Table? What table?

I was lucky enough to be invited to a wedding in Winchester recently (GREAT wedding. There was a quiz - need I say more?!) and history geek that I am I couldn't resist the lure of the round table at the castle's old Great Hall.

So I dragged long-suffering hubby and baby off to indulge my love of medieval history, regurgitate everything I knew about the Morte d'Arthur and generally be an insufferable know-it-all. Now, I flipping love a castle. There's something so visceral about being able to reach out and touch the walls of a building that has survived more than half a millenium, and trying to understand the lives of all the people who have touched that stone before me. And there is no shortage of inspiration in Winchester.

The Great Hall did not let me down. I've got so ideas battling for my attention now I'm going to have to break out one of my shiny new notebooks and get them down on paper before I lose them. So many stories and so little time to write!

Here's a selection of my photos from the day...

 There's something more than a little Iron Throne-y about the detailing at the top of these gates, no? They were installed in 1983 to celebrate the marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana

This incredible painting covers the entire end wall and lists all of Winchester's representatives in Parliament. Why the blank spaces, though, I wonder? If anyone can enlighten me then please do!

Sorry, I couldn't resist. Good name, is Eleanor. Very regal...

And what did the husband make of the legendary round table, I hear you ask. 'Table? Was there a real table? I didn't see one?'

You can see how it's easy to miss...  

Has anyone else been finding inspiration in unusual places?

Ellie

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Foodie update, and lots of other things

Hello friends!

I have spent the past few weeks and months with my head well and truly buried in my WIP. But now it's away with my wonderful critique partner, I finally have a little time to blog, remind my family what I look like, tidy the house, catch up on the laundry ... Oh the glamour.

So Food Glorious Food - it still doesn't have a proper title - is finished, sort of. It's already been through a couple of drafts, and, thanks to the brilliant feedback of my local writers' group, is hopefully in pretty okay shape. Though I'm sure that my CP is finding lots of stuff for me to work on as I speak!

In other news, remember my Old Friends? Well, just like when the whole story got started, they're hanging around in my head again a lot, refusing to leave me alone. A second draft of their story is definitely on the cards, and soon, but some of their friends seem to be hassling me as well, wanting a book of their own. I'm not sure I'm ready to embark on another historical adventure just yet - especially when I'm still researching and making plans for the first - but like with lots of my writing, I'm not entirely sure I'm the one calling the shots here.

So that's where my writing life is at the moment - a bit all over the place. One manuscript out for review, another awaiting a second draft and more research and a couple of ideas that seem determined to drag my attention away. Oh, and then there's the small matter of writing a POEM (but perhaps I should save that for another time).

I'd really love to hear how everyone else balances different projects at different stages. How do you decide what to work on next? Should I chase down that new idea or stick with research and revisions for the one I've already written?

Ellie
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Old Friends: An update

Hello!

What a crazy couple of months. NaNoWriMo has come and gone, and I'm only now finding my way out from underneath the annual December laundry mountain.

But, and here's the happy news, I won!

My first draft of my first historical novel is complete, all I need to do now is finish my stack of research books, add more details about setting and atmosphere, check all my facts, check the dialogue is authentic ... OK, so I'm not going to think about all that just yet (otherwise my head might explode).

But in case you were wondering what was going on between my two old friends, here's an introduction to my story.

When Bess's childhood sweetheart arrives with the news that her husband has died, she's shocked, and overwhelmed by the attraction that still sparks between them. But her delight in seeing her Tom is tempered by the reminder of the promise she made him long ago - that she would marry him if she were ever free of her arranged match. 

After years of separation these old friends must learn to love and trust one another in order to find happiness as man and wife, before one - or both - of them decide that their marriage was an irreparable mistake.

So there you have it - that's where I've been for the past few weeks, with my head stuck firmly in early-sixteenth-century Warwickshire. Now ... back to my books.

Ellie x

Old friends

August is the time of year I start to think seriously about my NaNoWriMo project.

Although November still seems like forever away, I know that if I want time for my characters, plot and setting to develop gradually and organically in my mind, and then be firmed up enough to actually get writing on the 1 November, I need to start early.

This year, though, I'm already slightly ahead of schedule, because I'm pretty sure which idea from my notebook I want to explore. Remember those characters that were causing me sleepless nights last month? (They're here... http://elliedarkins.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/its-mystery.html) Well, I think the time has come for me to try and work out what is going on.

One thing that I'm absolutely sure of is that the time between now and November is going to be filled with a huge amount of research - because I've had a sneaking suspicion all along that these aren't contemporary characters.

I read a lot of historicals, and historical non-fiction, but I've never written a historical story before, and at the moment research seems like an impossible chicken–egg-type situation ... What do I research first? How do I know what to research if I don't know the plot? How can I outline a plot without knowledge of the historical context? So I'd love some advice from anyone who knows more than me (ie very little) about going about writing a historical novel, or anyone who has ideas for how to get started. Please help!

Ellie
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