STAYING MOTIVATED

My favorite view-point above Plaka, Athens Greece

 

 

It always seems more difficult to stay motivated when the summer sun is shining and the beach beckons. Since returning from my long, fantastic vacation in Wales and Greece, I haven't done much writing.  Of course I've been basking in the good luck of getting a book contract, but that hasn't motivated me to get busy on my second novel Dragons in the Sky although after workshopping a chapter the other week at Scribblers, I did take time to jot down notes and transcribe some notes I'd made during my holidays.  I also managed to send off a couple of travel stories. That's about it. I have succumbed to the call of the hot, sunny weather and made my way to the beach as often as possible.

 

 

Today I intended to write anther travel story but so far have only made some research notes. My workspace in the bedroom is hot as a sauna and it's a bit hard to concentrate under these conditions. I have even found it hard to do much 'thinking' and 'note taking' for my writing. But maybe it's good to take a break. Pretty soon summer will be over (too soon!) and the usual west coast rains will cloud our days. Those are the days it's easier to tie yourself to the computer and get work done!

 

 

Meanwhile, dear Olwen awaits the next chapter of her adventures in Greece. I have some rewriting to do on the last chapter I wrote. Then perhaps I'll be able to forge on with her story. Til then, I intend to enjoy every bit of this remarkable summer we are having on the Coast!

 

 





THE LONG, ARDUOUS JOURNEY

I'm really feeling as though I'm living Olwen's life at the moment:  that long, arduous journey she was taken on, far from her home, across Europe to Macedonia. This journey of publishing is like that - charting unknown territories, hoping for a 'friendly' interaction, wondering when and if it will come to a satisfactory end. IPOMONI: Patience, is my mantra.  So far, I've sent out dozens of queries to publishers and agents and have received very few responses most of them, til now, negatives. Although I did have a moment of excitement a few weeks ago when one published sent me a contract. Turns out it wasn't a good choice. In fact, they hadn't even read my manuscript. And after thoroughly examining the fine print, I decided it was definitely not one to accept.

Then, this weekend when I was feeling down about it and actually had to force myself to send more queries out, I was surprised to receive and immediate reply from a UK publisher requesting to see the whole manuscript. This is a big plus. A foot in the door, at least. And the bonus was, in the letter they sent me, it said that the director of the company is fond of that same history and has read many of the books I used for research or enjoy reading on the subject, such as Mary Renault's books.  So, at the moment I am again feeling more 'hopeful'. Of course, I won't know anything for sure for about 3 more months!  That's the way it goes in this business. Meanwhile, it's coming up for the anniversary of Alexander's death (June 10) so I am hoping he'll send me some luck!

ALEXANDER, as a youth

 

At the moment I haven't been working on "Dragons in the Sky" as I have felt a bit out-of-steam with the writing. For a couple of weeks my computer was in the shop being fixed and I sort of lost my enthusiasm for writing. And since getting it back in running order I've been catching up on travel stories for EuropeUpClose.  But I am trying to get myself back in the mood for Olwen's story again. This is a picture of Alexander as he would have looked at the time she meets him, when he was a young teen-ager.

 

 

This is the coin with the engraving of Philip on the back (and that is Apollo, I think) like the one that Teag gives Olwen when he finds her dancing in the stone circle early in the book.  She carries this coin with her, always wondering who the 'god' is. And when she first meets Alexander she thinks it is him. 

I have actually written the part where she does meet Philip but that's as far as I have written so far. Perhaps I'll take a break from it until after my holidays. I'm heading for England & Wales on June 8 and then going on to Greece June 14. I'm sure I'll get lots of inspiration along the way, do a bit more research for the novel and for more travel stories. And maybe I'll even write some more blogs!



INTRODUCING PHILIP

PELLA

 

 

I have just introduced Olwen to Pella. The first couple of chapters set in the Macedonian royal city have gone fairly smoothly. She has been rescued by the young Alexander and put in the care of a court physician, Theon, on a farm in the north.  But Alexander wants them to come the Pella before winter sets in, so they have arrived there and Olwen is introduced to Macedonian royal life. Quite a stretch of imagination for her after her months of wandering as Sholto's 'hostage', far away from her Celtic home on the Salisbury Plain.

 

 





ALEXANDER, a bust from Pella, aged about 15

 

This is the Alexander who rescues Olwen from her captor. He is fifteen at this time, and soon his life will take a drastic change, just as Olwen's has. 

 

She has already had one encounter with his mother, Olympias, and has been warned.  Now she's going to meet his father, Philip, who has been away in Thessaly.  This is the chapter I'm starting now and having a little bit of trouble setting it up just right. I'm finding it a bit more difficult writing this first-person totally fiction story than I did Shadow of the Lion which was based on an actual historic plot. Dragons in the Sky has a particular cadence and it is strictly in Olwen's point of view, so a bit more restricted than third person. So far, I've managed to capture her voice and my critique group is very enthusiastic about this story. 

