable amount considering the way in which I work; self drafting as I go. I had planned on starting last week but it ended up becoming a brainstorming session on the finer detail; the curse of the historical novel. It also meant an emergency dash to the library and a crash course in Futurism, purely for the sake of one paragraph. Today was one of those days where I was in the right frame of mind and felt that I was able to communicate the ‘vision’ in my head. I will probably review the draft in a week and change this opinion but it’s a good start. It is incredibly hard work but I love it.

Private Peaceful

I am taking every opportunity to immerse myself in the world in which my novel is set. This week I went to see a stage adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s Private Peaceful. The novel is written for children but the play is equally aimed at children and adults. Private Peaceful (acted superbly by Mark Quartley) spends the night before his execution for cowardice, looking back over his life. Once again, I come back to the importance of story. It sounds so obvious but if you are going to write a novel you must have a story; a strong and beautiful thread that leads the reader through the world that you have created so that by the end they have a sense of satisfaction about the place in which they end up. Every incident that Morpurgo uses from Private Peaceful’s childhood is used to illustrate an aspect of that character but they are also subtly linked to create the story; otherwise it would just be eighty minutes of reminiscences.
Morpurgo is a previous Children’s Laureate and the author of War Horse, the stage adaptation of which is the most incredible play that I have ever seen. If you ever get the opportunity to see it, please take it.

Day at the Museum

When I drafted the novel plan last year, I had to carry out a fair amount of historical research; bringing together my two loves. Now that I have my detailed chapter plan, it is time to get into the really detailed research. This week I have been to the Imperial War Museum and worked through diaries, letters and documents. Some of the accounts are very matter of fact and provide information on the processes that my character would have gone through. Others are descriptions of experience and are written in the most beautiful language. I became completely lost in one collection of letters: the minutiae of their daily life; their innermost thoughts and feelings; their closest friends. It was as if I were reading a novel. I haven’t finished going through them yet and am looking forward to going back. As I stated in a previous post, I do not want this novel to be filled with page upon page of historical detail. To be honest I would be overwhelmed at the task of faithfully recreating every feature of that time and place. It is not a history book. Rather, this research is intended to assure the accuracy of the narrative framework and find those beautiful gems that help to make real the world I am creating. I have a few more visits to go as there are also sound and film archives to go through. I cannot wait.