 

I'm sure I'll find my way around this chapter, introducing Philip who is an interesting character to say the least. I'll also be introducing Olwen to the family dynamics between Olympias/Alexander/Philip. That should be quite a fascinating experience for her. 

 

KING PHILIP of MACEDON

Artist's reconstruction of Philip's face from the skeleton found in his tomb. Notice the scarred right eye. Quite a formidable fellow!





PROGRESS REPORT #60: RETRACING STEPS

LOOKING BACK AT MOUNT OLYMPUS

Sometimes when you get stuck and find you are blocked by that old writer's enemy 'Resistance', just simply looking back at where you've just come from, retracing your footsteps, will help you sort out where you are headed for. I've had to do that a number of times while writing SHADOW OF THE LION, and the other day when I got stuck, that's exactly what I did. Sometimes it means reviewing your research (I did that), reading back over previous chapters (I did that, too) and rechecking your plot outline (it's definitely a help to have a road map when you're on a journey!)

In my case I have often got baffled with the complexity of the politics I am dealing with as I am not a political science student and the ancient politics with all the plots and sub-plots and twists and turns is often very confusing. So I go 'back to the drawing board' so to speak, bring out my research notes, read through them again and again, until finally I clarify just what exactly went on and when.

One problem with the last bit I'd written was that I had thought it sounded too similar to a previous chapter segment I'd written in the point-of-view of Polyperchon. However, when I read back I realized this wasn't the case. So instead of having to scrap what I'd written for my first draft I was able to keep it and proceed.

Another small problem was figuring out the dialogue between the Macedonian generals. What would they say in this particular situation? How would they react? How would Polyperchon, in particular, react when given the bad news he is about to receive. All the way through my novel this has been a challenge -- to make the voices of the Macedonians sound genuine, like the voices of rough warriors and not my own. As far as I know, I think I've nailed it, but often I have to stop and look through other novels of the same period (written by men!) to see how they handle the dialogues.

Another thing that often stalls me is figuring out the time-lines of events and trying to be as true as possible. I've run into this before and decided that as this is not a history book it isn't really necessary to be 10o% accurate because what is really 'accurate' according to those ancient time-lines considering that the histories were written several hundreds of years after the fact and the calanders of measuring time then is different than now. I still like referring to the line I read by another author in the National Post
"A historical fiction writer can take any number of liberties with the facts." Since running into criticism earlier on about this. I have now adopted this as my mantra.

So, with all these steps taken, I looked forward to see where I am going, and I found it really easy to complete the chapter segment that had stalled me on the road to THE END. Now I am ready to proceed with the journey. I even found myself jotting down random notes last night so I have a clear start for the next scene There's one more chapter segment to write and then one more complete chapter to finish. Then a bit of work on the Prologue and Epilogue. (Some of this has already been written.) So I'm that much closer to the end of my journey.

(NOTE: Some of the characters, such as Polyperchon, continued on long after the end of my particular story so their future activities will be mentioned in the Afterword so readers will know what became of them. Some died or were murdered. Some faded into oblivion. Some went on to become successful and famous. Amazingly a lot of the generals lived to very old ages. They were indeed a hardy lot of characters!)

MOUNT OLYMPUS

PROGRESS REPORT #53: BREAKING THROUGH

AMPHIPOLIS

There's been one barrier after another stopping me from working on Shadow of the Lion these past weeks. Just when I'd cleared some time and space to move forward, my computer blew up (the electrical) so I was without my writing tool for a couple of weeks. Now I'm back in business again, but trying to catch up on everything that got so far behind while I wasn't able to work. With my vacation time looming in the next couple of week (May 24 is departure day) I have to prepost a lot of stories for the Vancouver Guide on Planet Eye as well as writing my usual 3 or 4 stories per week. This has included a couple of field trips (one out to see the tulip fields last weekend.) As well, I am instructing three memoir classes and a travel writing night school class. This has included a bit of class editing although I am now going to put restrictions on that.

Last night I managed to workshop the up-to-date writing on the newest chapter of Shadow so now I have some edits to do before proceeding with the rest of that chapter. It has seemed so hard to focus and find time to break through the writer's block. I had so wanted to finish the novel before leaving for my trip back to Greece, but can see that is impossible at this point. Although I am very, very close to writing THE END. I had an encouraging Facebook message from one of my writing heroes', Steven Pressfield, the other week. He said that the last part of the novel is sort of like a rocket re-entering the earth's atmosphere --- a lot of extra power is required to keep the momentum up. He told me that this is common for all writers, and not to let it get me down. "Kick ass!" he said. So yes, Steve, I will do that. I just have to put my mind to it and make the time and I'm certain I'll be able to 'break through' and come to a successful 'landing'. Whether or not it happens by May 24, I'll certainly give it a try anyway. Discipline, Determination and avoiding Distraction!

In these final chapters of Shadow, my characters -- Roxana and Iskander -- are faced with many difficulties. Held under a sort of 'house arrest' in the fortress at Amphipolis, their lives have taken a strange and unsettling turn. Will they break through the barriers that face them?

* * *

Roxana took a little comfort knowing that she and her child were both safe and reasonably comfortable here in the Amphipolis’ hilltop fortress, an old castle built on a high bluff above the sweeping curve of the Strymon River. Its high ashlar walls commanded a view of prospects on every side, and, on a clear day, distant landmarks like the cloud shrouded peaks of Mount Athos were visible. From her window, in a room high up in a tower, she could look outover the river delta. The wide prospect from the heights stretched before her. The view of the mountains exalted her with a feeling of freedom. Kassandros had said he wanted her and the child to feel ‘at home’ in Amphipolis. The irony was, she had left the confines of the harem and the hostile halls of Pella for anew kind of prison -- one where Kassandros was her warden.

Sadly, she turned away from the window and went back to her loom in front of the hearth. Her chamber was furnished with the few possessions Kassandros had allowed her to bring. The only furniture were the two divans ornamented with jasper and carved ivory, draped with Persian weavings she had brought from the East, and a table of cedar wood on which she had placed fresh sprigs of myrtle in terra-cotta vases. She had hung bundles of herbs to sweeten the musty air. Two lamps burned in bronze holders near the couch where she rested on a heap of tasselled cushions. Amphipolis had once been ruled by the Greeks so the rooms had mosaic tiled floors and colourful hand-woven hangings covered the stone walls.

She had not expected to stay here long, so she made do as best she could, and had tried to remain dignified and agreeable. Each day she dressed most extravagantly in gowns made of fine silk that had come from the Land of Encircling Ocean, or flamboyant Soghdian dresses of brilliant hues, heavy with embroidery and sewn with glittering coins and luck charms. What few pieces of jewelery she wore was all that remained of her wealth, the rest had been left behind in Pella or lost after she’d been captured at Pydna. Her most treasured possessions were a dazzling pair of diamond earrings Alexander had brought from India, and the rubies her father had given her as a wedding gift. She wore them day and night like a talisman to ward off misfortune.

As she sat idly at the loom she caressed the facets of the rubies, feeling warmth in her fingertips, her mind drifting back to the day so long ago that her father had placed them around her neck and kissed her. “Remember who you are,” he had said. ‘You are Roxana, my Little Star, daughter of Oxyartes. Never forget this.”

Tears welled in her eyes. She thought of all the years gone by, the tragedies and sorrows of her life, how she had fought to try and keep her dignity and protect her child. Now she wondered what would become of them. Who was there left who would help them and save them from their enemies. She rubbed her hand across her eyes and straightened her shoulders. In front of her, on the looms, was the half-finished garment she was weaving for her son. She stroked the fine linen threads. She had dyed them herself from mulberries gathered from trees in the castle courtyard. She sighed, and picked up the spindle, and began to weave but as always, her interest in the task waned and she got up again and went back to the window, to look out toward the sea and the surrounding mountains.

It was loneliness that brought her spirits down most of all. At first some of the soldier’s wives had come to visit, making her feel welcome with their gifts of simple homespun cloths and treats of home-baked sweets. Perhaps from suspicion, and lack of experience co-mingling with women who were below her royal station, she had made it clear to them that she was the queen mother and held herself aloof, regarding them as nothing more than the servants who had once served her. After all, who could she trust? She was so used to the intrigues of the harem that she trusted no-one. The women soon withdrew their acts of hospitality. Now she regretted this lapse in her own judgement, finding herself quite alone. Although she tried to make amends, it was too late. She had insulted their dignity.

Now, aside from occasional visits with the Aristonous, the garrison commander, in which the main topic of discussion was the companionship of their sons, Roxana wiled away her time at the loom, cloistered in her room alone and regretful. She was glad, at least, that her child had a worthy playmate, and all the benefits of a being under the guardianship of a man who had been a loyal companion of his father. She saw little of Iskander who spent most days with Orion at the gymnasium or sometimes, accompanied by Aristonous, learning to ride and hunt and even to use weapons.

Iskander, like herself, had borne their confinement stoically, scorning all semblance of fear. Kassandros had assured them that they were not ‘prisoners’ but were being held for ’protection’. He had promised to provide a tutor for the child, but it was almost summer and none had arrived. Iskander had already begun to lose his skill in Greek, the language of the court, and spoke in the coarse Doric patois of Aristonous’ son, even forgetting his refined manners. And although she insisted he wear beautiful clothes suited to an imperial child, he would came back to her each night so soiled and tattered from rough play that it brought tears to her eyes. What would happen when the day came for him to ascend the throne?

THE FORTRESS RUINS